When Bad goes to worse

It has been a day.

i am not even sure where to begin with the update so i’ll just give a quick status update and then do my written processing after that…

• Kendall’s tube is still not back in. The ER doc tried for over an hour to force incrementally larger tubes through the quickly closing stoma, and after a very LONG hour, with blood pouring out of the wound and a very worn out screaming baby, she finally gave up and left one size down from kendall’s button tube in place. She cannot eat through this tube, and has in fact been taken completely off formula for the short term.  If I thought holding her down for a shot or a lab draw or an IV was bad – holding her down to have her organs re-pierced by far exceeds them all.
• According the ER doc, the chest x-ray and blood gases were “normal”. I’ll believe that when i see the reports in my own hand because clearly, i do not have a healthy “normal” child laying here in the hospital bed now do i? Thank God for Dr. Aljadeff who quickly corrected the ER doc and told her that if kendall was not 100% unequivocally healthy she was getting admitted. That man continues to be Kendall’s angel.
• Once the ER doc knew kendall was coming upstairs, she pretty much stopped all care. This is when kendall went downhill. No IV’s were placed, no fluids had been given. i finally out of desperation to get SOMETHING into her made 2 ounces of formula and tried to slowly drip it into the tube that is in her stomach. This started the vomiting episodes that are continuing even now. And by vomiting, I mean yes she is actually vomiting up fluids/bile, past the fundo, and on top of anti-nausea meds.
• By the time we got upstairs to the peds floor (aka our “home away from home”), kendall was a rag doll. Her eyes roll back into her head and she essentially passes out after every time she retches.  It took almost an hour to get an IV in, and another hour past that to get the correct IV fluids sent up from pharmacy. (I swear to you the pharmacy at this hospital must be staffed by lillputians or something because it takes forever and a DAY to get meds sent up in the little pneumatic tubes. You better know five days ago what meds your kid might need and put in a pre-order for them because goodness knows by the time they make it here your child may be dead OR all better on their own! who knows!?!?!) Anyways – ok random vent over.
• So that’s where we are at tonite.
• Her breathing on the monitors seems stable – except when she is choking on her vomit and turns blue.  This only happens about 7 times in an hour though so, you know, its all good.
• We desperately need some pee though! Right now her GI tract seems to have shut down, and it appears that her kidneys are following suit. In about 40 minutes they are going to try to “bolus” fluids into her IV, which will either wake her system up and get it started again, or it will make things worse. If she could pee on her own BEFORE this, it will be more likely to help. If not – well, they aren’t telling me a whole lot about if not.
• Her little body is very tired, very worn out.
• Please pray for wisdom for the doctors, for answers and guidance as to how to treat whatever it is we are dealing with.
• Thank you to everyone who has stepped up to take kids, feed dogs and ensure that church will still run smoothly tomorrow without me.
• hopefully the morning brings better news.

 

terra