Dr Dickerson sent Birdie to an Allergist/Immunologist for further testing due to her concern that Birdie has an underlying condition that is causing her to get more sick than an otherwise healthy child should with normal maladies. So off we went to see Dr. T.
They started by asking Birdie to blow into a tube to test for a lung function test, and then she did it again hooked up to a computer. We were told that her results were good. When meeting with the Dr., we spent a great deal of time detailing Laurie's history, symptoms and treatments. Upon examination, Dr. T said that it was evident Laurie has allergies - she has a crease across her noise, creases under her eyes, and purple shiners under her eyes.
After reviewing her history and the examination, Dr. T laid out the various tests she would like performed on Laurie to get to the bottom of her problems. She ordered a full blood work up, including her checking her immunoglobulins, her hemoglobin, the level of vaccines in her body and numerous other things I can't remember. I asked if they would also test her for Beta Thalassemia Minor. Her initial test at 9 mo came back inconclusive and we haven't tested her since. At her emergency room visit in July 09 she showed anemic, so there is a pretty good chance that she has it also. Ashley also tested positive at 9 mo. but Daniel was negative. The Dr. included this test in her blood work order.
In addition to the blood work (which we had performed upon leaving the office), Dr. T ordered a full series of allergy testing, a CT scan of her sinuses and a sweat test for cystic fibrosis. The allergy testing and CT scan are scheduled after Labor Day.
The day after meeting Dr. T, we headed down to Texas Children's Hospital for her CF sweat test. Dr. T wanted her tested to rule it out more than anything else. The test was super easy for Birdie. They cleaned patches on her arms, then attached an electrode to her upper arm and one on the forearm. Birdie wasn't happy when they turned them on, but she was a trooper for the 5 minutes on each arm. After taking off the electrodes, the tech placed a piece of gauze on her forearm, covered it with plastic and taped it all up. We headed back out to the waiting room for 30 minutes to allow time for her arm to sweat. When they took it all off, the gauze was full of sweat. Amazing.
The best part about the test is that we were early for our appointment and were almost finished at the time of the scheduled appointment. That was a nice surprise. Since Birdie did such a great job with the sweat test we headed over to the food court for a donut and chocolate milk. We were done so early that we had lunch with Brian in the area. It was a great addition to our day.
We heard back today that the sweat test for cystic fibrosis was negative. I wasn't really worried about it but it was still a huge relief to hear that it was negative.
Ever since the big kids started back to school last week, she has been ready to get back to preschool. This morning she knew exactly what she was going to wear - a Green dress! And was ready to go about 30 minutes early. She kept running to the window asking what was taking Aunt Leah so long to get here. 
