Back to the Hospital for Surgery #5

Benjamin decided to remind us that the ride is not over yet, and may not be for a while. He had been a little more fussy over the weekend, but yesterday morning when after I fed him he never quite settled down. He was very uncomfortable and no matter how much I held him I could not sooth him. I thought it had to do with his digestive system since he had been spitting up so much so I thought maybe we could wait it out. After 3 or so hours of crying I found the source of his discomfort and it appeared to be a hernia from the signs the surgeons had previously told us to watch for. It took several phone calls to multiple doctors offices to figure out who we should go to. The surgeons recommended bringing him in...next week. I insisted on speaking with the nurse practitioner who was part of the team that worked with his ostomy. She also recommended that we keep our appointment for the following week and that it should be fine. I then asked who he could see to manage his pain. As Benjamin screamed in background, she agreed to see him later that afternoon.

A couple hours later we were being told that we would be admitted and Benjamin would need surgery that night or early the next morning. It is strange what can happen in a day. I woke up that morning with plans of dishes, diapers, laundry, feeding, hopefully a nap, and maybe some cleaning if time allowed. Never would I have imagined that we would be back in the hospital. The surgical staff was surprised. They also were concerned as Benjamin had developed a rare situation where the intestines where blocked and blood flow was compromised. Inguinal hernias are not uncommon in preemie boys, but apparently the blockage is, or at least to this degree. Once again, our Benjamin has defeated the odds and come up with the "unusual" senario...if we were into gambling, we would most certainly send him to Vegas with the odds he has!

After a sleepless night on the Pediatrics floor with lots of doctors and nurses coming in and out, we moved down to surgery at 7:30. He ended up with a double hernia and both were repaired. Benjamin seems to have handled it well and is now exhausted, but eating and breathing ok. He is requiring more oxygen than before the surgery and has dipped down some, so they decided to keep him overnight.

Even though this was very unexpected and difficult, there were some pretty incredible things...Brian's evening class was cancelled so he could be with me and Benjamin, the very busy surgeon's office was able to fit us in rather than just being admitted through the ER and the staff knew was familiar with Benjamin's case, and we caught it before it came to a potentially serious and possibly life-threatening point. Also another piece of good news is that he weighs 6lbs 10oz! It is good to see him grow.

We value your prayers for Benjamin for quick recovery, protection, strength in breathing, and overall health.