Another Day Another Worry.....

Rhett's potassium levels are high. Which means that if they get high enough they can cause all sorts of heart issues. Like arrhythmia's and such.

It could be a lot of different things causing it. It could also just be a mistake in the lab. However when he was in the hospital in February his potassium was wacky then too. They gave him sodium to help it. But pretty much every lab that he has had done since then has shown levels higher than normal.

So we made a trip to the hospital today to have labs drawn. Normally this is no biggy for people, but with Rhett it is different. He has the tiniest veins ever. Add that to the fact that he is chubby, and has been dehydrated, and it makes finding a vein on him almost impossible.

Usually the only way we ever get ANY blood is to take him up to the local children's hospital and have the IV team come in with their nifty little light to find a vein. Today when we were told that we needed to take him in ASAP so that the Dr. could have the results by morning, I decided to take my chances with the hospital that is two blocks from my house.

I must have been feeling really lucky, either that or I was just too tired and hungry at 6 pm to drive an hour and a half for a blood draw. Either way things weren't looking good. He was poked 4 times to no avail. In between each stick he would sign, "down" and "please". Trust my little guy to remember his manners when he is being stuck by needles.

On the 5th try the head of the lab came in. He was an older man, and just fell in love with Rhett. Just as I was ready to say enough, he made me feel better about everything, and I knew he would succeed. Sure enough as he sat there and sang to Rhett, he found the vein and we got the blood that we needed.

After he was done he took Rhett from my arms, gave him a hug, and told him he was sorry, but he was just trying to help him get better. Rhett returned the hug, and signed "please" again. I am sure he meant "thank you" because right now the sign for "please" means thank you as well. (We're working on that one!)

I was just so amazed to see the interaction between the two of them. There was a huge connection there, and I felt it the second he walked in the room. Maybe he was an angel sent to us to help Rhett, or maybe he just "gets it." Maybe it was both. Either way, I am so thankful that he was there. He is another hero that I will never forget.