Thursday, February 12, 2009

Where Am I Now?

Alright, so most of you know by now that we have been in the hospital with Dawson. We were driving to Utah for a quick trip for Ryan's brothers wedding. Made it. It was lovely. And fun. Then on Saturday night Dawson puked a few times.

On Sunday he spent the majority of the day puking. Couldn't keep anything down. I called my friend that is an ER doc at Primary Childrens. She was working. She said not to come in if I can avoid it. She said it was so busy that we would sit for HOURS without getting a room.

So, Ryan slept upstairs on the couch while Dawson slept/puked. I slept downstairs trying to get as much rest as possible because we knew the next day would be a long one.

SIX hours in the ER...what more can I say! After all of that a CT was done and the ventricles in Dawson's brain were WAY too big. Shunt malfunction. UGH!

Dawson was taken straight from the ER to the Operation room. Dr. Walker once told me that the swelling in the brain is extremely painful. He said that if you take the worst migraine you have had and times it by 10 it would be close to what he was experiencing. Pain so bad you can't help but puke. My poor baby!

Dawson came back from surgery doing well. He was pretty out of it. They gave him Morphine and after a LONG LONG day I headed home to get more sleep for the next day. Dawson slept soundly that night.

The next day was full of tests to see if his throwing up tore open a surgery that had previously been done to prevent him from doing so. We were 100% sure that he had. So was the doctor. We were all making plans to go through the surgery again. It is a rough one! My dad told me he prayed so hard that his surgery would still be intact. His prayers were answered!

Later that night Dawson was taken in to surgery again. This time to get his port a cath. (A more permanent IV). The surgery went well. He was set to go home the next day, as long as we would agree to stick around until Monday just to make sure. You see, it took 26 shunts to get the last one to work. Now we can't help but feel a little nervous about this one not sticking. We hope it does. We pray it will. We also have to watch for fevers. Fevers would be a sign of shunt infection, which would make it so we would be here for another 5 weeks....OH MY!

So, we are crossing our fingers and praying like crazy. So far so good. Dawson did have a fever this morning, but it was managed with tylenol. He has a wicked cough and RSV is a concern. The hospital was FULL of it. However, we are hopeful!

Thanks for all the prayers and kind words! We love you all so much!

10 comments:

Unknown said...

poor little guy...I have had my fair share of migraines and couldn't imagine having pain any worse than that. Give him a big hug from all of us in washington, and update us as soon as you can!

Anonymous said...

Poor guy! I can't even imagine what the little guy is going through. Let me know if you need anything while you are here.

Cindy said...

Just said a prayer for little Dawson and his family. Hang in there. Sometimes words just don't seem enough. We love ya!

~Tiffany~ said...

Wow Amy, you have been through so much. I wish you all the best of luck and hope to hear nothing more but good news for you and your family! Hang In there.♥

Tana said...

Amy-
I don't know if you ever cry anymore, it doesn't seem like it, you are so positive. But just so you know, I teared up just for you today. Not on purpose, it just happened when I read "where you are." Prayers and tears just for you guys! T

PS Not the first time for either, prayers or tears, just the first time I've told you about it.

Lombardo Family said...

Oh my goodness Ryan and Amy, I can't believe how strong the two of you are. I guess who wouldn't be for their child. Bless your little Dawson's heart. We'll keep him in our prayers and the two of you as well.

Frischknecht Fam said...

Oh, Amy--I'm so sorry. I can't imagine what Dawson--and your family--has had to go through. (My Avery has had terrible migraine headaches since her infancy, so your analogy really hit home for me.)

Dawson is truly a miracle child--please know we're praying for him.

Hardy Party said...

Dear Amy,

We have been so worried for Dawson ever since your call. We are hoping this is all of it and there will be no more surgeries or trauma for our little D. We love you all very much and we are praying for Dawson's swift recovery.

Love,
Dad & Sondi

Norris Fam said...

Like I've said before...you're going straight to heaven my friend! You're a saint and I sure luv ya!

We're praying for you & little D here too!

Richins Family said...

amy! i'm not sure if you read melissa's blog yet but i can see why she said the things about you that she did! you are amazing! i have heard my mom and melissa talking about how great you are for a long time now so i'm so glad that i found your blog that i too can be uplifted by your words! :) it's been so long since i've seen you guys! good luck with your little one :) give ryan a big squeeze for me :)

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