I spoke with the nurse at Ryan's metabolic geneticist. She sent me his test results for his last set of blood work. You might remember that they tested him for several things including thyroid, amino acid levels, protein or zinc deficiency, etc. Well, several of the numbers came back out of range and they were unable to test the zinc specimen.
Ryan is really difficult to collect blood from. Like me, he is a difficult stick. His veins are extremely deep, tiny, and they roll. Additionally, his veins clot quickly. So, once they do get a vein, it frequently clots before they finish collecting all they need from him. That probably explains the zinc specimen being unusable.
As for the other numbers, well, they could be off for several reasons: stress, viral illness, diet, or real disease. So, to rule out the possibility that it was just a fluke that they are low, we are going to wait a week, and then retest. We will then compare the 2 tests to see which numbers, if any, are still low.
Honestly, I do not know what it means if any of them are still low. We tested for these particular things due to things like Ryan's developmental delays, seizures, hair growth patterns, and icy cold feet. So, it seems possible that some of these numbers may be accurately reflecting something going on with Ryan.
There is a part of me that wants to think that if it's just a zinc deficiency or a lack of enough proteins or a low thyroid, then surely we can just supplement his diet and "fix" the problem. But, there's the wiser side of me that feels the need to be cautious, prayerful, and to wait for more information. Besides, if we "fix" everything and Ryan takes off walking, who's going to snuggle with me for a long mid-afternoon nap? ;)
Of course, you know I'm just kidding about that, right? Cause if Ryan really decides he wants to walk ... or if God decides He wants Ryan to walk ... I'm pretty sure I'd be okay skipping a nap or two. =D
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