Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Scheduling Surgery

 The next day the doctor came to talk about the results of his swallow study.


She said Bradley needed to be given the consistency of honey
if he was going to have any more food orally.
Honey consistency through a nipple is really hard to get through.
 Even a cross cut nipple.
It's like drinking a frosty through a straw.
It's 1 tablespoon CRUSHED rice cereal to 1 ounce of formula.
TRY IT AT HOME.
It's like pudding.

She said liquids leak into his lungs when he swallows and
  it was NOT from an anatomical cause.
It's not like his throat is not working. All his parts are good.
She said it is something neurological that is causing milk to go to his lungs when he swallows.

This took me back...HIS BRAIN? THE PROBLEM IS IN HIS BRAIN!?!



But he was so beautiful and he looked so normal!


The Doctor said he would need a surgery to place a feeding tube directly into his
tummy because he HAS to get milk, he's an infant!
Infants need milk in their tummy's often, and he would tire quickly and stop eating if all of his bottles were like drinking frostys through straws :)

She also talked about tightening his stomach around his esophagus because of reflux
...and I didn't really understand what that meant.

That afternoon I was napping and I suddenly woke up.
I remembered the swallow study.
The reflux that reached his lungs and spilled over into them.
They were sending milk down his gavage tube and
 HE WOULD BE REFLUXING IT SIX MINUTES LATER INTO HIS LUNGS!

I realized he needed this surgery SOON!
Just as I had that thought the doctor called from the hospital.
She was thinking the same thing.
I had been inspired.
I told her to schedule surgery for as soon as they could.
It was Friday afternoon and she said the soonest would be Monday.

And when I got off the phone I remembered that
Monday was the first day of school for my two oldest.

We were going to have a very busy day!