The Long Hello

I have been debating about whether to try to catch up on the blog or just let it go, but in the end I decided I missed it too much. That leaves me with a tremendous amount of catch up, and trying to sum up the last few months in a few short paragraphs.
Tomas began a downward GI slide in March. He was not tolerating his J feeds and would retch and back arch and stomach crunch and cry to the point where he needed to be hospitalized in order to run IV fluids and give his gut a break.
The episodes became closer and closer together and by early June he had been hospitalized 6 times and spent a total of 45 days in the hospital. It got to the point he couldn't be home for even a week. As soon as we started his feeds back up within the next few days the same things started happening.
Finally, in late May the doctors switched gears from trying to figure out what was wrong (I'll get to that in a minute) to trying to find a way for me to keep him home. An IVAD (he got the under the skin kind) and I was given protocol on when to switch from J feeds to IV fluids and how long he could stay on fluids before he would need to be admitted. That worked for about 2 weeks, and then I couldn't get him off fluids. His gut just didn't want to work. Plus, he continued to lose weight at an alarming rate. He went from 25lbs 13oz to 22lbs 2oz in 3 months.
After a roundtable discussion with Tomas' GI, pediatrician, nutritionist, and myself, the decision was made to place him on TPN. So one more trip to the hospital, another week long stay, another protocol for TPN labs and weight checks, and he has been home for 10 days now. Doesn't seem like much but it is the longest he has been home since early April.
It is going well, a few ER runs for clotted lines, and phone calls for pump issues, but he is gaining weight, and looks so much healthier. He still has a very slow J feed running to prevent cell atrophy and to help mitigate the negative health issues that come with prolonged TPN usage.
Well, what the heck is wrong with him anyway? In all the hospital stays he has had a different attending GI every time (they do 2 week rotations at our children's hospital). Each one had a different theory, the first was he had a metabolic disorder, but metabolics said no. The second was he was on the wrong formula, 3 formulas later and that was kicked aside. Another thought he needed different motility agents, after 4 different meds that was given up. The running theory at this point is that his Vagus nerve was damaged during the last fundo surgery and that the pacemaker area of the stomach has been affected. That area controls the impulse to contract the stomach as well as the small intestines. If that turns out to be the case then there are not many options available, keep him on TPN, or have a stomach pacemaker implanted. There are only a few doctors in the country that do it and so far the youngest patient I've found is 5. So we have a ways to go for that. But first someone would need to prove that is what's wrong. The medical community in Dallas is unable to do that. They are out of tests, and ideas, and are just working in a palliative care mode. Good thing we are moving to NY.
Yes, we sold our house in only 14 days. I was in the hospital when  the offer came in. We have a house picked out in NY that is beautiful and are waiting to get to contract on it. The movers come tomorrow. They will be packing for 3 days and loading for 2, and on Friday we say goodbye to this house! It happened so fast we are still spinning. A few kinks need to be worked out with both sets of contracts but I am keeping faith it will all work out. The logistics of moving Tomas have qualified me to be an air traffic controller x2. That is it in a nutshell.  Actually, that is definitely the shelled out version. In the future look for the fluff. An ambulance ride, a nurse's tale, and a shopping cart are all coming to mind at the moment.
If you are still out there and still reading :God bless.