Prayer Requests Again - Michael

The gastroenterologist at CHOC found what has been causing Michael's stomachaches the past six years - since Kazakhstan we believe. Michael has had stomachaches and headaches on and off for since we adopted him. Michael tested positive for a H. Pylori - which is fairly uncommon in children actually and not routinely tested for. Usually other problems such as Giardia or Celiac or Dairy or Food Sensitivities are believed to be the cause. Of course Michael has already had ALL of that testing which was all negative and then some. Even the gastroenterologist almost didn't test him and said Nay, he won't have that, but we decided it would not hurt at all to test and rule it out. It can be recurrent and can be fairly hard to erradicate. The usual treatment is Triple Therapy. Michael will be on 4 medications - a combination of antibiotics and medication for his stomach because he has had problems for so long and much more serious since April. Michael will also have some changes in his diet to help his tummy.

Also, after some additional research, we discovered that Michael's interest in chewing on metal things could be related to his anemia. Children with iron deficiency sometimes crave what their bodies need and chew on things that are not food. Michael takes a daily vitamin / mineral supplement to make sure he is getting enough of Iron and Zinc along with some additions to his diet to combact this as much as we can.

The good news with this though is the best prevention is simply good handwashing with soap and water, cook food thorougly, and avoid contaminated water. Michael was extremely malnourished in Kazakhstan, and it is extremely likely he picked it up their even with the caretakers doing the best they could in the poorest of circumstances. With Michael's poor immune system, we have to be even more diligent with cleanliness.

The autism is, I believe, is a secondary diagnosis. This means that all the other things he has haved caused the autism. Michael has global delays, but I know he has great potential.

I also learned that the headaches could be associated with the anemia, also something he has probably had for either a very long time or always !

Please pray for Michael's anemia and that as this gets better so will his headaches, and for his tummy and the medication and diet to be 100 percent successful.

We are praying for more of God's creative miracles. I was beginning to wonder if we were ever going to get answers to why Michael does certain things. At least we know the many whys, and we pray that God continues to increase our understanding so that we may likewise continue to help Michael in greater and greater ways.

Always Praying -
Jennifer

Blessed Mommy to Michael, Gabriela, Joseph, Joshua, and Shawna - 12, 10, 7, 5 and 2.