Toronto Day 8

In the words of our surgeon "and the plot thickens"...

Based on the results of yesterday's barium study, surgery on Friday will be a bit different than originally planned. The ear tubes will still go in, an upper and lower GI scope will be done and biopsies taken. But Noah's stoma cannot be closed right now as planned. Noah's barium showed that he has a blockage of some sort between his stomach and his duodenum. No barium from Noah's stomach ever made it out of the stomach during the test. Our surgeon isn't quite sure what is going on there. The Coles notes version is that he's thinking perhaps a combination of previous surgeries and this latest prolapse has closed off his pyloris. This could explain his increasing retchiness and his inability to tolerate much time off his NG suction. But since there is no way to know what exactly is happening or what will be required to fix it, the surgery on Friday will be exploratory. Our surgeon will figure out the lay of the land in there, leave the stoma open so as not to obstruct Noah's stomach completely, then wait for biopsy results to decide the best course of action. The barium also showed that Noah's large intestines are mostly on his left side. They take some strange turns...so his anatomy is a bit different, but it shouldn't be affecting his ability to tolerate feeds.

This was all explained in great detail to me today, with elaborate diagrams. Each day Dr Wales has come to see us, sat down with us and spent a great deal of time talking and answering questions about everything that is going on. Have I mentioned how very impressed I am with him and his team? How nice it is to feel that our concerns are validated and our thoughts are important? To feel like they are looking out for our whole family, not just Noah? It is really a welcome change. So, yes, we are glad that we have come and feel confident that if there are answers to be found, they will find them.

Not much happened today. The second tube they put in Noah's jejunum yesterday came out overnight, (no surprise there, as nothing was holding it in), so there are some tests they are unable to do right now. ENT, Genetics, Metabolics and Anesthesia have all been consulted. However, we didn't see any of them today, so hopefully tomorrow we will meet some of them.

Mostly we are in a holding pattern...putting in time...waiting for Friday. Noah has been busy cleaning all the hallway floors with his little toushe (no, you don't want to know how dirty these hospital floors really are!), and showing off his cuteness to everyone. He is already developing a special relationship with the housekeeper who brings in her mop for his daily entertainment (he's always had a thing for them). While I am bored silly, Noah is perfectly content here...basking in the constant attention.