2:30pm
Never in my wildest dreams did I think we'd be dealing with this again.
Skylar has another obstruction which is probably scar tissue that's built up & she's in surgery #3 right now in Salt Lake City, UT.
Here's how its come about:
Skylar was admitted to the hospital for dehydration last night at 6pm after throwing up continuously for 48 hours.
We started driving to UT for Ty's family reunion on Sunday & about 8 hrs into the trip, Skylar threw up. Then she threw up after every feeding plus some & after doing that for a day and a half, it was apparent to me that there was a problem. We made it to UT really early on Tuesday morning (like 3am). I didn't know if it was the flu or something more serious. I called the surgeon's office later that morning after we woke up because she continued to throw up. They said to try giving her small amounts of Pedialyte (which we had already bought the night before because we had been thinking the same thing). We tried that & she did fine for the first 2 feedings but right during the 3rd feeding, she threw up a lot. The equivalent of all 3 feedings plus some. Thinking about that now, the liquid was obviously not going down like it should or she wouldn't have thrown up so much during that 3rd feeding. (She threw up more than we gave her during that feeding which means fluid was still there from previous feedings).
The surgeon had said if she didn't handle the pedialyte then we should take her to the ER & he also said we should go to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake because there was a pediatric surgeon there who he trained. So we called that Dr's office & actually made an appt so that we could avoid the ER. He had recommended Dr. Barnhart but he was in surgeries so we didn't see him.
Dr. Downey took a look at her for a minute & said she was dry. I was fully prepared that she was going to need IV fluids because she had not been able to keep anything down. He said she needed to be admitted so she could have IV fluids & that they would do an upper GI xray to see what was going on.
After she was admitted & we were in her room, she kept throwing up bright green stomach bile. The nurse pretty much said that was a sign of a blockage because bile should go down, not up. From her saying that & from me realizing that she threw up more than what we fed her during that 3rd feeding, I pretty much came to the conclusion myself that she probably did have a blockage of scar tissue & that she was going to need surgery again. I wasn't trying to be negative...just realistic.
Its interesting the different emotions you feel in a short period of time when you go through something like this. As soon as the Dr said she needed to be admitted, I started to cry even though I already knew she needed an IV. Then I felt devastated & heart broken and I didn't know how I was going to be able to handle another surgery. I told Tyson that & I told him I couldn't do it. Then later it turned to acceptance & it didn't feel so hard. Mix a little fear in there off & on and that's kind of how yesterday was.
Today & right now I've been ok. I feel like everything will be OK. I don't feel scared & its weird how after it all sinks in & its not so shocking, it seems like with each surgery, it gets easier. Obviously its still hard but it is what it is. Its out of my control. Yesterday when we were driving back to Chuck & Amy's and after leaving Skylar at the hospital, I realized that it was out of my control & I said a prayer & I put it in HF's hands. I told him that I was putting it in his hands.
I love the support & comments I receive on FB. They are comforting. And if we have to be 1200 miles from home when this happens, this is a pretty good place to be. We have so much family around & a lot of support.
A friend posted on FB that she got the chills when she saw my post about Skylar needing surgery again & she had the thought occur to her that we were here for a reason & maybe there was something here that the Drs could do for her that they couldn't do at the other hospital.
I had not thought about that. I have been thinking that the timing sure is interesting for it to have worked out like this so I think she is exactly right. She's at a children's hospital & everyone keeps saying its the best. I have thought about how it was strange & a "coincidence" that all this happened right when we went on our trip but I don't believe in "coincidences" so I totally think she is right. And if I have to be away from home when something like this happens, this is one of two places I would want to be. I feel like everything will be ok.
I love the way the spirit works because that kind of answers my curiosity about the timing of all of this. She just so happened to start throwing up when we're doing something totally out of the ordinary & going on a road trip? RANDOM!
So today we had been planning on going to lunch with Talana, Kate, Alexia, & Nikki & as guilty as I feel when I'm not with the baby in the hospital, I really wanted to see those girls & go to lunch. So we did. Then we went to drop Blakeley off at Mark & Michelle's. I had called to check on Skylar this morning & she had just been taken to get the upper GI xray. It didn't sound like they would have the results until the afternoon.
While we were dropping off Blakeley, Tyson got a phone call & it was the results of the upper GI xray. They confirmed that there was a blockage- probably scar tissue or adhesive(?) & they said they were taking her to surgery right then & wanted to get our consent over the phone! So we gave them the OK.
I feel bad & guilty that we didn't see her before she went to surgery. But I wouldn't have thought she would have had surgery today. Feeling guilty is not going to benefit me or do any good though so I need to just let that go. We're in the waiting room now waiting for her to get out of surgery. I can't believe my poor baby is having surgery AGAIN! So it looks like I'll be in UT longer than I expected. And I'm OK with it.
I asked my friend Stacy Whitley on FB what she learned during her experience where her son was sick. She had been told that he might have leukemia. Here is her answer.
The most important things I learned from my experience were as follows:
1) I am not in control of lifes journey but I am in control of the following: how I react to it, what I choose to do with it, and how much I learn from it.
2) I am always capable of more then I give my self credit for in each moment that fear seems to dominate me
3) There is no replacement in life for family and true friends.
Pretty amazing & so true. I can learn a lot from other people.
Something I've been thinking of today is that what we're going through is an example that we as human beings can overcome hard things.
This morning I was trying to think of an upbeat, positive song that I could sing. So I sang this Bob Marley song:
"Don't worry...about a thing. Cuz every little thing is gonna be alright. Singin' don't worry...about a thing. Cuz every little thing is gonna be alright...Woke up this morning...smiled at the rising sun...Three little birds...outside my doorstep. Singing sweet songs...na na na na na na...singin, this is my message to you-ou-ou."
11pm
OK so here is an update on how the surgery went today...
It turns out that Skylar had another obstruction further down in the small intestine. It was totally unrelated to the previous surgeries which boggles my mind. When they said she probably had scar tissue built up, I thought it would be scar tissue that formed in the area where they did the previous surgery. But the surgeon said that anytime you open up the abdomen, even if you don't touch it, there is a risk that adhesions (scar tissue) will form randomly within the stomach & intestines. That's what happened! That's scary because he said there's no rhyme or reason to it & it's just bad luck. So it could potentially happen again but I'm not even going to go there. But if she throws up in the future, it's really going to scare me & I'm going to have to watch & wait to see if it turns into something serious like this time. Not very fun.
But the surgery went well. She was asleep after the surgery & we won't hold her until tomorrow. My poor baby! I can't believe she had to have surgery again. She's only 3 1/2 months old & this was her 3rd surgery. I can't wait to cuddle the crap out of her. I'm just grateful she is doing well. So I'll be in Utah longer than expected. (Probably 2-3 weeks).
On a happy note, I saw some really good friends today! These are my Young Women who are now 20-22 & a couple of them are married. They all live in UT so we had planned on getting together to go to lunch a couple weeks ago. It was so good to see them!
Nikki, Ryleigh, Parker, Kate, Alexia, Talana. Love them!
