I wrote this about 6 months after Landon had his surgery. I just thought I would share what it was like. It's kind of long, but this experience really made me look at life and the preciousness of my children in a whole different light. I hope you enjoy reading!
I have been very humbled this past year. My son was born in October after trying for over a year to conceive. He is my world and his smile makes my heart melt 1,000 times over.
We had a rough start at first. He had severe acid reflux and we spent many nights rocking and trying to soothe him. When he was 3 months old we had the biggest scare of our lives.
My husband leaves for work early in the morning (around 3:45am) and he had to go especially early on the morning of February 2nd because we had just been hit with over a foot of snow. My son woke up at 4:00am with a cry I had never heard before. I made him his bottlle, thinking that he may just be really hungry. He ate, but then vomited it all back up violently. He continued to scream for 5 minutes as I tried to rock him. He finally calmed down and fell back asleep so I decided to go ahead and start my morning routine. I hopped in the shower, only to hear him screaming again. This happened on and off for 5 hours until he finally passed out from exhaustion. The local pediatrician was out of the office due to inclement weather so my only option was to drive 20 miles away to the local Urgent Care clinic. However, I couldn't even get out of my driveway because of the snow. I was panicking!! I called my husband at work and told him that our son was very ill and that I needed him to take us. He arrived at our house 30 minutes later. Our son was still resting at this time and my husband thought I was just being paranoid.
My husband finally realized the severity of the situation after we made it to the clinic. Our son just laid there. He wouldn't even support his own head. All he wanted to do was sleep and that is NOT like him at all. We were finally called back to see the doctor, who diagnosed him with having a stomach virus and instructed us to get Pedialite to keep him hydrated. We stopped by my mom's house so she could see him and all he would do was lay there with a dazed look on his face. I don't know how, but I just knew that it was more than a stomach virus.
We decided that we were going to wait and see how he did overnight. We got home at 7:00pm and tried to give him some Pedialight and a little bit of formula since he hadn't wanted to eat all day. He ate it, only for it to come back up shortly afterward. I was terrified and began to cry. We bolted for the Emergency Room.
After arriving, they checked for everything. Stomach flu, bronchitis, meningitis, they did a spinal tap, checked for a bacterial infection, all to come back clean. The doctors had no idea what was wrong with him. We were admitted to the pediatric ward for overnight observation. We were advised to not give him anything else to eat other than Pedialite every 5 hours.
The first night seemed hopeful, he was throwing up less and seemed more alert. However, the next day he took a downward spiral. His vomiting increased to a level that required him to have an NG tube down his nose. We stayed another night at the hospital. At this point, I was so scared that the doctors were wrong. It can't be a stomach virus, it just can't! I was so terrified that they wouldn't find the real issue in time.
He began having bloody stools the night of the 4th. Our pediatrician came by the next morning and told us that he was afraid that he had a bowel obstruction and that it just wasn't showing up on the X-Rays or ultrasounds. He then told us that he had made a call to Children's Mercy in Kansas City (160 miles away) and that they wanted to see him immediately. They had already sent a team down and they would arrive by plane in 30 minutes. I lost it, my husband lost it, and we were at a loss for words. How could this be happening to my baby? My innocent, sweet baby!
We made all of the necessary calls to our parents, friends, and employers. My husband left, crying, to meet my parents and my mother-in-law so they could drive to the hospital while I rode in the plane with Landon. It all happened so fast. The EMT's arrived to transport us to the local airport, we boarded the plane, and we were in Kansas City before I knew it. They took us straight to the emergency room where they ran all of the same tests the other hospital did. Again, everything came back perfect. We were taken into a room so they could perform an exam. They gave Landon a high-contrast dye to see if there was any indication of a blockage. What they saw was that nothing would go past his stomach.
