Well, we are off to Cincinnati on Monday for Daniel. This trip will feature another swallow study and dilation of Daniel's esophagus. The purpose of this swallow study is to ensure that the fistula, which began our troubles, is closed (It better be or there is going to be one pissed off mother in the room) and to see how Daniel's esophagus is functioning. How they are going to do this study is beyond me since Daniel is supposed to be able to swallow two ounces of barium and since he is not taking anything by mouth this could prove to be very interesting. The study is done in radiology and they use barium to evaluate how things are moving from Daniel's mouth to his esophagus to his stomach and small intestine. The reason they use barium is because it is a contrast material that makes liquids show up on the image-screen as gray or black so you can see how things are moving. We had two of these done while he was in the NICU and hopefully they will let us be in the room to watch the study take place since they are quite cool to see. (Yes, we have turned into medical geeks.)
The other reason why we are going is for another round of esophagus stretching. We are praying that the Dr. who is doing these dilations has someone he trusts more locally and will allow us to see him or her over the next few months. The reason being is that these "stretching sessions" must be done every 10 to 14 days to be effective and the reality of us going back and forth to Cincinnati every two weeks is a bit insane. Hopefully he will be ok with us going to Philly or to somewhere in New York. Please keep your fingers crossed for us. If not, one of us is moving to Cincinnati much sooner than she thought.
As always, we will keep you posted as it is an adventure that seems to never end.....
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
good luck and have a safe trip...you're in my prayers...Rene is also going to a service this week and will be asking that the parents there to pray for Daniel....much love, Jfr.
Post a Comment