Skip to main content

Surgery

This morning Garrett will have diversion surgery; he'll be living with an ileostomy again.


Sadly, the IV antibiotics did not reduce Garrett's inflammation, and he continues to feel sick and is in a lot of pain. It's quite the unfortunate turnaround from the beginning of last week when we thought he was improving and would be discharged.


Like before, this is a "temporary" diverting ileostomy, meaning they can reverse it at some point like they did last summer. However, it will take a year or so for us to see how his body responds to medications and what the path forward looks like at that point. In the meantime, we'll focus on making Garrett healthy again and getting him back into the activities he's been missing since January.


I won't lie, it's not the outcome we hoped for. But, it's where we are and we'll move forward as a family.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ultrasound and ice cream

Yesterday, Garrett’s right arm and hand began to swell below his central line and there is a significant difference in size between the right and left side. I asked for an ultrasound.  The ultrasound was very painful for Garrett. The sores on his body hurt to touch and he has quite a lot of large ones where the ultrasound probe had to be pressed. He screamed through most of the ultrasound prolonging the process.  Garrett does have a small clot, but it is not fully occluded. Typically, an anticoagulant would be started, but in a post-op IBD patient, the protocol is not as straightforward. Hematology and surgery are meeting this morning to determine next steps.  They want to save the central line in order to provide nutrition for Garrett, but need to determine the best course of action.  In the interim, he is on pain medicine for his arm (in addition to his abdomen and skin) as the swelling in his hand has now become significant and very painful. He can’t close his hand without crying. 
5 comments
Read more

Garrett has left the building

After 17 days at CHOP, Garrett came home tonight. It was a very long stay with a lot of ups and downs, but he’s back with Mommy, Daddy and Gibson. Happy to be in his own bed again, Garrett quickly fell asleep tonight. More to come...
1 comment
Read more

Garrett's Home!

Garrett is back home! Though tired, he wanted to try and catch the tail end of the school day at HFS. We thought it better that he just come home; he's already had some pizza and is relaxing in bed playing Roblox by himself. Gibson is not home from school yet, and all Garrett wants to do is play with his brother! Jill and I are happy that our house will be full again tonight. Thanks everyone for your thoughts and support this week!
1 comment
Read more