Friday, February 23, 2007

getting back to normal:
Sam is getting back to normal. He hasn't vomited probably since Wednesday. Looks like the ileus is passing as expected.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Hypoactive Ileus:
Sam's followup appointment with Pediatrician today. He was diagnosed with a hypoactive ileus-- a functional rather than mechanical obstruction of the bowel. The game plan for now is to feed him small amounts and watch to see it progress back to normal. There is already evidence that we're heading in that direction. Sam only vomited once today.
On happier news, the weather was warm today (near 50 F after weeks below 32 F), so Sam got out of the house for a while and enjoyed running around and splashing in the puddles left by melting snow/ice we had last Wednesday.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

a rough patch:
Sam has had a rough time these past two weeks. At first, he was vomiting at night only, then would be fine during the day. Each day, we thought it was over, only to have it repeat. After a few days of this "night vomiting exercise", we got pretty good about changing him and the bed. That's when things took a turn for the worse and Sam started violent upper/lower GI distress every half hour last Thursday and Friday. That was the flu ravishing his little body until he was limp and listless. Sue and Janna both got sick within 30 minutes of each other Friday night. As the last person standing in the house, I pressed on with laundry (lots of dirty sheets, towels, clothes), tending to the sick, and other chores all the while wondering when it would get me. The answer was 3 am.
At 7am, Sam was feeling better but had a house full of sick people who couldn't take care of him. We made a distress call to Mark&Lisa who said they could take him for the day. Much to our surprise, Janna was also better and joined Sam for the day at their cousin's house. The day stretched into a 24-hour sleep-over. Sam did vomit up his lunch, much to our dismay. He also had a rough time overnight-- not sleeping well and vomiting again. When we got this news Sunday morning, we were well enough to resume parenting. Lisa brought Sam and Janna home. Sue immediately whisked Sam off to an impromptu Pediatrician visit at 11 am. Poor little guy-- besides the flu virus last week, he has an ear infection and rotavirus. He got two shots of antibiotics (half dose in each thigh) for the ear infection since it's doubtful he'd be able to keep oral antibiotics down long enough to be effective. Tomorrow (Wednesday) he goes back for another pair of shots. So the sickness continues here. Last night was a really bad one for Sam. We pray that Sam will be free of these bugs soon. He's lost a few pounds since this started, dipping back under 30 pounds. We're just watching to make sure he stays hydrated.
Special thanks to Mark, Lisa, Emily, and Hannah for hosting Janna and Sam from Saturday am until Sunday am. while we recovered.

Friday, February 02, 2007

22 months old now:
Sam had fun in the snow last week. It wasn't much, but an inch of snow is
better than nothing. He seemed to like it. He's pretty cute all bundled up
in his bright yellow winter jacket and the "Floyd R. Turbo" hat with built-in
ear warmers. He has matching mittens to complete the ensemble.

Sam is 22 months old now.