He Made It
It was a rough weekend, but he made it. He’s been needing some oxygen support, but we still have room to go up. Nice job, my little warrior.
Now, prayers for his procedure today! Pray for the doctor involved. She knows Sam, but is not his primary GI doctor, which isn’t unusual for Sam when he is having a dilation. Pray for the anesthesiologist and the rest of the team who will care for Sam. Pray for no complications and that we’ll be able to come home today. Pray there is an easy fix and nothing else is going on. Pray for peace and continued strength for all of us.
Faith Over Fear
Sam Strong
Prayers to Stay Home
They were able to schedule Sam’s next procedure with his GI doctor, surgeon, and ENT for November 21st. Unfortunately, his little esophagus is seeming like it won’t wait that long.
After this last hospital stay, Sam’s respiratory doctor agreed it would be a good idea to keep him out of school until his next procedure. I get it. As much as I want Sam in school, I think the risks outweigh the benefits at the moment. We don’t need anything else on top of what’s going on medically.
Sam is really miserable right now, but we are home. His symptoms are indicating he needs another dilation. Hopefully, that’s all it is.
We called the weekend, on call GI doctor. Thankfully, instead of telling us to take him to the emergency room, she got him on the surgery schedule for Monday morning. I cannot tell you how happy I was about that. My heart was really dreading another hospital stay.
For whatever reason when Sam needs a dilation, he doesn’t tolerate his feeds. We are running Pedialyte at the lowest rate possible to hopefully keep him hydrated enough until Monday morning and avoid a hospital stay.
Please pray Sam will tolerate the Pedialyte and be able to stay home until Monday. Pray there is nothing else going on. This poor little boy could really catch a break.
Prayers for our stamina as we are tired. This fall has been hard. Prayers to calm our hearts as questions and concerns are hard to push aside right now.
I’m thankful to believe in a God who loves my little boy even more than I do, and that He will comfort and sustain all of us.
Faith Over Fear
Sam Strong
Home
We are home and very happy to be here. What we thought would only be one night, turned into five nights. And of course, as a few of Sam’s doctors mentioned, he threw a curve ball.
Although we know what to expect, you don’t get use to hospital stays. More importantly, Sam is feeling much better. The older Sam gets, the harder it gets to be in the hospital, and all the more excited he gets when we come home.
Yay!!!
We are now hoping he can make it two to four weeks for another esophageal dilation. His GI doctor wants Sam’s surgeon to be there, and Sam’s ENT plans to do a bronchoscopy. If you know anything about the medical world, scheduling three doctors at one time for a procedure is not an easy task. Prayers they can land on a time within the next two to three weeks. We do not want to be in the same situation we were in last week.
Thank you, thank you for all your prayers! They were definitely felt and answered.
Sam Strong
Faith Over Fear
An Answer
Sam’s esophagus was barely open (esophageal stricture). This is nothing new for Sam, but it’s been a very long time since he’s needed a dilation. This is the best fixable answer we could ask for. His GI doctor dilated him and wants to dilate again in two to four weeks. Poor buddy.
Praying now he will tolerate Pedialyte. Generally, when Sam is hospitalized, the doctors want him to be successful on his home feeding regimen before we go home. We move very slow to get there. I was able to convince the docs to let him be successful on Pedialyte and let us work on the formula at home. Anything to give us a few less days in the hospital.
Now Sam just needs to turn the corner so we can get the heck out of dodge!
Thank you for all your prayers! Continued prayers Sam will turn the corner, his blood pressure will come down, and that he will not surprise us with anything else.
Faith Over Fear
Sam Strong
Nothing Definitive
His CT scan didn’t show much, but his esophagus did raised some concerns. Shocking. GI will do an endoscopy and hopefully ENT, a bronchoscopy, if they can find someone.
Praying for answers, an easy fix, healing, the anesthesiologist, the doctors, the medical staff, a smooth and quick recovery.
