Counting our blessings...

Finally I've found the time to actually sit down and add a new post to our blog- it's been a while. After a long week, Spencer and I are definitely counting our blessings. I mention this because on Thursday after Ian spit up again for like the billionth time (that's not even an exaggeration) I felt something wasn't normal about it and I called his pediatrician just before their office closed for the evening. Turns out there really was a serious problem and Ian was suffering from a condition called Pyloric Stenosis. (Pyloric Stenosis is a condition that causes severe vomiting in the first few weeks of life which can lead to dehydration and malnourishment. There is narrowing (stenosis) of the opening from the stomach to the intestines, due to spasm and hypertrophy of the muscle surrounding this opening. Males are more commonly affected than females, and there is a genetic predisposition for the disease). I was told that I'd have to take Ian immediately up to the Emergency Room of Children's Primary Hospital and admit him for surgery. Fortunately Spencer's dad had just arrived home as I was leaving so I was able to leave Noah behind in his company. Spencer met me at the hospital and we waited together to hear what the plan was going to be in order to treat Ian. The doctors immediately put Ian on an IV and began hydrating him. The poor thing was starving and I couldn't do anything about it. The doctors decided that since he was pretty dehydrated he'd need to be on an IV for a while before they could preform surgery. We had planned on staying overnight with Ian but the nurses assured us that he'd be in good company if we chose to leave and go home to sleep. It's difficult to imagine leaving your newborn behind in a hospital, I felt a little guilty, but we were both already exhausted and the news of his condition upset me making me even more of an emotional wreck, so we decided it was in everyones best interests to leave and get sleep at home and then return in the morning. Surprisingly Ian had been content through the night- the nurses said he slept mostly- the doctors still didn't want him eating. They preformed his surgery later Friday afternoon. I was especially grateful to see that the surgeon was someone we knew from a previous encounter. (She had done surgery on Noah twice, once last November and then again in December- for all the surgeries she's preformed in her career, I was especially impressed that she was able to remember Noah! She also is well known since she was the doctor who separated the Herrin Siamese twin girls.) Ian was in surgery for only about 40 minutes. (They had to cut through his belly button and cut the Pyloric muscle- he'll have a little scar around his belly button that will be barely noticeable). The doctor said that Ian's pyloric was super thick and had almost completely closed off- thank goodness I followed my gut feeling and called his doctor when I did otherwise Ian could have been in a much worse state. He still wasn't allowed to eat for another 8 hours after the surgery- he's a strong kid though and slept contently most of the time. Finally when he was allowed to eat, the nurses only could give him pedialyte and then a little bit of formula every three hours. He had to stay overnight again, and after being at the hospital all day Friday, I chose to go home late that night to sleep- I also wanted to be there for when Noah awoke the next morning- I didn't want him to feel any neglect on my part. Spencer went up early on Saturday morning and stayed with Ian. Surprisingly Ian was still strong and he was eating well- the nurses expected him to spit up after the first couple of feedings, but he held everything down. They anticipated he'd stay in the hospital until Sunday, but since he was recovering really well they allowed us to bring him home Saturday night. Noah was totally thrilled to see his little brother again. Both mornings that Ian was at the hospital and not at home, Noah would wake up and run to Ian's bassinet to see if he'd returned- both times disappointed to see he wasn't home yet. It will take about 2 weeks for his sutures to fall out, but otherwise now it's barely evident that Ian was operated on. I am especially grateful for his strength and to see that he is recovering well and Spencer and I are also extremely grateful for those of you who were aware of the situation and kept Ian in your prayers. We feel truly blessed, especially to be living in an era with the medicine and technology we have. In turn for all that doctors have done for both of our sons, Noah and Ian, I feel that one of them should pursue training in the field of medicine as they grow older- who knows though, maybe they'll both decide they want to be entrepreneurs, much like many of the Campbell men- what ever makes them happy will make me happy so long as they're healthy.