It has been three weeks now that Caden has experienced reflux every single day. The past few days have been a little better since we have not seen as many reflux episodes per day. We took Caden back to his pediatrician yesterday. The doctor said that Caden’s lungs sounded clear. Caden got weighed and was at the same weight (12lb 3oz) that he was at last week. That is good because we were concerned that Caden might loose weight with all the reflux and the fact that he has been getting a lot of pedialyte over the past few weeks.
This past weekend started off really bad. Sherry and I got about as low as we have been in months. We were both sick, sad, depressed, confused, and just plain tired. I personally can not remember being that upset since the night of Caden’s surgery when we thought we might loose him. Fortunately my mom and sister came into town to our rescue on Saturday. They sent us off on a date Saturday and even took the night shift with Caden on Saturday night so we could sleep. They were both amazed at how busy Caden keeps you. My sister is an RN and offered some advice on how to suction Caden to minimize the irritation to the rim of his nose. His nose has become raw due to the amount of suction required to keep his airway clear over the past three weeks. He had never had a rash on his nose until the first of April.
With all of this going on I guess it is worth mentioning that I am nursing a tooth ache that I have found out is a cracked molar. This is a tooth that I had gum surgery on to save it about eighteen months ago. The surgery was done to expose more tooth for a new crown since my old crown kept popping off. The tooth was weak due to the root canal, post and crown. The crack has caused my gum to get infected. The dentist referred me to and endodontist (root canal specialist) who has now referred me to an oral surgeon. Hopefully I can get it removed today or tomorrow. It has been bothering me since the middle of March. I have since acquired a sinus infection to go along with it.
We did not have a nurse last night. I don’t believe the details are important, but it was an unexpected situation. Sherry and I had to split the shift last night. I did not find out until about 2:30 AM when Sherry woke me to tell me that I would need to relieve her soon.
I don’t know where we are headed with all this, but I hope we get there soon. We pray constantly and we are searching high and low for a solution to the nursing problem. We hope the answer to our prayers is found in healing for Caden. He will get better and we know that. In the meantime, we have to be responsible and look for ways to deal with the situation at hand.
We have friends as well as Caden’s pediatrician looking for counseling assistance for us to sort through our emotions. They may be able to help us identify some resources to get care for Caden as well. Caden’s pediatrician knows a pastor at our church and our friend Kane is making a few calls as well. I am taking all the suggestions I can come up with at this point.
Please keep us in your prayers. If you have any ideas, please pass them on to us. We are ready to do what ever God wants us to do. It has not come clear yet, but maybe one of you have the answer and you just don’t realize it.
Blessings to you all,
Hank O