Faith Over Fear
Sam Strong
The things that keep a mama going while living in the hospital with her child…
The other day when we came upstairs to the unit from the ED, the first nurse we saw coming out of the elevator said, “Sam, you’re back!” We went around the corner, and another nurse, yells, “Sam!”. I didn’t know whether to cry or smile with endearment. I had both emotions. Overall, endearment though.
The encouraging text.
A nurse who tells the lab tech, “When he’s feeling good, he has the best smile. A smile that will make you smile no matter what.”
The messages of comfort on my posts.
The nurse who had us four days ago, coming to check in on Sam and said, “I’m sorry you are still here. I hope they can figure things out and get you home quickly.”
Watching Sam give the tiniest glimpse of a smile only to his sister on FaceTime.
Other nurses who’ve had Sam in the past stopping in to say “Hi”, check on him, and sometimes me.
I Packed a Bag
Sam has landed himself in the hospital. I was told on Sunday afternoon by one of his GI (gastroenterology) docs to bring him in to be evaluated based off his symptoms. We decided to try make it through the night, knowing what the Emergency Department (ED) might look like on a Sunday evening.
The next morning Sam’s nurse and I headed for the dreaded ED. For the first time in five plus years, I packed a bag before we left. I finally learned, since we rarely end up coming home from an ED visit.
Thankfully, when we walked into the lobby, the green light was on, which means they were not busy. We got back fairly quickly and began all the tests, i.e. IV fluids, labs, x-ray, and ultrasound. By the afternoon we found a seemingly definitive answer. Sam was very blocked up. Poor guy.
My packing skills are sub par. I like to have sandals while I’m in the hospital. You do not want to be barefoot on a hospital floor and when your getting up several times throughout the night to care for your sick child, sandals come in handy. Sam’s home care nurse got a pretty good laugh when I went to switch to my sandals. I was so prepared! I’m blaming it on lack of sleep.
Hmmmm, something’s not right here.
The plan was to keep him for the night, “clean” him out, start feeds, and go home. We’ve never had to do a bowl clean out before. Not fun.
He had a second x-ray because he clinically looked cleaned out, but was still not turning the corner. Bummer. The x-ray showed he was all cleaned out so we hoped it was just taking him a little longer.
Here’s the thing, when you have a nonverbal kid, these kind of things are that much harder. He can’t tell us what hurts or what’s bothering him. We can only use the cues we know for when he’s not feeling good. For Sam, the cues are facial grimacing, low energy, his nystagmus gets worse, and clicking his hips. We want our energizer bunny back.
On day three, he still wasn’t turning the corner. The consensus was try start feeds and see how he does or get a CT scan to rule out anything else.
We got a CT scan and will wait for good news.
Faith Over Fear
Sam Strong
Admitted Again
We have landed ourselves in the hospital again. Ugh. He can’t catch a break.
We spent the entire day in the emergency room on Saturday. After all the routine testing and poking, we left with no answers. Grrrr.
He seemingly got better on and off, but overall was not progressing. We spent the entire day at the clinic/hospital on Tuesday getting more pokes and more tests. His pediatrician was a bit concerned. She called me that evening. She was worried. We still didn’t have any conclusive answers.
I don’t like when doctors actually use the word “worried”. It’s not a word they throw around often. It’s going be fine.
Wednesday morning, he seemed like he was getting better. Later that morning, he took a turn for the worse again. We brought him in at around two o’clock in the afternoon, and after about nine hours of waiting in the emergency department, we finally got a room at two o’clock in the morning. So tired. Coffee can cure that.
Thankfully, we were able to get answers after more poking and testing again in the emergency room.
As we were beginning to suspect, Sam has intussusception. To put it simply, this is when the intestines slide or telescope in and out of itself. As you can imagine, this can be very painful. Poor buddy. Sometimes it can fix itself, sometimes enema treatment will fix it, and sometimes surgery fixes it. It’s going to fix itself.
Okay, to anyone reading and believes that prayer can change things, let the prayers begin!
Pray Sam’s little intestines will fix themselves, he will not need treatment or surgery, and we will have a short hospital stay. This little boy does not need to add more surgeries to his already very lengthy list and needs to be home where he belongs!
