Another surgery for Emily
Another rough few days for Emily ...
Late afternoon on Saturday, it appeared that Emily was teething, so I gave her some Tylenol. I was holding her afterwards and she wretched out what was either bile or the mostly digested cheesy-enchilada that we all had for lunch.
Sydney and I were very worried, especially with Emily's most recent hospitalization last week not being completely resolved. However, there was any number of possibilities that could account for her throwing-up again. First, the slightly exotic lunch could have been too soon after whatever stomach infection she had earlier in the week. The second possibility was that Emily used to have a really bad gag reflex and vomit after she had been given medication orally. It had been quite a while since that had last been the case, but perhaps whatever stomach infection she had might have brought it back. The third possibility was that it was not a stomach infection after all and she still had a undiagnosed problem. We worried that it might be the third, since her abdomen was still bloated from earlier in the week and had only pooped once since she left the hospital. Furthermore, nobody else in the family had any stomach symptoms; if it were an infection, at least one of the other kids would have it too.
Emily acted like she felt better after throwing-up. She sat and played quietly and did not have any other symptoms. We decided to keep her home, put her on liquids only and watch her. She had a good evening and went to bed pretty quietly. Summer, on the other hand, was not going to bed easily. She was just fighting going to sleep most young children do. We finally got Summer settled down, when Emily started fussing. About every five to ten minutes, Emily needed Sydney or myself to go in, rock and burp her, then give her bottle to go back to sleep. We decided to give Emily some gas drops, but also decided to give Emily her Prevacid. However, immediately after the Prevacid, she heaved bile like vomit again. It was decided it was best to take her to the ER at U of M hospital (around 9pm that Saturday evening).
At 5:45am, Emily and Sydney came back home. A resident/intern that we have met before and disliked for her general unprofessional and incompetence was in rotation for the ER. She gave Emily a X-ray and diagnosed Emily with extreme case of constipation. They gave Emily an enema and then released her. Of course, Emily threw-up on the way home.
After a couple hours sleep, all three of the kids woke up Sunday morning. I watched the kids while Sydney slept to try to make up for being awake all night. However, Emily just lied on the floor in a less than lethargic fashion; not moving, just watching TV and taking an occasional sip from her water. I was concerned, so woke up Sydney. After Sydney got up, Emily threw-up again. We decided quickly that if Emily was not acting herself and not keeping downing clear fluids, she would need further medical attention. Just before noon on Sunday, Emily went back to U of M hospital. Within a couple of hours, Emily turned from lethargy to pain. She had to be given morphine. Not long after that, they admitted her to the fifth floor.
At this point, I started to feel a repeat of last week. Especially when I called my mother to see if she could watch the kids while I went to work and she refused. She said she was feeling ill and did not have enough energy to do so. I really do not know why she could not help, since the kids are asleep when I go to work and do not wake up until I get home. I just needed somebody to be here. She could even sleep herself, so not to require any work or loss of sleep. Not having else to call upon to watch the kids, my options narrowed and it looked like I would have to stay home again. This pained me since last week I only got 16 hours. Bills are already behind and I could not afford to take more time off. Back when I was sick, my supervisor implied that anymore missed time would reflect on my employment there. None of the less, I did not have a choice, so I had to call in to work.
I am not sure when Sunday night, but the doctors stopped giving Emily morphine. They were afraid of that drug's side effects of one her intestines. The doctors switched her to Tylenol and Benedryl, which did not help the pain much. However, they managed to schedule a CT scan that night. They also had to put a ng tube down Emily's throat to insert contrasting fluid so it will show up in her gut. Finally something that should get down to the root of the problem.
Somehow, Emily managed to get some sleep before performing the scan at 2:30am. The scan showed a definite bowel obstruction. This meant that they would have to perform surgery on her.
The surgical consult came around Monday afternoon. They discussed laparoscopic surgery, however they were concerned on possible of scar tissue from her previous surgeries in August and September being involved with the problem. If that was the case, it would require a more extensive surgery. Regardless, the procedure was scheduled for Tuesday. Emily had to remain NPO with the ng tube suctioning her stomach.
The remainder of Monday, I waited by watching Gilmore Girls on DVD (it is my belief that they jumped the shark at the end of the sixth season and has sucked this year). I was also entirely too grumpy. On the other hand, Summer was using this opportunity to test her boundaries and ignore everything I said. Monday night was even worse. I felt it was so unfair. Emily has already had three surgeries (not including all the IRs, scopes and other procedures she has had) and she is only 19 months old. I am 30 years old and I have never had a surgery. It was so unfair for Emily. She had more than her share of life threatening illnesses. We should not have to go through wondering whether she was going to make it though another surgery again. I was also very sad that I could not be there for her.
Tuesday morning I passed the time more positively by making a big breakfast for the kids and myself, doing the dishes, cleaning up and vacuuming the common areas, and doing loads of laundry.
Emily went into surgery at 1pm and they started the actual procedure around 2pm (they had a delay getting her blood from the blood bank). They managed to do the whole surgery laperscopicly. It appears that one of her internal stitches adhered to her bowel causing to open and close (since it was hard to diagnose when it was open). While they were in there, the doctors also fixed her umbilical hernia. The whole procedure took less than two hours.
Sydney says that Emily has been feeling better since the surgery. They put her back on occassional morphine and will move to being able to drink fluids soon. Wednesday night Sydney, Sydney came home and I went to work. Instead of going home after work I will go to the hospital. Emily will probably need to be there for a few more days as she recovers.