After the exam, one of the doctors came in and explained that he needed surgery NOW. They couldn't wait. They weren't 100% sure what the problem was but they knew that they had to act fast to lessen the risk of any long term complications or possibly...DEATH. I felt like I was going to throw up when the doctor said that word. My husband still hadn't made it to the hospital. I called him and told him what was going on. I knew they couldn't make it in time so I sent him one last picture of our son before they took him back.
We were taken back to the pre-op/post-op room. All I could do was hold him and kiss him and beg him not to die. I told him that I couldn't live without him and that he was my world. I begged God to please, PLEASE save my little boy. I had never experienced a greater love than this and knew that I couldn't go on without him. The OR nurse came over and said that it was time to go and that I needed to say my goodbyes. I didn't want to, but I knew I had to give her my son. I felt like I had just ripped my own heart out and gave it to her. She was literally walking away with my reason for living in her arms.
I was in the waiting room for 15 minutes when my family arrived. At that point, I was numb. I couldn't force any kind of emotion. I was exhausted. We received a call on the phone in the waiting room from the OR nurse letting us know that everything went perfectly and that Landon would be out of post-op in an hour. We were so relieved! Everyone decided to go try to get something to eat. I stayed behind, not able to even think about food. I decided to try to get some rest and fell asleep in one of the beds they provide for families that were waiting for their children to come out of surgery. I was almost asleep when I heard, "Landon Lasiter's family." I jumped out of bed and ran to the door. Landon looked so small on the gurney he was on. I felt whole again after I was reunited with him. I called my family to let them know that we were being taken to a room.
Landon was diagnosed with intussusception. It is a condition in which the bowel telescopes in on itself. It rarely happens in babies his age and even more rarely does it happen in two separate places like Landon's did. The surgeon said that they fixed it in the knick of time. The location that had telescoped had begun to turn grey and die because of the lack of blood flow. If they had not caught it in time, it could have become infected or gangrenous, which could have resulted in death.
Over the course of the next three days, Landon showed wonderful signs of improvement. My husband and I were terrified to hold him. We were afraid that we would hurt him. We got past our fears and held our son. He slept on my chest and I cherished being able to feel his chest rise up and down again against mine. He needed less and less pain medicine every day. Unfortunately, Landon inherited bad veins from me and he blew almost all of the IV's they gave him and he started to look like a human pin-cushion.
The only thing we had to wait for was for him to pass a bowel movement so he could eat. When he did, I never thought I would be so happy and thankful for poop! We all wanted to dance and jump and celebrate his recovery! My dad got the first smile we had seen in almost a week. It wasn't long after that he was smiling and cooing at everyone. My precious boy was back!
We were told on the 9th (which is also my mom's birthday) that if he continued to improve that we would be able to go home that night or the next day. My husband, dad, and mother in law made a trip to the local Wal*Mart and got my mom a card and a birthday cake. We celebrated her birthday while in the hospital. The biggest celebration happened when we were told that Landon would be going home that night!
We packed up our things and said our goodbyes and thanked all of the wonderful staff at the hospital. They were truly amazing throughout the whole process.
And so we were off! We made it home after midnight on the 10th. My sister-in-law and her boyfriend had taken care of our dogs while we were gone and we came home to a beautifully cleaned home. It was wonderful to come home and only have to worry about cherishing the life of our son.
Unfortunately, we were back at the hospital 2 days later. Landon was diagnosed with pneumonia but thankfully we caught it early so all he needed was a high dose of antibiotics.
Since his surgery, Landon hasn't needed any antacid medication. He is so full of life and is the happiest baby I've ever seen. God was really watching over him and my family.
I will never be able to thank the staff at Children's Mercy enough. I am also forever grateful for the Ronald McDonald House for providing my parents and mother-in-law a place to stay while we were there.
Landon is 15 months old now and he continues to amaze me. We have laugh out loud moments every day, and almost every hour it seems. I will never have to wonder what my purpose is in life. It's all in this little boy.
3 Months Old: Right before surgery
Landon now!
3 Months Old: Right before surgery
Landon now!
0 comments:
Post a Comment