Sam Strong!
Faith Over Fear!
Rotavirus Again
Sam’s lab results came back positive for Rotavirus. This is the same little tummy bug, along with a Tracheitis, that put Sam in the hospital for a little over a week last May. It’s nice to have an answer. More often than not, we are playing a guessing game with him. One of the hospitalists, who knows Sam, even jokingly commented on it.
Today was a better day. He’s tolerating a very small amount of Pedialyte. When I say small, I’m talking fifteen milliliters an hour. You know the tiny cups you get when you buy children’s pain meds like Ibuprofen and Tylenol? Picture one of those small med cups only half full. That being said, he still has a ways to go before he can be off the IV fluids and we can get the heck out of Dodge!
Prayers Sam will continue to tolerate his feeds, for his blood pressure to come down, for my other three kids, my hubby, and me.
Napping in true male fashion. 🤣
Faith Over Fear!
Sam Strong!
Update
I’ve been working on this update for a while, and now Sam’s landed himself in the hospital. It would have been a year in May without any unplanned hospital stays. It’s a bummer he didn’t make it to a year, but ten months is a lot to celebrate!
As of now, we know he has a Tracheitis and what looks like a stomach bug. We are still waiting on some labs and a culture. We came in yesterday morning and he was quickly admitted. He’s already made a drastic improvement since he’s been on the IV fluids.
Now for the update I’ve been working on…
We obviously had an eventful December. Who am I kidding, it’s always eventful around here. Sam is generally busy with doctor appointments, but sometimes his many specialties seem to lump together.
We were very happy to hear although his uric acid is still high, since he’s started the new med, it’s significantly lower. We will continue to see nephrology more often to draw labs and get urine samples to stay on top of his chronic kidney disease.
He’s, of course, is a champ at blood draws and it’s been a comical experience each time trying to collect a urine sample. Each nurse who has been with us for these appointments has their own humorous story of collecting a urine sample with Sam and I.
His orthopedic doctor confirmed he still has developmental hip dysplasia. Once a year, he gets x-rays to check on his hips and she gives us the results right after. I’m always amazed at how she remembers specific details about Sam and our family. It makes my mama heart full. It’s a waiting game on when this surgery will happen. The longer Sam can wait, the better it will be for him.
It usually takes at least three or four of us to hold Sam down when he gets x-rays, but I was able to do it myself. I’m always very honest with him on what’s going to happen. He has A LOT of PTSD when it comes to x-rays. I tell him over and over again, “No owies, no owies, no owies…” For some reason, he actually believed me this time and I was able to hold him myself. Success.
We learned before we went to Florida, Sam’s MRI did show some heterotopias spots, and they might or might not be related to his seizures. The bottom line is that there is no big concern for the seizures. Thankfully, he has not had one since November.
His EEG was much more successful than we gave him credit for. Sam’s nurse and I thought there was no way this was happening when we walked in and saw the amount of cords that needed to get glued to his head. Not only did it happen, he did fabulous. We concluded, the tech who did the EEG, did not fully understand the small miracle that took place in the room that day.
That was annoying!
Sam’s other specialties were uneventful. Always a bonus.
I’m excited to announce, we will be going to Cincinnati Children’s in May for Sam’s laryngeal cleft repair!!!!! If you’ve been following, this is three plus years in the making. We’ve had to reschedule twice due to Sam getting sick and having GI (tummy) complications.
Prayers for peace, comfort, easy answers, and a short stay for Sam!
Sam strong!
Faith Over Fear!
Eye Surgery Tomorrow
Sam will have his first eye surgery tomorrow. The hope is this will fix both eyes and he will only need the one surgery. He will also have a scope to look at his esophagus (endoscopy).
The ophthalmologist doing the surgery explained, “Often there are kids who have one lazy eye that needs surgery to be corrected, sometimes there are kids who have two lazy eyes that need surgery to be corrected, and rarely, are there kids who have two lazy eyes and nystagmus that need to be corrected with surgery.” Yep, that sounds like Sam.
