A trip to the ER

At various times last night Josiah woke up with coughs and seemed to gag a little.  At around 5:40 he was more fussy and then he started spitting up/throwing up a couple of times.  We immediately wondered if this had to do with the placement of his NG tube.  We were still hoping to give his 6:00 AM meds and feed.  I checked his pop and it was there but it seemed a bit more muffled.  I also had to pull back a lot of air until I had aspirates.  I decided to give a little water before trying to give a drug and he immediately threw up after I did this.  Fortunately we had the suction machine to help us clear his mouth. 

By the way, Isaac slept until 6:15 AM, which is quite rare for him.  He did this even though there was a loud suction machine in the next room.  God knew just what we needed.

We called my dad to come over and take care of Isaac (my mom is sick) and Graham and I prepared to go to the hospital, thinking that we would just get his NG tube checked and probably moved or changed.  We were seen right away when we arrived at the ER.  After asking us a few questions, the nurse doing our intake asked us if we knew "So and So."  "So and So" goes to our church.  We also discovered that she is close friends with another one of our friends from church.  The nurse told us that she had already been asked to pray for Josiah.  That was a wonderful reception to be met by someone we didn't know who was praying for our son!    

We arrived around 7:00 AM and had an x-ray around 8:00 AM.  Thankfully the NG tube was in the correct position and was not causing any of these problems.  It was good news but I wasn't expecting it as it now meant there was a different problem.   We were given the go ahead to give Josiah his medicines.  He threw up about three minutes after we administered them.  Josiah also hasn't had a BM since Tuesday when he missed his PEG.  The ER doctor said we would see a paediatrician but advised us that we needed to think about how far we wanted them to investigate the problem, based on what we would be willing to put him through.  For example, if there was a problem with the bowel that would require surgery, that would mean Josiah would need to be intubated and go to SickKids, etc.  I hadn't thought about something like this happening (i.e. something completely unrelated to his current diagnosis).  

We called our church and asked that a prayer request be emailed to our Sunday School class.  It was sent just after 9:00 AM.  We saw an amazing paediatrician around 9:45 AM.  She didn't want to start an IV if it wasn't necessary so she suggested trying Pedialyte to hydrate him and see if he would keep it down.  She was guessing that Josiah may have caught the bug that had Isaac throwing up last week.  We ended up giving him 85 millilitres and he was completely fine.  In fact, he was happy and smiling and cooing away.  God was answering prayers.  I later spoke with my pastor's wife and she said that they were praying for us this morning, not knowing what was going on and that she had written on her calendar to pray for us today, even though they pray for us every day. 

We arrived home in the early afternoon and he has kept down his medications and Pedialyte the rest of the day.  His 9:00 PM feed was half milk and half water and that hasn't caused a problem either.  He was coughing a little this afternoon and he was fussy around 6:00 PM but he hasn't gagged or thrown up and we are praying for a good, restful night for all of us. 

Another friend from church brought by a delicious surprise meal for our supper while we were at the hospital. 

Isaac had a great time with Grandpa today.  My dad told me that Isaac had him read the book "You are Special" four times in a row, after which Dad drew the line!  This is not a short book!  That made me laugh a few times. 

Okay, it's time to say goodnight.  Thank you so much for your prayers - they make a difference! 

Blessings,

Elizabeth

Isaiah 65:24 (NIV)

Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.