The Search for a Diagnosis Begins

Written by Haley Lane

This was her first time getting lab tests. They had to stick both arms, because her vein would move. Her face went from shock, to pain, and then to screaming. I thought it was awful. I remember saying, “Man, your job isn't very fun.”All her tests came back negative so they turned us over to Dr. Kerri Smith which is the top doctor in St. George.

The next test they wanted us to do was a urine test. She had to fast for 6 to 8 hours, then bring her pee down to the hospital. She cried all night taking only three 15 min naps. She also tried to drink her pee. It was an awful night. The test for that horrible night of course came back negative.

The next day she bumped herself up to 2 gallons of water and stopped eating. Then, she started not feeling so good. The doctors office called the next day to tell me all the test were negative and that they wanted her to have more test done. That, unfortunately, also required her to fast. I told them I would get back to them because she was so exhausted and not doing very great from the last one they did. My plan was to give her a few days to recover, then get more tests done. However, in about 2-3 days she had gotten so sick and was in so much pain I called and made another appointment for her.

When I spoke to the Doctor’s office I told them she had been running a fever for about 3 days and still had one. This time we brought Travis so he could do the honors of holding her down while they stabbed her and took blood. Lucky for him, my Mom showed up and took a turn. When they took her blood, we waited out in the hall. This is kind of embarrassing, but their front door sounds like a baby screaming. When I heard it I was started bawling remembering how awful it was the first time. When my Mom came out she said that she did great. Okay, yes, I felt silly.

At the office, they told me that both her ear drums had burst. I knew she was in pain, but she didn't even scream or anything so the ear drum thing surprised me Our doctor had been talking to a specialist up at Primary's and their idea was that it was her kidneys. They thought her kidneys had been flushed and we needed to take her off water completely and put her on a formula. We tried this one night and it was awful.