As always, pray for his doctors, nurses, anesthesia team, and anyone else involved. Pray for a smooth and quick recovery for Sam. Pray for a successful eye surgery and answers to our seemingly never ending digestive issue questions. Pray peace for our hearts.
Sam Strong!
Procedures
Overall, Sam’s procedures went well. When we checked in, there was gal training, the receptionist told her, ”Sam is a frequent flyer here.” He put on the charm for the gal training and she was, of course, taken, ”That smile,” she said. "He just made my day." Yeah, he does that.
The PTSD unfortunately kicked in way before we saw the purple pj’s. As soon as we walked through the second set of automatic double doors, he knew exactly where we were. Poor buddy, became instantly stressed, but made sure he brought on the charm for a few minutes to show off how, he knew without being told, to step on the scale and then pointed to the place on the wall where he would get measured. He bounced off the scale and stood under the wall chart to be measured. Many familiar faces said, ”Hi Sam!” in the process.
The purple pj’s came into play now. The stress level was pretty high at this point. So thankful for the nurse who thought of and agreed to wait for the Versed to kick in until we put on the dreaded purple pj’s. Later, the anesthesiologist said, ”Just leave him in his diaper!” That’s exactly what we did, even after the Versed kicked in.
“I know what’s about to happen to me and I don’t like it.”
Oh boy do I love and hate Versed all in one. It takes Sam’s stress away almost instantaneously, but also makes him really loopy, which can be a little creepy to watch your baby experience.
The MRI results we don’t know yet and the ENT portion went well. Sam’s ENT is a bit new to us. He was very excited to look inside Sam’s airway as he hasn’t yet seen it. He confirmed Sam has a Type II Laryngeal Cleft. Shoot, it's still there. Sam’s previous ENT is getting close to retirement and moved to Arizona to help start a new program. Although we were very sad to loose him, the transition has gone very well. His new ENT trained closely, and is on a first name basis with the Sam’s doctors in Cincinnati. Bonus.
We felt like a deer in headlights with the GI portion, but for the most part, we got it all sorted out the next day. Unfortunately, they placed a gj-tube in Sam again, which is a more complicated type of feeding tube then Sam’s had for a while. Sam did not need to be dilated and there weren’t any clear anatomical answers for his GI concerns. We will wait for the biopsy results.
“Glad that’s over.” He didn't even seem to notice how they snuck on the the purple p.j.'s during surgery.
Now let’s hold onto our seatbelts, and pray nothing holds us back from getting on that airplane next week! The planning and preparation for traveling with a kid like Sam is insane, but what a privilege. Thanks to our friend who nominated us in 2019, the MN Vikings, and the Best Christmas Ever, we’re spending Christmas on the beach!
Merry Christmas!
Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas!
Upcoming Procedures
This week Sam will have an endoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, MRI, and ENT will check to see if his trach needs to be upsized (bigger trach tube). I love when we can get lots of docs in on one sedation!
As I mentioned previously, Sam has had some GI (tummy) issues that we are hoping can get figured out, hence the endoscopy and sigmoidoscopy.
The MRI is a precaution for the seizures he's had to rule out anything serious.
Sam has not been put out in over six months!! It’s the longest he’s ever gone in his life, by far!!! Maybe since it’s been so long his PTSD won’t kick in when he sees the purple surgery p.j.’s. Fingers crossed.
Prayers for no PTST with Sam, all the docs involved, some GI answers, nothing serious on the MRI, the anesthesia team, and a smooth, quick recovery so he can get back to this kind of crazy stuff.
Boxes are the best toys.
Sam Strong and Faith Over Fear!
A Solid Two Days
I’m happy to report, Sam’s had two great days in a row! Sam is back to swooning all who enter the room. The rough days were due to ANOTHER infection brewing. Ugh. Darn hospitals. Thankfully, we caught and treated it quickly.
