Obstruction or No Obstructon...

That is the question...

Malakai wasn't allowed to drink anything past 10:45 am this morning and we were to be at the hospital at 12:45, procedure was supposed to be at 1:45. We got into our room around 1:00 and were seen by the nurse, anestisologist and then the GI doc came in. We'd never met her (or if we had, I don't remember) and she was the one supposed to do his scopes. Josh asked her if she knew why she was performing the procedure and we could tell immediately that she wasn't sure. Bottom line, she wasn't aware that he was on aspirin, and being on aspirin makes you at higher risk for bleeding. So we waited until she spoke with his doctor and another GI doc. We were given the decision, go ahead with the scope and know that he is at a higher risk to bleed, or wait until tomorrow...which would mean admitting him overnight and doing the scopes tomorrow. I didn't want to wait. He'd already been without food and being in the hospital RUINS him! So we decided, along with the doc, to go ahead.

He had fallen asleep on me at this time, it was 2:45. So I took him straight into the procedure room and was able to be with him until he was asleep. He was given gas through a breathing mask so he would be out before they put in his IV. We were told it would be about 1 1/2 hours and were given a pager. We went to the cafeteria for lunch and within an hour we were being paged over the overhead speakers. We went to the APC where his procedure was done and told them we were being paged. He had already come out and we were met by a doctor whom we'd never met. He told us that Dr. Weymann wanted to speak with us to "let us know what the next step was" My heart sank. I thought for sure something was wrong, 1.) because he was only back less than an hour. I thought maybe they found something definitive and stopped because of that 2.) they were paging our doc to come talk to us.

The doc came in and said his upper scope went well. The tissue in his esophagus looked good and that his stomach was a little red which can be nothing, but can also mean inflamation. The lower scope was a little more difficult. She said she was able to go in 70 cm and then the scope wouldn't go any further. I thought this meant blockage. So he was sent to Radiology and given an enema barium test. Basically they inserted a tube into his bottom and shot barium fluid into his rectum to watch how the fluid passed through his body. Thank God, this went well. It was TERRIBLE to watch him lay there helpless. He'd just come out of anestetic and now he was being forced to lay in different positions with a tube up his heiny. Poor little guy.

After speaking with the doc, we decided to stay in St Louis one more night. It was already 5:30 pm and we figured it was in his best interest to stick around. They want us to call in the morning to check on him before we leave for home.

He's sleeping and doing well. He wasn't as excited to eat as I expected. He ate a little bit of mashed potatoes and chicken, and a little banana babyfood. He's basically wanted to drink his apple juice. I'm trying to wean him from breastfeeding and right now he's doing well. I hope tomorrow is as successful as today :)

I can't wait to get home and give Makena a big squeeze. I miss her so much while I'm gone. We Skyped the other night and it was really good to see her. She loves her Nana and Papa, but I know she misses us too. She doesn't quite understand why we are all in St. Louis at the hospital and she's not here. She thinks the hospital and St. Louis are fun, thankfully it's a happy place for her :) but sad that she wants to be here and can't. I know it will change as she gets older, I just hope we're not here very often!

Thanks again for praying for us!!!