Test Day

Once again, we found ourselves getting up early and heading towards the big city. Yeah, it was early, but to finally be able to know for sure why Kyle wasn't growing was worth every early minute. At this point, I was looking for peace of mind. Either he had something wrong and they could fix it or he didn't have anything wrong and would start to grow eventually. I wanted to see my son grow to be the same size as all his friends. I wanted his friends to be able to remember a time when Kyle was just a little guy. We were very lucky, though. Kyle didn't get picked on too much because of his size. He is a genuinely good guy, very quiet, very non-confrontational, very friendly. Mostly, his friends would surround him in an effort to protect him. After all, Kyle was preparing to enter high school (9th grade). You've heard stories about what upper classmen do to freshmen. So have I, which worried me. But, Kyle's dad had spent a couple years coaching some of these upperclassmen, which probably helped Kyle gain some respect among them.

Shortly after we arrived and checked in, Kyle's name was called and we followed the nurse once again. This time, we were taken to one of several small rooms, which had a comfortable recliner, a TV and a curtain used as a door. To begin with, the nurse explained the testing process to us. Medicine is given to stimulate the pituitary gland to release the growth hormone. The two medications that will be used are Clonidine and Arginine. Once the IV is started, a baseline blood sample will be obtained. Clonidine is then given orally. Common side effects to this medication include drowsiness and decreased blood pressure (Kyle's blood pressure will be monitored during the test). Blood specimens will be obtained from the IV every 30 minutes for 3 hours. Arginine will be started at 90 minutes and will be given through the IV over 30 minutes.

The nurse then brought Kyle a pillow, a blanket and a notebook containing movie titles of all the movies they had available. He chose Remember the Titans, an excellent choice I might add. When the test had begun, I put in the DVD and sat in a chair that was not nearly as comfortable as Kyle's and watched as Kyle's eyes began to droop. Just as he would doze off, the nurse would come in to take another blood sample. He eventually was so tired he didn't even wake up while they took the blood sample. Good thing I liked the movie he chose. Once the movie was over, I began to read a book to pass the time. Finally, the testing was complete. The IV was removed. Kyle was starting to wake up. They checked his blood pressure, which was very low, so they gave him something to eat and drink while he waited for his blood pressure to become normal again. After his BP was back to normal, we were finished with this appointment. The results would be available in a couple days...