Mommy does her happy dance

I talked to the ped early this morning and she was ok w/ us going home if the GI doc said it was ok. Well, the GI doc just left the room and he said if Eli tolerates his home formula regimen then they weren't providing him any care that he can't get at home, so we'll be free to go.

I will be so glad to have my baby boy back home. We are sandwiched between 2 RSV patients and our rooms share a bathroom. The GI doc and I agreed the risks outweigh the benefits of staying in the hospital to get IV fluids. The hospital is just not a good place for our very fragile little guy.
We just switched Eli over to his home formula, 24 cal w/ 3% pectin running at his rate of 24 ml/hr. He was tolerating 20 cal @ 24/hr, but he still isn't pooping normally (for Eli). I can tell that his bm's are very painful. He hard screamed enough to burst a blood vessel along his eye, hopefully the motrin & tylenol will help prevent this from happening again. so hopefully his little gut will tolerate his "thick milkshake". The GI doc said if in 4 hours his belly isn't distended and Eli proves he can tolerate his food, he will write the discharge orders for early evening. Eli and I are hoping 5 pm :)
Eli has been
The GI doc and ped are still very concerned about Eli's failure to of weight gain for 6-months now and recent hydration issues. There was a push to place a central line so he can get IV nutrition again, but I really don't feel this is best for Elijah. Please pray Eli can get home, recover and start to grow!
I just spoke w/ the surgeon and he said Eli likes to ride on thin ice. His x-ray from this morning still showed partial obstructions, but if he is able to get stool passed they won't surgically repair them (for now). I got the sense from all of Eli's practitioners that no one wants to open up his gut again. Every time you have a bowel surgery there is increased risk for even more adhesions (scar tissue that sticks the intestines together), a greater chance they won't be able to get his intestines to function again, decreased absorptive potential of his remaining intestines, and all the other risks associated w/ normal major organ surgery. The surgeon said if Eli has another obstruction they will have to surgically remove it. The risks of surgery are less then the risk Eli will perforate his intestine again given the significant amount & degree of adhesions he has. The Lord has continued to watch over Eli, and I just pray that he will not have to face this hurdle.
I am still waiting for the wind the fueled the storm to return. Eli isn't on his anti-diarrheal medicine, but the GI doc said he doesn't doubt he will need it within 48 hrs. I just pray that we don't go from obstruction to massive diarrhea or worse. Please continue to keep Eli in your prayers. I hope to update when we get home and show off some pictures of our little trooper.

Tooting his own horn

Eli has starting passing gas again. I know he will hate me later for sharing this with the world, but gas is good! His belly is a lot softer and he's back to looking like my skinny boy again (compared to my little grape).
I pestered the nurse to keep paging the surgeon when he forgot to come back this afternoon. I had to wait until 4 pm this afternoon until he could come and talk to us about the x-ray. The good news is that the x-ray looked a lot better. Not normal, but a child w/ short gut never has normal x-rays of their gut. The air pockets have decreased and his small bowel no longer appears obstructed on x-ray.
Eli decided the he wanted his NG tube out this afternoon, so he "helped" in its removal. I still had to get the official "ok" from the surgeon to not put it back in. Eli is still pretty mad at the world, but at least we can now walk around the room w/o being attached to the suctioning machine.
I also worked my negotiating skills and got the surgeon to agree to restart Eli's feeds tonight. It's hard to tell how he is doing so far, but we restarted him at 20 cal formula running at 10 ml/hr (his normal formula is 24 cal w/ 3% pectin @ 24 ml/hr). They also restarted his reflux meds and changed him over to oral pain relivers iso rectal Tylenol- Eli is very happy about that one. No poop so far, but I just heard a few toots from Eli in his swing. Please pray that things start moving through and we won't need to stop his feeds & continue bowel rest.
No word as to whether we will actually be able to go home tomorrow. My gut tells me it won't happen. I just know how hospitals work and so far I have only had one health professional (surgeon) say that is a possibility. Eli's GI doc and ped aren't available this weekend, so we have to work through partners from their practice. It is very difficult to convince other medical workers about what "normal" is for Eli. We may end up staying until Monday or later, depending on what Eli needs to accomplish before he leaves. I guess I will know more in the morning.
Eli continues to prove he is one resilient little guy. Please continue to pray for our little fighter.

No new zippers

I just saw the surgeon this morning and as of right now it looks like Eli will not be having surgery. His belly is much softer and the distention way down. We are waiting for the conformation from his x-ray that his obstruction has cleared.
I haven't met with his GI doc or ped today, but the surgeon said he wanted to give Eli one more day of bowel rest. If the x-ray looks good, they will restart his feeds tomorrow morning and he can go home! I am still waiting on a few more docs & x-rays, but I am just ecstatic that Eli will probably get through this without another surgery.
Eli is not quite so chipper this morning. He is PISSED about the huge tube going down his throat and continues to gag every few minutes. The surgeon wanted to leave the NG suction on for 24-hrs, just to be cautious, as Eli did have some major distention issues yesterday. Hopefully it won't be another full day & night of Eli doing 15-minutes rest, gag, wake up & scream for 2 hours until he can get his pain meds.
I want to thank everyone who has continued to pray for Eli. The Lord truly answers our prayers and I know he is watching over our little Eli. Keep growing strong little E.