The plan from here... Salmonella apparently messes the GI tract up REALLY good :( . A typical person that's not immuno-compromised might take 3-6 weeks to get over the effects of Salmonella, and a person with the medical issues that James has... may take months.
As far as his actual physical illness part of this... we don't know how long that will hang on. Today is day 9 and though it's slowed some... he's still having multiple diapers each hour and has nothing in his stomach... So once he's able to eat more, we may see that increase again.
In addition to the diarrhea... We have a few other things going on.
Yesterday he was allowed to drink 8 oz of Pediasure. We spread it out over the course of an hour. Unfortunately, it brought on two not-so-good things. 1- He started screaming. Not an "I'm a fussy little kid" kind of scream, but an "I'm in pain" type of cry and scream :(. That lasted for about 7 hours! 2- His new mini button (a replacement for his Mic-Key) leaked. Not a leak of just dripping a little out. A leak as in... over the next 6 1/2 hours, at least 5 oz of liquid came back out of it!
What's significant about 6 1/2 hours? That's the amount of time that it took for his stomach to stop leaking white and start leaking clear. In other words, the 3 oz that stayed IN his stomach, took 6 1/2 hours to empty. :(
So, there's 3 other issues in addition to the diarrhea and risk of dehydration, he also has a pretty significant 'leak' and an obvious emptying problem. Not to mention the screaming... which we still don't know the cause of.
Today I've given him 4 oz and am about to give him another 2. This 'new tube' (a mic-key but not a low profile button) doesn't appear to be leaking. I hope that continues! Now we'll see whether he can empty that and not scream. If it isn't going to work doing it orally, we can do sloooow tube feedings as well. The idea is to get him to get the intake very slowly and spread out so that his stomach doesn't have a lot just sitting in it. Less chance for it to leak right back out, and less chance that he'll have pain or discomfort or that he'll throw it back up.
For now we're here tonight, possibly longer.
The GI said he won't be able to get a 'normal' read on him for several months because of the Salmonella. But obviously we need to take care of the immediate issues now so he can get home and get to feeling better!
Oh, and we don't know what the contaminant was, and it will be reported to the health department, so we get to have the joy of having a visit from them to ask us 10 million questions in the next little bit. Yay! (haha) And... oops, forgot to tell Michael that part... Guess I should since he's at home!
Oh, this is making me so, so sad. I hope you are able to give him extra hugs for all of us out here in the blogosphere who are thinking about him and wishing him to feel better soon. I can't even imagine what that poor little boy is going through, not to mention you and Michael.
ReplyDeleteOh no, this is awful, that poor little guy, my heart is breaking thinking of his pain and misery. Continued prayers for him and all of you.
ReplyDeleteOh my. I am so sorry you are having to deal with all this. And poor little James. I feel for both of you. For him being in such pain and for you having to watch him in pain. Praying for you both. Should I send you some of that chocolate you like so much??
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry for James! Poor babe! Curtis went through the same thing. He contracted salmonella at 6 weeks old. It took a long while for him to eat good and the dirty diapers to stop. The health dept. came to our house to see if it was clean. Oh boy! Hang in there! James is still in my thoughts.
ReplyDeleteThis may be an obvious suggestion but when he was screaming did you check to see if he needed to be vented? Sunshine screams like she's dying when she has gas in her tummy. We ended up in the emergency room once before we got her mic-key button. The best way to vent is to attach a bolus extension set and a 60 ml syringe (without the plunger). Open the clamp and see if anything comes out. Sometimes you have to gently press on their tummy or bicycle the child's legs to get all of the gas out.
ReplyDeleteI assume that you've already tried this since you're familiar with gtubes but just in case. None of our doctors told us about it - I had to ask other parents on a forum. It made a huge difference for Sunshine.
So sorry James is sick. We are praying for you guys.
I'm watching World News Tonight and they're talking about the egg recall and the salmonella. and All I can think of is your poor boy!! I don't know if that's how he got it, but still, that STINKS.
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ReplyDeleteEthan has severe emptying too. :*(
Praying for a quicker than average recovery!
:(
ReplyDeleteEthan has severe delay, too. :(
Praying for James.
We are praying for you guys. I hope you are getting enough help! I wish that I lived closer so I could help out!
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