The bleeding is less. Although there is still differing of opinions on where the blood might be coming from, it’s not a huge concern right now. They are watching his hemoglobin levels, which have been overall good. If the blood continues, he will be simultaneously scoped by Pulmonology, ENT, GI, and Surgery, which we can come back for.
They have been able to control his blood pressure, with meds we can go home on, and he has been pooping. Today, for the first time in almost six weeks, he did not have any retching episodes! All good things!
The Care Conference could not have gone any better. It’s a bit emotionally overwhelming to sit in a room with several people who have played a role in saving Sam’s life the past four years. We have a good, solid plan that everyone was able to agree on. The tears were unavoidable as they thanked me for the role we’ve played at home, in caring for Sam. When they say, it takes a village, that might be an understatement when it comes to Sam.
I decided to save the best news for last. Drum roll, please. If Sam “follows the rules”, we’ll be home this weekend without the PICC line! Hallelujah!
Sam Strong!
Faith Over Fear!
Still Here
Again, I wish I could tell you we are on the path to going home.
I wish I could tell you Sam’s feeds went well when we restarted them.
His feeds are stopped again and another plan will be made tomorrow.
Our answer with an easy fix, didn’t turn out so well. The stricture (narrowing) of his esophagus is not the only issue. Sigh. Back to the drawing board.
I can tell you, Sam is otherwise doing really well. As soon as we stopped the feeds, he seemed to feel better quickly.
He’s like a caged animal right now. We do our best to keep him entertained. Thankfully, we can take wagon and stroller rides up and down the halls and we switch out the toys every couple of days. Bottom line, we, need, to, go, home. It’s feels crazy to think we did this for over seven months.
I’ve mentally prepared myself, the PICC line will be coming home. I can still hope it won’t. More than anything, I hope they/we can figure out why he’s not tolerating his feeds.
While I know you are keeping Sam in your prayers, please pray for our other three kids too. Our love for them is no different than our love for Sam.
Faith Over Fear!
Sam Strong!
No Clear Answers, But...
...we have a good plan in place. Here is an extremely summarized version of the latest.
They didn’t find anything on the endoscopy. Based off Sam’s symptoms, and stopping and starting his feeds, they have narrowed down the problem to his feeds. I’ll spare you all of the medical jargon and Sam’s anatomy talk.
They will rest his bowels for the next day or so and very slowly introduce feeds. If the feeds go south again, they will do another endoscopy through his j-tube (feeding tube).
Otherwise, it may be Sam’s little gut needs more time, which means, we would be able to go home, but with a PICC line to make up for lost nutrition. Sigh. Okay, time for that good olé self talk.
The PICC line would only be temporary and we would be able to go home, where both Sam and I need to be.
On a good note, Sam had an overall good day. His strength and determination never ceases to amaze me.
Faith Over Fear!
Sam Strong!
Another Test
Today at 2:00, Sam will go down to surgery to have another test. They will do an endoscopy with contrast into his esophagus and GJ-tube (feeding tube). They are basically taking moving pictures of where things are going when he is being fed. They are mainly checking for an obstruction.
Here’s the thing, we don’t want them to find anything, but if they do and it’s an easy fix, that would be the best case scenario. Otherwise, we’re back to square one, the guessing game.
I’m not even sure what to ask you to pray for. For now, pray we can figure out what’s going on and it will be an easy fix.
Faith Over Fear!
Sam Strong!
CT Scan
The Intensivist said, “His (Sam’s) CT scan was reassuring and disappointing, at the same time. Reassuring, because the CT scan didn’t show any emergencies. We were checking to see if his bowels had twisted. Disappointing, because it didn’t tell us what is going on.”
Long story, short, Sam started throwing up earlier and didn’t stop. It became more violent and frequent as time went on.
They have him sedated again and he will stay off his feeds for tonight. Surgery will put their heads together in the morning and discuss the next best steps.
This was Sam earlier today when things were going well. He’s wasn’t quite able to walk yet, but with his determination, it won’t take long.
Trying to walk again.
This will just be a little bump. Please Lord, let this be a tiny bump.
