That's One Big Boy!

 

I took this picture several months ago when the kids and I went with my mom to Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, SC. Believe me when I tell you that this turtle was huge!  He was right up against the fence, and we all got to reach over and touch his shell.  I made certain we all stayed away from that mouth, though.

My son has been having some health issues.  I know, what does a huge turtle have to do with Ryan?  Nothing really, except that they are both big boys.  

Last weekend, Ryan started complaining of chest pain.  He said it was hard to take a deep breathe, and he felt like he wasn't breathing right.  I assumed he was getting sick, so I told him to take it easy and rest.  Monday, he came home from school with a migraine level headache, and all he wanted to do was sleep.  I was trying to figure out what was causing him to feel this way when it occurred to me that he recently started back on his ADHD medicines.  

Tuesday morning I called my doctor, just to see if he could suddenly develop side effects from medications he has been on for years.  When the nurse called me back, she informed me that the doctor wanted to see him ASAP.  Since I was at work I couldn;t get him up there before about 5.  They stop seeing patients at 4.  

This should tell you how awesome my doctor is...he waited on us to get there.  They checked Ryan's blood pressure, and it was 156/94.  Yeah, way to high for a 15 year old boy.  They said it was probably higher the night before, which would have been the cause of his headache and chest pain.  He told me to stop both medications immediately, and to bring him back Thursday morning for blood work.

I wasn't able to get off work, so my mom took him.  When they got there, not only did they take his blood, they also did a chest xray and EKG. They are waiting for the results from the blood work before they decide whether or not to do an echo-cardiogram.  Scared me to death when my mom called and told me.  My doctor also sent a note to Ryan's school asking the nurse to check his blood pressure several times a week and fax him the results.  When he had it checked Friday, it was 112/60, which is a lot better than what it was. 

I can not tell you how relieved I am, since it kind of confirms that it was his medications causing the problem.

That said, my doctor also wants Ryan to lose weight.  He put him on a strict diet, especially watching his sodium, which contributes to the high blood pressure.  He recommended walking, so every day Ryan has been doing just that.  This morning, I joined him in a walk to the grocery store.  It was nice spending time with him without the girls.  It gave us a chance to talk about anything he wanted to.

So, for now, I am waiting to hear the results of all the tests, keeping my fingers crossed that everything comes back normal, proving he is a healthy teenager.