Monthly Archives: November 2015

A Potential Answer

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Theo came home tonight! And we have a potential answer. He did a barium swallow study today, and the speech pathologist noticed that he was close to having his drink go down the wrong pipe. Apparently some kids, particularly those who have had laryngomalacia, can have trouble with accidentally sending their food/drink down the wrong pipe. If he did have food/drink go down the wrong pipe, that could’ve caused a throat infection, which could be what he’s experiencing now. The only problems with this theory are that (1) the throat culture did not grow bacteria and (2) our doctor came in at the end of the day to say that he thinks that the swallow study was influenced by the fact that he just had surgery and, therefore, we can’t rely on this conclusion.

But guess what…a bunch of really scary tests came back negative. Also, the cardiologist did an echo and confirmed that he *does* have a heart murmur (which didn’t show up until now because apparently some heart murmurs show up in toddlerhood!!), but she said it was common and nothing to worry about.

So now that we’ve ruled out a bunch of scary stuff, I’m finally breathing a sigh of relief. The swallow study may not have been accurate, and this may not be the *exact* diagnosis. We’ll have to work with the pulmonologist going forward to get to the bottom of this. But for now, I feel much better that we’ve been able to rule things out, and I’m SO very happy to have him home!

Thank you for thinking of us!!! ❤ It’s been quite an ordeal…

Theo Found the Playroom

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Today, we moved to a new floor in the hospital, and Theo was super happy to find the playroom! He’s been tied up to wires, but today he finally broke free for a bit and RAN and RAN.

We still have more questions than answers. He’s had a lot of bloodwork and other tests as well. They’re testing for everything under the sun. One of the doctors thought he heard an issue with his heart today, so they’re even bringing in cardiology tomorrow. Hopefully that’s just an extra precaution, considering our history.

There is still a lot of mystery surrounding his condition, and he continues to have excessive mucus in his throat and lots of drool. The good news is that the tests are being done, and they’re trying to leave no stone unturned.

If they do find something, I hope it has something to do with magical powers…… 🙂

Thanks for your well wishes!!

Theo Update

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Hi Everyone:

Just a super quick update because I know we have many sweet people who are thinking about us (thank you!!!!). The surgery went ok. The doctor found the laryngomalacia that we suspected and snipped a teeny bit (no big deal). Other than that, he found a ton of fluid in Theo’s throat and lungs. He sent the culture in, and we’ll get those results in 3-5 days.

We were in the recovery room, and Theo was pretty miserable (of course), but we felt like he was doing pretty well (all things considered). I offered him an ice pop because he was refusing to drink, and it fell on the floor, so he started crying. But as he started crying, all that mucus got stuck in his throat, and he couldn’t get behind it. He kept trying to breathe again, and it wasn’t happening. I started cajoling him to breathe again, and then he turned blue, and I screamed, “HE’S TURNING BLUE!”

Luckily, a bunch of nurses came running over. One gave Theo mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, and then they pumped some oxygen into his lungs, and he started breathing again. It was a big scene and, of course, reminded us of when Emmy went into cardiac arrest in the recovery room. (Why does this keep happening???)

He was then transferred to the PICU, and then there was a lot of talk of getting a pulmonologist in because Theo seems to have issues with not only his throat but his lungs as well. Just an excess of mucus all around. So now we’re undergoing some tests and trying (yet again) to get to the bottom of this issue. Theo is stable but still miserable, and the fluid is so loud. You can hear it when he breathes. Poor little guy.

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers!! I’ll keep you posted!! ❤

Tomorrow is the Day

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Thank you, everyone, for your sweet words and wishes. I can’t believe that we’re on the Eve of another potential surgery. I say “potential” because we’re scheduled for a bronchoscopy, which is more of a look-see. But if the doctor sees something minor that he can fix, he’ll do it. The doctor won’t know what he’s dealing with until he performs the procedure, so we’re kind of on pins and needles in that respect.

As such, it’s being treated as a surgery. The document I have in front of me with the details for tomorrow reads across the top: “SURGERY 11/10/15.” The sheet also tells me that Theo can’t eat or drink past midnight. We have to be at the hospital at 8:00 am, and the procedure is scheduled to begin at 9:30 am.

In the photo above, I put that shirt on Theo 5 minutes before I snapped the picture. Can you see how his shirt is covered in drool? Also, you may be able to see the excessive saliva in his mouth. This is more than just teething or other typical baby stuff.

I’m incredibly depressed about the procedure tomorrow, but I’m also thankful that we may finally get to the bottom of this. I’ve been so worried about him. Lately, he’s been waking during the night, coughing on the mucus in his throat.

I’ve been going through the whole “It’s not fair!” cycle, and I’m trying to get out of my own head and just accept it. I stood in front of my bookshelf for a while (I love books and probably have way too many…), trying to find something to read that would pull me out of myself. I found Byron Katie’s Loving What Is and got into bed, prepared to read. What fell out of the book was a printed list of high-risk obstetricians from our insurance company. My husband had written some notes at the top because he was the one who printed the list for me…when I was newly pregnant with Theo. The pregnancy was high-risk because I had a uterus with a “thin window,” as they say, and I needed to be monitored. I guess I turned towards this book when I was worried about my pregnancy.

And now that we made it through that stressful pregnancy, we have a sweet little guy with an adorable laugh. Truly, his laugh is awesome. More of a chuckle, really.

So here’s what Byron Katie says in her book: “If you want reality to be different than it is, you might as well try to teach a cat to bark. You can try and try, and in the end the cat will look up at you and say, ‘Meow.’ Wanting reality to be different than it is is hopeless. You can spend the rest of your life trying to teach a cat to bark.”

I want reality to be different. I don’t want Theo to have this problem or ANY problem. I want many things that aren’t part of reality. And the realization that I have no control over reality is PAINFUL. It actually hurts to sit in certain feelings that belong purely to reality and are not up for manipulation or debate. But I guess I have to accept that I’m not going to teach a cat to bark (although I’m sure I could find something on YouTube…).

Thank you so much for thinking of us. I really appreciate it. And I’ll keep you posted when we know more.  ❤

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