Thank you for your continued encouragement, prayers, and support. It would make this journey a lot harder without it.
Curve Balls...
...are a constant when it comes to Sam.
We are now less than two weeks away from surgery.
He’s been having some rough days off and on. His docs had put him on all the stuff a few days ago as a precautionary until surgery. Usually the stuff kicks in fast.
Tonight got tough.
After a phone call, his pulmonologist wanted us to bring him in. No, he’s fine. He’s been much more sick than this and we’ve kept him home. “Do you think he needs a dilation?”, she asked. “Yeah, that’s what I’m starting to think.”, I responded. She ends our conversation with, “I’m sorry.”
She knows. She knows what Sam’s been through. She knows what we’ve been through. She’s knows it better than most. She knows it’s not easy to pack him up and bring him in. She knows he’s likely okay to stay home.
She’s right though. She also knows if he’s inpatient, it will be A LOT easier and faster to get him into the operating room.
She knows his surgery got canceled a few weeks ago. She knows his surgery is rescheduled in less than two weeks.
She called me back before we left our house. “I talked to Dr. Surgeon and Dr. Gastroenterologist. [They both have names, but I like to be respectful of their privacy.] They said between the two of them, they will get Sam on the OR schedule in the morning.”
We are now sitting in the Emergency Room, waiting for a room upstairs. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. When you are in the hospital, there is so much waiting. Covid makes the wait even longer.
The lV is in without too much effort. Whew. Sam isn’t always the easiest poke. Although if you could hear him cry, they would have probably heard him a few rooms down. It’s sure a lot more heart braking to watch your child scream, but no sound comes out. It’s something you never really get use to.
Maybe I’ll get some sleep tonight. I just need a little.
He’s sleeping now. That’s all that matters.
Now I know I’m not the only one praying for my family and my sweet little boy.
Tomorrow I will have good news for you.
Sam Update
It’s been a while since I’ve shared the latest on Sam. No news is good news, right? Pretty much.
It may also have something to do with distance learning, which kicked my behind. I am very glad school is out for the summer in our house. There may have been more yelling matches and apologies needed than I am proud to admit.
Sam was also able to do distance learning, which was the highlight of our days to watch. His face would light up as soon as the camera started. He thinks it’s pretty great to watch himself, and loved seeing his teacher, paras, and classmates. Our hearts melted every time.
Sam’s teacher, therapists, and paras had an end of the year virtual graduation for each child individually. His teacher dropped off a package about a week prior and had asked us to wait to open it until the graduation. Everyone talked about all the things they loved about Sam, he opened his gift and it ended with a video of pictures of Sam throughout the school year. The tears were literally streaming down my face.
This kid who isn’t suppose to be here...absolutely thriving.
Besides a few bumps, Sam has been very healthy and continues to put smiles on everyone’s faces.
As you know, I like to pull the perks in crummy situations. Most of us could agree being stuck at home wasn’t what we would choose, but there was good that came of it for us.
When Sam has just one appointment, it's usually at least a four hour ordeal if not more. We try our best to group some appointments together in one day for less trips overall.
While quarantined, we were able to schedule Sam’s appointments virtually, which has been a huge blessing for us. An hour versus four or more out of your day is much better if you ask me and Sam is a very busy guy when it comes to doctor appointments.
One virtual appointment did lead Sam to needing an ultrasound in the near future. Unfortunately, it’s looking likely there was a complication of the surgery he had last fall, which may lead him to another surgery. Praying against yet another surgery for this guy.
Sam’s ophthalmologist wanted to see him in the clinic before his normal six month check up. Since January, he’s been closing his right eye when he is focusing on something. We thought maybe his nearsightedness had gotten worse. We were wrong. I’m not gonna lie, the thought of Sam having glasses made me a little excited. You can’t tell me, he wouldn’t be adorable. Am I right?!
The reason Sam has been closing his right eye is because his lazy eye has gotten worse. For right now, he has to wear a patch alternating eyes for an hour a day. Sam’s nurse and I practically laughed when we walked out of the clinic. There no way he’s going to tolerate that! Wrong again!
