How Our Teenage Son Became A Man

In the middle of the night, I hear our oldest son, Garrett, 15, scramble into the bathroom. I worry he is not sleeping. He’s been sick for a few weeks, on and off with fever, weight loss, diarrhea. I go to check on him, take his temperature. It’s 101. I give him some Tylenol and go back to bed but I can’t sleep because of the worry, the anxiety over his condition. What is this fever? I don’t understand it. The Gastroenterologist says his body is inflamed, inflammation causes fever. It’s so frustrating.

The Gastroenterologist at Nemours Children Clinic had scheduled both lower and upper endoscopies. On October 4th, 2013, our 15 -year-old underwent both procedures. The results were fairly conclusive: Crohns disease. I had been diagnosed with the same disease about a year and ½ earlier.

GarrettI didn’t want to believe the doctor at first as my denial was so deep. I did not want to accept that my child inherited this genetic condition from me! My Crohns case had been fairly mild: no fever, no dramatic weight loss or feeling sick. I didn’t understand how this could happen to our young vibrant teenager. His case was fairly severe and we were told he would need to begin immune suppressing drug therapy to get his symptoms under control.

It was going to take several weeks before Garrett could begin the injection therapy that would help control his Crohns symptoms. Over the next several days Garrett’s symptoms got worse. The doctor recommended a liquid diet…which didn’t go over to well with a teenage boy who is used to eating pizza, subs and steak! Needless to say, Garrett got sicker and sicker.

On October 14, I took Garrett to Wolfson’s Children’s hospital. It took a while for Garrett just to walk into the hospital from the car. He was weak and tired and had fever. At 5’8.5” Garrett was down to just over 100 pounds. His thin frame was so pale and his face resembled that of a holocaust survivor. His blood work showed lots of problems and his doctor explained that Garrett needed intravenous nutrition to halt his body’s breakdown and give his gut a rest. Garrett was admitted that evening and the next morning a PICC (peripherally inserted central catheter) was implanted.

JeanieOnce Garrett was released, my husband Robert and I became PICC line flushers and TPN administers. We mixed the vitamins, sterilized the needles and purged the pump line. Coming home from the hospital reminded us of when he was an infant. This time our child was not an infant. In fact, our child, we would soon learn, was no longer a boy! He was becoming a young man, right before our eyes.

A week or two later, he started on Humira. The first four loading injections were rough and the medicine going in is extremely painful. Garrett took control of his disease immediately and gave himself the shots, biting down on a sour gummy worm as the medicine went in…it takes 5 to 6 seconds and hurts really bad.

When I asked if the gummy worms help to distract his brain from the pain he said “A little bit, not really.” This Life Scout is one tough young man. Five months into the Humira treatment and Garrett is back to his healthy weight, about 125 lbs. He eats normally and is responsible for his diet.

We are so proud of our son and the miracle that this disease has provided him: complete autonomy, independence and fierce maturity. He’s not emotional or melodramatic. He understands that he has to take the drugs and he is responsible for the way he treats his body. It’s funny how something that at first seems so threatening ends up becoming almost a gift or blessing.

While I wish Garrett had to never undergo the horrible sickness, the hospital stay and the subsequent six week absence from high school, I am also grateful for the lessons it’s taught us and the gratitude we now have for his life.

Our relationship with our son has also transformed. The mutual respect we have and the miracle of watching him mature into a young man is very edifying. As I count my blessings, this disease being one of them, my gratitude for the creation of Garrett: The Man, grows and keeps growing. Although there is a little voice in my head that nags at me “what if one day he forgets how sick he was and decides he doesn’t need the medicine?” I remind myself of the lesson of living in the moment and I am all the more grateful that he is healthy now, in the present, which is really all we have right?

 

Jeanie LeapleyJeanie Leapley

Ponte Vedra Beach resident, Jeanie Leapley, is a Mom, Realtor, volunteer and advocate for breast cancer. Jeanie’s husband, Robert, is a local attorney. They‘ve lived in Ponte Vedra Beach for the past 20 years where they spend their time “raising men” –  Garrett 16, Carson 13 and Sean 11. Between volunteering and running the boys around, Jeanie works for Watson Realty. She loves to run and while she’s at it, raises money for the 26.2 with Donna, the National Marathon to FINISH Breast Cancer. Being a wife and a mother are the most important roles that Jeanie plays and having a chance to make a difference for women with breast cancer at the same time is privilege.

1 COMMENT

  1. Wow! I feel as though I just read what we have gone through for the past six months!!!! I am so happy your son is doing well. It helps to hear positives of this disease…I feel as though I am constantly hearing the negatives. Like yours, my son is a 14 year old who had dramatic weight loss, would constantly wake up in the night with diarrhea, and labs that should anemia among other things. He also had abscesses, which we were told was probably due to infection from our trip to Jamaica this past July… Wow, were they far off base! It took a great deal of pushiness on my part to finally get answers. My son started Remicade in November and seems to be responding well. Thank you for writing your blog; it helps to hear others moms who gave walked in the same path!

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