Elijah = Chemistry Experiment
Note from Dave:
I am embarrassed to say that I don't know how many days we've been in the hospital this time, but I never was that good at math, so I'm not excessively embarrassed. On the bright side, I know how to spell "embarrassed."
Elijah is back to his old happy self, and it's really neat to see. He laughs instead of cries when the nurses come in, and he isn't in any pain when the food is going either in or out. You have no idea, or maybe you do, what it does for our state of mind to know he's at least moving in the right direction, and he knows it.
So what are we still doing here? It all comes down to nutrition. The events of the last two months have burned away the lining of his stomach and intestines. There's supposed to be a bunch of hair-like things (vilia, I think) that absorb food, and make the walls look like a shag rug, but at the moment Elijah's lining is more like a lead pipe.
The gastro-intestinal docs are taking extraordinary steps to produce the perfect ratio of formula to IV fluids, as they prepare Eli to once again go home without the IV. They've also given him a new formula to replace the Neocate (remember, the anti-carb stuff), and tonight he starting a THIRD formula, one that's much less exotic (e.g. easy to buy at Wal-Mart) and soy-based. Still, it's new to him. What's more, they're adding different sugar compounds to see what he'll tolerate, in order to bolster his carb intake. Reminds me of chem class in high school, all those measuring flasks and bubbling beakers and whatnot. I never knew what those guys were talking about, either.
Elijah has slipped slightly in his weight, to 11 lb. 10 oz. His weight is a genuine roller-coaster ride, and the only thing that will stop the cycle is regular formula-only feeds and lots of sleep. The goal is to go home on Monday or Tuesday of next week, but we know what it means to go home TOO soon. Trust me, as long as he's getting really good care from the nurses and docs, we're in no hurry to leave.
Just the same, keep those prayers going full force.
David
I am embarrassed to say that I don't know how many days we've been in the hospital this time, but I never was that good at math, so I'm not excessively embarrassed. On the bright side, I know how to spell "embarrassed."
Elijah is back to his old happy self, and it's really neat to see. He laughs instead of cries when the nurses come in, and he isn't in any pain when the food is going either in or out. You have no idea, or maybe you do, what it does for our state of mind to know he's at least moving in the right direction, and he knows it.
So what are we still doing here? It all comes down to nutrition. The events of the last two months have burned away the lining of his stomach and intestines. There's supposed to be a bunch of hair-like things (vilia, I think) that absorb food, and make the walls look like a shag rug, but at the moment Elijah's lining is more like a lead pipe.
The gastro-intestinal docs are taking extraordinary steps to produce the perfect ratio of formula to IV fluids, as they prepare Eli to once again go home without the IV. They've also given him a new formula to replace the Neocate (remember, the anti-carb stuff), and tonight he starting a THIRD formula, one that's much less exotic (e.g. easy to buy at Wal-Mart) and soy-based. Still, it's new to him. What's more, they're adding different sugar compounds to see what he'll tolerate, in order to bolster his carb intake. Reminds me of chem class in high school, all those measuring flasks and bubbling beakers and whatnot. I never knew what those guys were talking about, either.
Elijah has slipped slightly in his weight, to 11 lb. 10 oz. His weight is a genuine roller-coaster ride, and the only thing that will stop the cycle is regular formula-only feeds and lots of sleep. The goal is to go home on Monday or Tuesday of next week, but we know what it means to go home TOO soon. Trust me, as long as he's getting really good care from the nurses and docs, we're in no hurry to leave.
Just the same, keep those prayers going full force.
David
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