Mental Junk

We're home

I will be heading downtown first thing tomorrow morning to pick him and
Michelle up.

Rob.

They are talking about releasing Nate from the hospital either today or
tomorrow.

Awesome!

Yesterday Nate had his NG tube removed (tube into his stomach through his nose
to drain his stomach) and all IV's.  He is now eating (drinking ?) breast milk
and since his 7am feeding yesterday hasn't thrown up.  They are slowly
increasing the amount that he can eat at each meal and his is able to handle
it.

He is off the heart monitor and morphine – he is only taking Tylenol and
ibuprofen – and both are through his mouth.  The only thing he is connected to
is the catheter – which is expected to be removed later today.

Yesterday afternoon Michelle took him for an hour long stroll through the
hospital to the Library (I believe) and he was chatting up with the nurses and
other staff/patients.  He is feeling a lot better.

He even gave a few giggles for Michelle last night – so we are really happy
about that.

There is no word as to when he can come home – we are still waiting to make
sure everything is doing well.

Will keep you posted.

Rob.

I am heading downtown again.
He is heading back into surgery – probably to get a colostomy bag.
Temp – we hope until he heals.

Nathan's belly has decreased in size but is still distended.
He was sent for X-Rays and it showed free air in the abdomen.  They use carbon
dioxide to inflate the abdomen during surgery, however that was 5 days ago now,
so it is expected to be absorbed by now.  It is possible that he has a leak or
perforation in th bowels.  His white blood count is high indicating an
infection, so he is now being barraged by antibiotics to kill off whatever is
growing.

He is going for an ultrasound sometime today to get a better look at what is
going on inside.  At this time it is just a waiting game – make sure he
doesn't get worse and find the problem.

Rob.

We brought Cameron into Sick Kids to see his younger brother – Nate had just had his first surgery.

Michelle was going to stay the night (and ended up staying until Nate came home) but Cam and I were heading back home afterwards.

After a five and a half hour surgery Nathan is in the recovery ward.

A series of biopsies were performed along the length of his large intestine and the section of
diseased colon was mapped out and removed.  He has had about two thirds of his large intestine
removed as well as his rectum.  A pull through operation was performed connecting the remaining
healthy ascending colon and part of his transverse colon to his anal sphincter.  (this past few
months have been a crash course in human anatomy for us)

The doctor was able to partially reconstruct a rectal 'pocket' that may help him develop some form
of normal continence.  Although all this sounds very serious, what this ultimately means is that he
will have to be mindful of his diet and bowel movements for the rest of his life.  He is to expect
loose stools and more frequent bowel movements, all in all – manageable lifelong considerations.

For the interim we need to be mindful of infection and constipation while he heals.  There are other
possible problems we may face- but we will deal with what we have to as things may develop.  There
is no word regarding when he may come home or when he may start eating normally or anything as yet.  
Those questions can be answered as they come up.  For now he is doing well and enjoying his well
deserved morphine high.

Rob.

Sorry for the late update, just got the chance.
Nathanial's biopsy came back and the results show no nerve cells in the sample.  This means that a
clinical confirmation of Hirshbrung's disease has been made.

The good news is that he is now scheduled for surgery first thing Saturday morning.
Will keep all posted as I can.

Nathan will be getting the biopsy early Monday morning.
The results will take at least 3 days to return and he will stay at Sick Kids until the results are
back.

They are also going to keep him in until all gas and feces are out of his system and he can remain
undistended.

Rob.