So, we are going to be here much longer than originally anticipated, so I thought I would start a blog about Mr. Aiden so I can remember all that has gone on here.
We came to Primary Childrens on July 19th, 2009 because Aiden's lower abdomen and pelvic area (yes, including the boy parts) were very swollen and hard. He had been screaming for over 24 hours, but the pediatrician had said not to worry about the crying because this age (3 weeks) is when colic begins to manifest, but it was not just crying, it was screaming. So after the swollen genetalia, I decided that sometimes Mom knows best and I just took him to the ER. Because of his hypospadius issue, I knew that the ER was the best bet on a Sunday afternoon. After a long, extensive evaluation, the doctors found a hernia that had penetrated Aiden's testicular canal on the right side. He was very patient but very uncomfortable.
They did surgery to correct the hernia and he did well through the surgery. They found that the bowel that had protruded through the hernia had cut off blood supply to the testicle and most likely, it had died, but everything else looked great. At that point, they said they would keep us for 48 hours and then be okay to go home. Yay! However, through the night on Sunday, Aiden just could not keep comfortable, so they decided to give him several doses of Morphine. The problem was that the morphine would make him stop breathing and with oxygen sats around 70% and a heart rate around 200bpm. They decided just to see if he started to adjust, but after a very bad night, they decided to lower the morphine as much as possible. They gave Aiden his last morphine dose around 8am and by 12pm, it wore off, but he was extremely lethargic, but very much in pain. His output was also not happening, so to help him pee, they decided to place a catheter, but with the hypospadius, they had to have the entire urology department there. Finally, after about an hour, the lead urologist finally got the catheter in. Poor bug didn't even cry. After his vital signs did not stabilize, they decided that they may have nicked a bowel in the surgery, but Xrays did not show anything. Once again, Mom insisted that this was not a normal Aiden and he was not responding normally. I pushed for another evaluation by the surgical team. Somewhere in there (the timing is a little hazy) the Smedley girls came so I could go home and get a shower and some clean clothes. Bless them. They have been amazing.
The surgeon decided that to go back in a look at the entire intestinal tract would be the best bet. So - last night about 6pm, Aiden went back into surgery. The doctor found that the intestine that was in the hernia was not compromised, but that a piece of the appendix had also been caught in the hernia. That piece had died off and broke loose filling the entire bowel with infection. YAY for Mom's intuition. They removed his appendix and... there you go. But during the surgery, his blood pressure took a nose dive, so they decided to keep him in NICU. The other problem arose that he was having a hard time breathing on his own, so they put him on a ventilator.
So last night, about 9pm, I was finally able to see him. But I can't hold him until his ventilator is out, so that is hard. In the night, his pulse came down (yay) but his blood pressure stayed too low. About 1am, the team decided to try weaning him down from his ventilator. So, since that whole experience would take a couple of hours, Mom went out to the car and slept for a bit. It was quiet and dark. Ahhh.... Nice.
Through the night, things started to stabilize a bit, but it is now 11am, the blood pressure is dropping again and the pulse is rising again. They have pushed a lot of fluids, but it doesn't seem to be helping. They just made the decision to place a PICC line and give him TPN. We were hoping to be out of here by this afternoon, but it doesn't look like that will happen.
Luckily, Aiden is really sedated and doesn't care what is happening at this point. He has 3 IVs, a ventilator, an NG tube for suctioning his stomach, a catheter, monitors for EVERYTHING and now will have a PICC as well. He is so great.
I love the hospital here. They really understand what this experience does for the patient and the family. Yesterday morning, while I went to get breakfast, they had a harpist come in and play for Aiden while he slept - about an hour. They have activities that we can do together - I read to him, there is music therapy, massage therapy, and tons of stimulation for play. They are also great things for the parents. There are so many resources here and there is constantly someone wanting to get a drink or books - something to make me feel comfortable.
Aiden also had a blessing yesterday from elders that were provided by the hospital. The elder said the most amazing thing that I had not thought of - that the Lord put the doctors and the staff in this place and trust should be placed in them. Also, there are so many angels here for the children all the time. I instantly thought of the legions of angels who knew them not long ago and the many angels that I know loved Aiden before I even knew him. Once you realize that the Lord and his many angels are here among the children, you can really feel it strongly in every decision, every moment of care, every interaction.
I will try my best to keep this blog going. It is easy to sort through the facts of everything if I keep it current. Please keep Aiden in your prayers.
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