Curveball

Life threw us a major curveball over the last couple of days! When we left for the hospital on Wednesday morning for the barium swallow, we had no idea that Ryan would be having surgery later that afternoon. It was such a crazy day with all kinds of twists and turns. In the end everything worked out for the very best, but I must admit that it was a very stressful 24-48 hours. Here's how it unfolded....
Wednesday morning we took Ry in for his barium swallow. He drank down the barium and they x-rayed his stomach to see what was going on. The radiologist confirmed that there was acid reflux, and said that Ryan's pyloris, the valve that connects his stomach with his small intestine, seemed quite narrow. Our pediatrician had told us that pyloric stenosis was a possible diagnosis for Ryan's condition at our last appointment, but thought it wasn't all that likely. Pyloric stenosis is when that valve is too narrow for food to pass from the stomach to the small intestine. Since it can't really be digested, food stays in the stomach and eventually gets regurgitated.
Based on what the radiologist said, Dr. Murphy ordered an ultrasound and sent us to a different hospital that would be able to do it (apparently the hospital we were at couldn't). As a sidenote, Ryan threw up twice after his xray....lots of chalky barium everywhere! We were so desperate for a diagnosis! We wanted our boy to be well!
So we go to the ultrasound, and the doctors discover that Ryan's pyloris is on the threshold for what would be considered pyloric stenosis. Dr. Murphy sends us to a third hospital to meet with Dr. Liu, the pediatric GI specialist in the area, for a consultation. Keith and I are feeling extremely stressed, but also hopeful for a diagnosis and plan to get Ryan better. What we know at this point is that pyloric stenosis is somewhat common, curable by laparoscopic surgery that is usually performed within days of diagnosis, starts to appear at about 3 weeks of age, and most likely to occur in caucasion firstborn males. We also know that Ryan has almost all of the symptoms.
When we get to Edward hospital, they admitted us right away and got Ryan on an iv (one of the saddest things I have ever seen...my 4 week old son getting an iv). Dr. Liu met with us and told us he recommended surgery that afternoon. He told us that the surgery takes less than an hour, that he would go in with a scope through Ry's belly button and cut the pyloris to allow food to pass through. And that he would be eating within hours! While we were worried about our month old boy having surgery and going under anesthesia, we so badly wanted him to be able to eat!
Ryan had surgery Wednesday night and it was very successful. He is eating again and we are so relieved! We spent the night at the hospital Wednesday and he was discharged Thursday evening. What a brave little trooper he is! It was so hard for us to see him in pain, attached to his iv and recovering from surgery. We are now home and Ry is doing great. He is eating really well, has a great appetite, doesn't appear to be in much if any pain, and most importantly, keeping his food down! He does, however, fuss whenever he is put down...I think he has already learned that Mommy and Daddy are suckers! So we are holding and loving him like crazy.
The biggest piece of advice that Keith and I got before Ryan was born was to trust our instincts. We knew there was something wrong with him even though everyone, with the best of intentions, told us not to worry and that spitting up was normal for babies. We are first time parents and hardly experts, but we just knew that Ryan's symptoms were not normal. So we will continue to try to listen to that inner voice, even though it may not always point us in the right direction and may sometimes make us look like the most paranoid parents ever.
In addition, we are so thankful that Ryan's condition wasn't chronic or life threatening. Yes, surgery (especially on a month old baby) is major, but thankfully there was a cure and we can now move on. I absolutely love our pediatrician, Dr. Patricia Murphy, for taking action and getting us answers so quickly.
Thank you everyone for all of your support and concern for our boy! We are looking forward to getting back to "normal", whatever that is!