Here we go....again...another surgery!

On Thursday Abby had an appointment with her GI Doc. We were happy about this because Abby's G Tube has been acting up again. Before I get into that though, let me give everyone a visual of the G Tube. Below is an older picture of Abby taken at the end of October last year. This is the G Tube.



When we need to use it, we attach a longer tube to that little thing and pour the milk in through a giant syringe, like a funnel. The best picture I could find with the longer tube attached is from after her last brain surgery when she was in recovery. She's on her side, but you can see the tube attached laying there. We haven't attached the over sized syringe yet, but you get the idea...



I haven't really commented on this G Tube issue before and I'm not sure why, because it has been a nightmare. You can see just how close this thing is to her skin and you can imagine how irritated her skin gets as it rubs against her. It also leaks a lot which is a big mess. We put these pieces of gauze between the G Tube and her skin but that only lasts so long. Keep in mind that what's leaking out is partially digested, very acidic milk. This stuff makes Abby's skin on her tummy around the hole get extremely irritated and sensitive.




So.... back to the GI appointment this past Thursday. Like I said, Abby had been really upset with her G Tube lately. The worst we've seen. We couldn't even get close to it without her going crazy. Sure enough, on Thursday, our concerns were confirmed. Without getting technical let's just say that her G Tube hole is really messed up. So much so, the docs said that they haven't seen anything like this in really long time. Abby needs to get into surgery so they can close it up ASAP. And ASAP is today, Monday at noon. We're told this will require at least one nights stay in the hospital but Abby was never one for a speedy recovery. She does recover each time, but slowly.
Here is the scary part in all this. The docs aren't sure if they will be able to put another G Tube in. There is only so much room they have to work with when poking these holes into her tummy and it's possible that Abby's current hole is so enlarged and messed up that there won't be room to make another one. This is bad because Abby needs that G Tube. She cannot eat yet. In fact, we tried to go without using it this weekend and it was horrible. She only drank about 4 oz's of milk the entire day, she was cranky, tired and starving. Remember, Abby does not associate being hungry with eating. Since birth, each time Abby was hungry, she didn't quench that hunger by actually eating food herself, but rather was fed through the G tube. Since she hasn't learned to feed herself to get rid of that hunger pain, she doesn't put those two together. She doesn't think to herself, "hey I'm hungry, I need to eat something." In fact, she wants nothing to do with eating when she gets too hungry. We tried to give her food but she just turned her head.

The doctor said he just isn't sure what he'll be able to do with everything until he actually gets in there. We're praying like crazy that he will find a way to put another G Tube in Abby. From what we've seen this weekend, it's just too soon for Abby to be without it. But in the end, we know and have faith that Heavenly Father is in control of all this and will take care of little Abby.

And so, it's that time again friends. Keep the prayers coming these next few days. Prayers that the surgery will go well, that the docs will be able to put in another G Tube, and that Abby's recovery will be quick. We all know that Kelly is going to do what Kelly does during this whole thing, which is stay by her baby girls side this entire time no matter what. So please pray for her as well. Pray that her contractions stay calm and that this whole thing doesn't put a strain on her and Eddie.

Love,

Abby and Eddie's Parents

PS - Check out mommy and Eddie!