We met with the Chief of Pediatric Surgery today. She and her student were both wonderful. They were both thorough, good listeners, and we didn't feel rushed. Everyone agreed that we will try to wait a year before during surgery. She hopes that over the course of the next year he will grow out of his reflux. She said the surgery is still an option for him and something we should keep in mind, but for now we are going to hold off on it.
In discussing Alexander's medical history and the consequences of doing surgery, the issue of his swallowing difficulty came up. We have mentioned this to his doctors since he was a newborn, but it has always been dismissed. She was bothered by it and is going to make a note to his GI dr to look into it more. If we decide at some point to do the surgery, he will need to have a swallow study done to investigate his swallow mechanism. (If there is an issue he will not be eligible for the surgery). It may be something his GI dr decides to look into now and not wait. We'll discuss it at his app't next month and see how she wants to proceed. If he has it done, he'll have to go out to Boston Children's Hospital, as it is not done here.
His heart murmur seems to be a little bit more pronounced. Nothing emergent, but something to take note of.
So we are really pleased with how everything went today. It's the outcome we were hoping for. Thanks for all of the prayers and words of encouragement. :)