He’s been a rock star at wearing his patch. Coincidentally, his buddy next door has to wear a patch too. This definitely helps! And they couldn't be any cuter.
We are the patch buddies.
Sam was finally able to get a haircut! We are always amazed at how fast his hair grows. I’ve lost track of how many haircuts he’s had. We are thankful we have someone who comes to our house to cut his hair.
I need a haircut.
Yeah, I look pretty cute.
Right now, Sam’s focus are his GI issues, which have always been a work in progress for him. The latest thing we’ve tried has been working successfully for almost a week. We’re praying this stays that way.
Cincinnati...
Obviously with Covid, we had to put the brakes on our trips, which is not such a bad thing. Yes, we want to get rid of Sam’s trach and it holds us back from things, but overall he has a good quality of life so pumping the brakes is okay. More importantly, Sam has been healthy the past few months and we are grateful for that.
We received a phone call about three weeks ago from Cincinnati, they will be calling in June or July to schedule Sam’s next surgery. My guess is our next big trip will be in the fall.
That’s all for now folks!
Thanks for staying Sam Strong even in the midst of all the chaos in our world.
Cincinnati Days #4-6
We are home, exhausted, and we successfully traveled with Sam! I don’t know if I’m quite ready to travel with him for fun, but I’ll get there.
Do you want to hear the good news or bad news first? I’d love to tell you there isn’t any bad news, but then I’d be lying.
Bad news...
On Tuesday, Sam was put under for a chest CT scan. He bounced back quickly from the anesthesia like normal. Later in the day we met with a pulmonologist and a gastroenterologist. The pulmonologist had a few areas of concern from the CT scan. She reassured us, she would look further into her concerns when she was able to see better with a scope the next day. Both doctors asked a lot questions, gathering even more information than they had already received from Sam’s docs at home.
On Wednesday, Sam had a triple scope. Skip this next part of you don’t care what a triple scope is.
The scopes/OR procedure we will do are called a flexible bronchoscopy (bronch), MLB (microlaryngoscopy bronchoscopy) and EGD (esophagograstroduodenoscopy). We often refer to this as triple scopes. The bronch is with pulmonary and the physician uses a small flexible tube with a camera on the end to examine the upper airway, with a primary focus on the lungs. The MLB is with ENT using a small rigid instrument with a camera on the end to examine the upper airway to the level of the carina (which is where the lungs branch of left and right). The EGD is GI’s scope where they use a small tube with a camera on the end to examine the esophagus (throat), into the stomach, and the top part of the small intestine called the duodenum.
Anesthesia is no big deal for me.
Sam had a harder recovery, but was put under the day before and had a lot more done with the scopes. They also dilated two parts of his esophagus. He bounced back by the end of the day.
My mom’s glasses are much cuter on me. Oh, and I had a minor surgery today.
After the scopes and dilations were done, the ENT, pulmonologist, and gastroenterologist came out to give us A LOT of information. Some old news and some new. We didn’t get the hopeful news we were expecting, and we learned things about Sam we had never known before. I wish I could say the new stuff was good, but it wasn’t.
We know Sam’s trach is not coming out anytime soon and we will be making several more trips to Cincinnati.
When we left the hospital on Monday, we left thinking Sam’s trach would never come out. It’s not the end of the world, but it is a bummer when that was our expectation.
Good news...
On Wednesday, after Sam’s scopes, the same doctor from Monday gave us a little more hope. I kept asking him if there was a chance the trach could come out someday. He gave the same gentle response each time, “We have a lot of work to do before we get there.”
We prayed for answers and I would say we certainly got many.
We were definitely at the right place. Sam’s perfect imperfections are their specialty, no doubt.
Is this hard? Yes, but there are tougher things in life. At the end of the day, we have a little boy who is well worth it all. Through it all, he continues to amaze us, and everyone around him, with his strength, courage, and so much more.
The team of doctors will meet this week to discuss a plan for Sam based on his history and their own findings. We will wait patiently to see what the next steps will be.