Follow-Up Appts

(Davis and mom at his appointment with the surgeon)

(Davis LOVES to make his chair bounce!!!)

(This is how he woke up from his nap!)

We went to our follow-up appointments with the pediatrician and the surgeon this week. Davis weighed in at a whopping 9 pounds and 3 ounces! That was very good news and means we are finally headed in the right direction! Also because he is keeping his food down and gaining weight now we don't have to go back to meet with the surgeon again until April. The surgeon also gave us the go ahead to let Davis eat as much as he wants and when he wants it...before we were only able to feed him 2.5 ounces every 3 hours (no more and no less). Hopefully this will let him (and me) finally start sleeping more than 2 hours at a time....that would REALLY be wonderful!!!

Having a GOOD day!

Diagnosis

Davis' stomach does not empty fast enough which causes everything else to back up. When he eats it does not move through quickly so he gets sick when he tries to eat again later because there is no where for it to go. To help the problem we have added extra calories to each feeding so we can decrease on volume. This will allow him to get the right nutrition but have less for his stomach to process. Also it appears that he is allergic or his system just can't handle breastmilk so we have switched to a hypoallergenic formula that is easier on his stomach. He is also taking tylenol regularly to help when he gets uncomfortable.

If these things don't work he will start on a medication. We are hoping to stay away from this because of the side effects that go along with it.

We are heading home tonight but going back into the the pediatrician for regular weigh-ins now and we are meeting with surgeon for a follow-up on Thursday.

Overall, he is feeling a lot better, he is even smiling again :-) Thank for your prayers I will post an update when we know more!

What we know so far...

Tests they have/will run:
1. Upper GI test (barium)
2. Lower GI test (barium)
3. Intestine Motility test
4. X-rays
5. Biopsy
6. Blood work

What we have learned:
1. His stomach is not working fast enough so the food is not getting through his system very well... which is why he is getting sick and in pain
2. He will most likely not need surgery!!! :-)
3. He does not have an obstruction or stenosis
4. He has been switched over to a hypoallergenic formula
5. The doctors are adding extra calories to his formula so we can decrease the volume to make it easier on his system.
6. He is still not gaining weight
7. He will be put on a medication to help his system motility


He is still very uncomfortable most of the time so please pray that his pain will decrease will the feeding plan and medication.

Thanks for your support and prayers!

We had a good afternoon

We had a good afternoon today! Davis was able to take his last two whole feedings (without using the feeding tube) and keep everything down! Every positive step counts...even the little ones!

Please pray for him tonight...the evenings and nights are the toughest on him. I will continue to post updates, thanks for your prayers.

The day before the hospital

He was a happy little boy the day before he got sick...

Our flight back to OHSU

Well we are back at OHSU. Davis and I went over to visit my parents in central Oregon for the weekend since he was feeling good but ended up on an ambulance and hospital airlift back to Dorenbecher.

We were admitted on Saturday and we are not sure when we will be able to leave again. The doctors will be running tests tomorrow and hopefully we will get some answers then.

What we know so far:

• His intestines are severely dilated
• His stomach is distended
• He is having trouble keeping food down
• He is hooked up to a feeding tube and IV
• He appears to have some sort of obstruction or stenosis
• Surgery most likely will be the outcome
• He is really uncomfortable and exhausted but has been a trooper!!!

I will post again when we know more. Thank you for your prayers!

Updates

We went in to meet with the surgeon and go through testing for Davis' intestines yesterday. They tested him for about 7 hours (drinking barium and taking x-rays) and could not figure out why his intestines are dilated. The good news is that there is not an obstruction the bad news is we might have to keep testing if things don't get better. I am closely monitoring and tracking how much he eats every day and giving him Tylenol for his discomfort. We go back in to meet with the surgeon again in 2 weeks and decide what to do next. I will continue to keep everyone posted on the situation.

Other updates....his surgery repair site is no longer looking infected. He has been on antibiotics and we will continue to watch for warning signs but it appears that it is no longer dangerous. Also his hernia does not seem to be bothering him so he will most likely have it fixed when he is about 2 years old and his muscles are stronger.

Thank you for your prayers, I will continue to keep you posted!

Emergency Room

Well it has been a hard few days. We spent the evening in the emergency room on Sunday and went back to the hospital on Monday, and things are just starting...

Davis has been diagnosed with several issues.

First of all his abdomen hernia has gotten worse but they still do not want to repair it until his gets a little older. Now we need to watch for signs that it is causing damage.

Secondly, his incision site is showing signs of infection. If the infection spreads into his stomach it can be life threatening so he is taking antibiotics and we are watching for a fever. If he starts a fever he will need to be admitted.

Lastly, the doctors took several x-rays of his abdomen and discovered that his intestines are very dilated. This could mean several things but they need to run more tests to find out what is causing the problem. We are headed back up to OHSU on Thursday to meet with the surgeons and run tests.

Please pray for our little guy, he is not eating or sleeping well because he is in a lot of discomfort and there is nothing we can do to help him right now...As a mother that is a heart breaking feeling.

I will keep you posted.