The End-o!!!!

Thursday we took Kennan to see the pediatric endocrinologist. She told us that the two test that had come back slightly above normal were not at a level of concern. She is still waiting for a copy of the x-ray from the geneticist's office. But more or less ruled out the two syndromes that the Geneticist was still concerned about. She diagnosed Kennan with a disorder that causes his body to produce too much insulin. It is the opposite of being diabetic (although in the end he could become diabetic). Because his insulin levels are almost always raised it means he is constantly hungry. When he eats his body registers this and causes the pancreas to produce even greater levels of insulin. Thus a vicious cycle commences and the body gets far more food/nutrients than it needs or can use. So the end result is weight gain - usually quite a bit. These kids usually end up being obese at an early age. And it is nothing that is their fault or that can be completely controlled. Plus there is no cure.
She also told us that you usually don't find an exact cause - there are many different possible causes. These can include family history of diabetes, gestational diabetes, biological mother being over weight during pregnancy, diet/nutrition during pregnancy, high stress levels during pregnancy, lack of proper medical care/vitamins during pregnancy, exposure to alcohol, nicotine, cocaine (other drugs) during pregnancy, general life style, and plain old luck of the draw.  Since we have limited knowledge of family history there are several factor we can't get a good handle on. But there are also several that most likely added to his risk factors such as: high stress level during pregnancy, lack of prenatal care, diet/nutrition during pregnancy, and prenatal exposure to nicotine, alcohol, & cocaine.
The visit also means that an FASD diagnosis is very likely now. Since just about everything else has been eliminated. Which is both good and bad. Good because we know what we are dealing with (not that we didn't before) from a medical stand point and can seek appropriate helps/treatments. The bad is that there is no cure for an FASD. It's permanent. Also bad because it is 100% preventable.