The past couple of weeks have been quite a roller coaster. I have a headache just thinking about it. My little Side-Kick started complaining of a tummy ache about 2 weeks ago. At first, I thought he was constipated or something and tried every remedy known to mankind to help him out. It was all a no-go. What started out as a little fussing and complaining quickly escalated into him screaming and thrashing and crying out in pain, with breaks of being completely lethargic in between. And then came the vomiting. Projectile. My favorite.
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| My little hero / Side-Kick, smiling in spite of the pain! |
I knew something wasn't right, so my dad and I took him to the nearest hospital. I really didn't think it was going to be a big deal. I just figured they would tell me he was constipated and had a bug or something. I assumed they would help me get his nausea and vomiting under control, maybe give him a laxative... Something along those lines. You would think that I would stop assuming things when it came to medical stuff. Like, maybe I would have learned my lesson a few months ago when I was in extreme pain and held off going to the hospital as long as possible, convinced I had bad heartburn. Which, as some of you know, turned into me having to have emergency gallbladder surgery. I, of course,
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| Poor guy was so worn out |
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ended up being wrong again. They told me that, on top of being seriously dehydrated (which I expected to hear, as he refused to eat or drink anything for 10+ hours), my Side-Kick had some weird intestinal and bladder issues going on that they didn't know how to explain. They said that they weren't really equipped to help children out in those areas, so they needed to get fluids in him and transport us by ambulance to a local children's hospital. Needless to say, he wasn't thrilled in the least to get an IV. Watching him have to go through that was hard. It took them 3 tries to get the IV in and his reward was looking like a heroin addict with his horribly bruised up arms. But, hey, he also got unlimited apple juice and Angry Birds stickers. So, to him, it wasn't a total loss.
He's absolutely obsessed with cars and trucks. Once the pain medicine kicked in, he was back to being his
usual talkative self. Although, you could tell he didn't feel good. He was very excited to be in the ambulance and talked the paramedic's ear off the whole way to the children's hospital... Which was hilarious because you could tell the guy had, like, ZERO experience with kids. Eventually, we spoke with the doctor who told us that my Side-Kick had some kind of reflux in his urethra, causing old pee to come back up into his bladder after he was finished going to the bathroom, creating more problems. I can't remember the medical term for this, as I seem to have misplaced the hospital paperwork. Not that it matters anymore. But, I'll get into that in
a second. My ex and I were told before he was ever born that he was most likely going to have that problem and would eventually need surgery. When he was a couple of days old, we took him to see a specialist who claimed to not see what the other doctors had been talking about. Fast-Forward from 4 years ago to 2 1/2 weeks ago and me sitting there in the children's hospital wondering what that quack specialist had missed. We were referred to another specialist at the children's clinic across the street and were to go in the next day for testing. We were FINALLY released from the hospital and able to go home, after being up for over 30 hours.
Once we got to the clinic, the specialist said that he actually agreed with the original specialist from 4 years ago. He explained that, upon reviewing the scans and results from both of the hospitals the day before, it didn't look like a reflux to him, and instead looked like a blockage in his left ureter. He asked if I had been shown the CT scan pics. When I said I hadn't, he told me I needed to follow him. He showed me the scans, and my poor S-K's left kidney was about 5 times its normal size. The ureter, which is normally thinner than a pencil, is almost as thick as his arm. He showed me that there was some sort of blockage at the bottom of his ureter right before it empties into the bladder. I'm guessing it's probably a kidney stone. The kidney is so huge that it's pressing on his intestines. Either form of going to the bathroom is no easy task for him these days. We have to go in for more testing next week at both the children's hospital and clinic. I should know a lot more then. But, my Side-Kick is for sure going to have to have surgery. They have to remove that blockage. Once the swelling in the ureter goes down, it's going to be misshapen and longer than it should be. So, it will have to be cut and reattached.
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| He's such a tough guy! |
Through all of this, S-K had handled everything amazingly well! I've always been open and honest with him on a level that I feel he can comprehend. He knows he's going to have surgery. He's not worried in the least. All he can focus on, of course, is the fact that his grandmas are going to spoil him rotten with toys and goodies during that hospital stay. ;) He's such a trooper! I'm not anticipating any problems or difficulties. But, we will GLADLY accept any prayers you want to send his way!
During all of this stuff, his father decided he wanted to come out here from Texas to visit him and check up on him. And, guess what? He was bringing his current flavor-of-the-week. "No negotiations". As if the S-K and I hadn't been through enough...
But, I'll save that for the next entry...
usual talkative self. Although, you could tell he didn't feel good. He was very excited to be in the ambulance and talked the paramedic's ear off the whole way to the children's hospital... Which was hilarious because you could tell the guy had, like, ZERO experience with kids. Eventually, we spoke with the doctor who told us that my Side-Kick had some kind of reflux in his urethra, causing old pee to come back up into his bladder after he was finished going to the bathroom, creating more problems. I can't remember the medical term for this, as I seem to have misplaced the hospital paperwork. Not that it matters anymore. But, I'll get into that in
