11 December 2007

Long overdue: our trip to the pediatrician

We are so fortunate to have two great pediatricians in town. One of them, Clare, is a British doctor whose husband is working with Student Partnership Worldwide. She agreed to see Luka, although she does not usually do consultations in her home (she volunteers at the government hospital several days a week).
To make a four-page check-up summary short:

-Luka has been diagnosed as anemic. We were encouraged to have his blood tested (he tested a 9.7, which is not terrible, but we're aiming to reach 11 or 12, which is "good" in European standards). We are now giving him iron supplements, which turn his poo a lovely shade of olive green.
-Luka might have a heart murmur, possibly related to his anemia. While he was absolutely lovely during the hour-long check-up, Luka decided that he was fed up with sitting still right when Clare needed to listen to his heart. She instructed us to have his heart checked in a month or so.
-Luka's weight is at the 80-90% percentile according to the TZ growth chart and at around 30% according to the US growth chart. Either way, he is healthy! His head measurements came at a whopping 95% in the US growth chart, which is no surprise considering we often joke that he can't walk simply because it takes too much work to carry all that weight! His head is huge! (but healthy!)
-Luka's cough didn't seem to concern Clare. When she heard what treatment had been prescribed when he was first (allegedly) diagnosed with TB, she concluded that he probably DIDN'T have TB and was given TB medication because TB is often a knee-jerk diagnosis. She told us that we could have Luka's chest x-rayed to rule out the possibility entirely, but also said that he looks so healthy that we probably don't have to worry.
-When we asked about Luka's age, she told us that it is impossible to tell. Her best guess is somewhere around 18 - 22 months (the only real "clue" is the fact that two of his molars have already come in and he's got lots of other teeth). She encouraged us to pick the younger age because it doesn't hurt Luka to be placed at an age closer to his development level, and also observed that he looked remarkably close in age/development to her 18-month-old daughter. She told us to pick a birthdate for Luka because it will be helpful for him later on to have a day already given to him, rather than leaving him with no birthday and the responsibility of coming up with a date himself!

All in all, Luka is healthy! We have dewormed him, given him vitamin A supplements, and are mixing iron supplements in with his food. We have an appointment with the doctor to give him the measles vaccine and will take him for a chest x-ray.

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