And the correct answer is...

Bobby is allergic to milk protein. We went to an appointment at the University of Chicago today, and after hearing our concerns and reviewing the tests previously done at Children's Memorial, the doctor is confident that Bobby has an allergy to milk proteins. Apparently, children can build a tolerance to these issues in the short run, but eventually the allergies lead to the symptoms Bobby's been having. It's not critically serious - he will outgrow it, maybe in a few months. Of course we're concerned, as always, that this is not the correct or complete diagnosis and another ugly issue will rear its head. You'd think we'd be use to that by now.

I'm furious with CMH. The milk allergy showed up in the endoscopy performed in October. It was either overlooked or minimized (our new doctor said that the test isn't cut and dry-it has to be interpreted in the context of the patient's overall condition). So, perhaps they missed it then, but to not revisit the results during our recent hospitalization? Unforgivable. And, we came home to find a message from the Cardiology department at CMH with a referral to a hospital with a good GI department.

The solution to milk protein allergies is what we're doing now - feeding Bobby a formula where the amino acids are already broken down. Its not a great solution, he can't digest the calories he needs. But he's maintained his weight in the last week, which is very good news.

Since its not the sort of thing that will clear up in a matter of days or a few weeks, its onward with surgery. We've asked the surgery team to put us back on the schedule. We'll report back once we have a new date.

In the meantime, Bubs seemed to enjoy getting out of the house today - his first visit outside in 11 days. The boy does enjoy a good car ride, as long as the driver keeps a good pace that is. Our little back seat driver squawks out a long lecture when we have to stop at a light. Its fun watching him voice his displeasure - that boy is getting more like his mama(s) every day!