Ben had a really rough morning today. After the nurse left at 7:00 a.m., Ben had two large vomits. The second one got all over his trach ties and some vomit came out of his ears. Good thing he's still on his antibiotic ear drops! Poor guy.
Because Ben still has an intact nissen (the top of his stomach is tied tight), he really isn't suppose to vomit easily. And when he does vomit, it isn't easy for him to do and it seems quite painful. He has been tolerating his new feeding schedule for the past two months, so I wouldn't think that was it... but about a year ago, the same thing started happening. Just one day he started having trouble tolerating his feeds - first he threw up a few times in the morning, then it progressed to an additional few times in the afternoon and before long, he was vomiting over 20 times a day. He ended up spending about 2 weeks in the hospital on an IV and even after multiple tests, they never found out what was causing it. All we knew was that once I switched him to this crazy feeding schedule of eating 11 hours a day, it stopped. Now he is eating 9 hours a day and getting those extra two hours of freedom from being hooked up to the pump has been great!
Hopefully today is just a fluke and not a repeat of last year. So far, he's tolerated the rest of his feeds and has been acting very happy since he's gotten all cleaned up. He has just been terribly junky and needing his trach suctioned every 2 minutes (which is very normal for him after vomiting like that).
It is just so hard to figure out what could be going on. Because Ben eats with a feeding pump, Ben has no control over how much he eats, how fast he eats and when he eats. Because he doesn't talk, he can't tell me when he's full, when he doesn't want as much food, etc. Also, because Ben eats small amounts almost all day, I don't think he even knows or understands the feeling of being full or being hungry. We just have to play mind reader and do our best based on his cues (which too are limited because of his facial palsy). Ugh, CHARGE just makes things so confusing!
4 comments:
Aunt Jen said....
Poor Ben....I feel so bad for him, and for you Amy not being able to know why this is happening. It would be so nice if the little man could just tell you. Maybe it's just a "bug" and like you said, will go away and not become a problem.
Hope your afternoon is better than your morning. Give Ben a huge hug from me and hope the little guy starts feeling better.
Love,
Jen
Oh poor Ben - reflux & vomiting are the worst. I remember those days when Kennedy was so young. I hope it's just a little phase that is over before you know it.
Sorry to hear you had such a rough morning yesterday, Ben. I hope it was just a one-time thing and that you're feeling much better today!
Hugs,
Leslie and Katie
Poor Ben, I am glad he is feeling better now. God bless his sweet little heart.
Hugs,
Crystal and Eva
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