Memorial Day and the Memorable Day

Samuel's Memorial Day weekend was fairly uneventful...we went for a walk in the park on Saturday and on Sunday we traveled to Greenwood, AR to have lunch with my family.  He had his first experience in a swimming pool at Grammie and Pop-Up's house.

I'm so glad we had an uneventful and relaxing weekend because our appointment at Children's on Tuesday was enough excitement for a year!  We arrived at 8:00am for Samuel's Upper GI.  The purpose of the test was to see if Samuel had a stricture (or narrowing) in his intestine where it perforated a few days after he was born.  After about half an hour of waiting, they strapped Samuel in, and got started. The poor kid.  He cried, and cried, and cried.  Thank goodness his Grammie was there with us...she is so great at providing distractions (ie, hand puppets with noises....haha.) 

Once he was strapped in, the nurse crammed the bottle of barium into his mouth.  I guess I should have thought the whole thing through a little more before we went in.  I should have insisted on feeding it to him myself (especially considering his past issues with the bottle.)  They had to feed him while he was flat on his back...which was also a concern for me.  I continually worry about reflux and aspiration so the idea of him choking or spitting up the barium while strapped down was in the forefront of my mind.

After the initial camera view, Samuel had to have an x-ray every 30 minutes to check on the progress of the barium as it made its way through his digestive tract.  He became so agitated that every time a nurse or doctor came near him, he cried hysterically.  What a nightmare.

Riding in a hospital wagon.



Six x-rays later, they decided to put him under the camera again (like they did the first time.)  The doctor told us that it looked as if Samuel's appendix was on the wrong side of his body.  She said that it could potentially be malrotation which would require a major surgery to correct.  We were told to go to our other appointments and to come back later in the day for another look.

We squeezed in an appointment with ENT and Medical Home Clinic.  ENT suggested that they see Samuel back in a year since his voice has improved and his laryngomalacia is gone.  We didn't really learn anything from Medical Home Clinic since we were there for such a short amount of time.  It seemed like they were fairly pleased with his progress and his weight.  The doctor said that Samuel will have a developmental test when we go back for our next appointment in September.  I'll be interested to see the numbers.  While we were there, they showed me that Samuel has his 'parachute reflex' which appears just before babies begin walking (YAY!  Maybe he will walk soon!)

The camera view.

 Around 4:00pm we made our way back to the radiology department.  By this point, I was sick with worry.  I had texted a bunch of people and had posted on FB asking for prayers that the next look would turn out better.  We walked in and had another x-ray.  About 20 minutes later, Samuel was back under the camera again and we all breathed a big sigh of relief when the radiologist said that she had misread it the first time (because the barium hadn't made it through all of  the loops of his bowel.)  No malrotation.  No stricture.  Everything was good. 

I have to tell you...I kept thinking that there was no way this was going to turn out ok.  So when the radiologist gave us the good news, it felt like a miracle (and I don't use that word lightly with all of that we've been through.)  I truly appreciate your prayers. 

I never, ever, ever take Samuel for granted.  I never take for granted that he can do all of the things he does (from something as minor as pooping to something as grand as crawling.)  I am so proud of him.  However, there is NOTHING like nearly having something taken away from you to make you appreciate it more.  Things had become so 'everyday' that I had forgotten what it feels like to look at him and love every single thing about him....his little fat rolls, his pink cheeks, the way he looks at the world with open-mouth wonder.  When they told me that he might need surgery (even though it was highly unlikely that anything devastating would happen), I had that same feeling I had when we were in the NICU....that feeling like I would literally die to do anything for him, to have more time with him, to take away any pain.

I am not glad that we had to live through such a stressful and traumatic day.  I am glad that I was reminded to appreciate every 'ordinary' day I get with Samuel....they are such a gift from God.

Sounds cheesy...but it's so true.