Late afternoon on Saturday, it appeared that Emily was teething, so I gave her some Tylenol. I was holding her afterwards and she wretched out what was either bile or the mostly digested cheesy-enchilada that we all had for lunch.
Sydney and I were very worried, especially with Emily's most recent hospitalization last week not being completely resolved. However, there was any number of possibilities that could account for her throwing-up again. First, the slightly exotic lunch could have been too soon after whatever stomach infection she had earlier in the week. The second possibility was that Emily used to have a really bad gag reflex and vomit after she had been given medication orally. It had been quite a while since that had last been the case, but perhaps whatever stomach infection she had might have brought it back. The third possibility was that it was not a stomach infection after all and she still had a undiagnosed problem. We worried that it might be the third, since her abdomen was still bloated from earlier in the week and had only pooped once since she left the hospital. Furthermore, nobody else in the family had any stomach symptoms; if it were an infection, at least one of the other kids would have it too.
Emily acted like she felt better after throwing-up. She sat and played quietly and did not have any other symptoms. We decided to keep her home, put her on liquids only and watch her. She had a good evening and went to bed pretty quietly. Summer, on the other hand, was not going to bed easily. She was just fighting going to sleep most young children do. We finally got Summer settled down, when Emily started fussing. About every five to ten minutes, Emily needed Sydney or myself to go in, rock and burp her, then give her bottle to go back to sleep. We decided to give Emily some gas drops, but also decided to give Emily her Prevacid. However, immediately after the Prevacid, she heaved bile like vomit again. It was decided it was best to take her to the ER at U of M hospital (around 9pm that Saturday evening).
At 5:45am, Emily and Sydney came back home. A resident/intern that we have met before and disliked for her general unprofessional and incompetence was in rotation for the ER. She gave Emily a X-ray and diagnosed Emily with extreme case of constipation. They gave Emily an enema and then released her. Of course, Emily threw-up on the way home.
After a couple hours sleep, all three of the kids woke up Sunday morning. I watched the kids while Sydney slept to try to make up for being awake all night. However, Emily just lied on the floor in a less than lethargic fashion; not moving, just watching TV and taking an occasional sip from her water. I was concerned, so woke up Sydney. After Sydney got up, Emily threw-up again. We decided quickly that if Emily was not acting herself and not keeping downing clear fluids, she would need further medical attention. Just before noon on Sunday, Emily went back to U of M hospital. Within a couple of hours, Emily turned from lethargy to pain. She had to be given morphine. Not long after that, they admitted her to the fifth floor.
At this point, I started to feel a repeat of last week. Especially when I called my mother to see if she could watch the kids while I went to work and she refused. She said she was feeling ill and did not have enough energy to do so. I really do not know why she could not help, since the kids are asleep when I go to work and do not wake up until I get home. I just needed somebody to be here. She could even sleep herself, so not to require any work or loss of sleep. Not having else to call upon to watch the kids, my options narrowed and it looked like I would have to stay home again. This pained me since last week I only got 16 hours. Bills are already behind and I could not afford to take more time off. Back when I was sick, my supervisor implied that anymore missed time would reflect on my employment there. None of the less, I did not have a choice, so I had to call in to work.
I am not sure when Sunday night, but the doctors stopped giving Emily morphine. They were afraid of that drug's side effects of one her intestines. The doctors switched her to Tylenol and Benedryl, which did not help the pain much. However, they managed to schedule a CT scan that night. They also had to put a ng tube down Emily's throat to insert contrasting fluid so it will show up in her gut. Finally something that should get down to the root of the problem.
Somehow, Emily managed to get some sleep before performing the scan at 2:30am. The scan showed a definite bowel obstruction. This meant that they would have to perform surgery on her.
The surgical consult came around Monday afternoon. They discussed laparoscopic surgery, however they were concerned on possible of scar tissue from her previous surgeries in August and September being involved with the problem. If that was the case, it would require a more extensive surgery. Regardless, the procedure was scheduled for Tuesday. Emily had to remain NPO with the ng tube suctioning her stomach.
The remainder of Monday, I waited by watching Gilmore Girls on DVD (it is my belief that they jumped the shark at the end of the sixth season and has sucked this year). I was also entirely too grumpy. On the other hand, Summer was using this opportunity to test her boundaries and ignore everything I said. Monday night was even worse. I felt it was so unfair. Emily has already had three surgeries (not including all the IRs, scopes and other procedures she has had) and she is only 19 months old. I am 30 years old and I have never had a surgery. It was so unfair for Emily. She had more than her share of life threatening illnesses. We should not have to go through wondering whether she was going to make it though another surgery again. I was also very sad that I could not be there for her.
Tuesday morning I passed the time more positively by making a big breakfast for the kids and myself, doing the dishes, cleaning up and vacuuming the common areas, and doing loads of laundry.
Emily went into surgery at 1pm and they started the actual procedure around 2pm (they had a delay getting her blood from the blood bank). They managed to do the whole surgery laperscopicly. It appears that one of her internal stitches adhered to her bowel causing to open and close (since it was hard to diagnose when it was open). While they were in there, the doctors also fixed her umbilical hernia. The whole procedure took less than two hours.
Sydney says that Emily has been feeling better since the surgery. They put her back on occassional morphine and will move to being able to drink fluids soon. Wednesday night Sydney, Sydney came home and I went to work. Instead of going home after work I will go to the hospital. Emily will probably need to be there for a few more days as she recovers.