Updates on Garrett

Garrett is back home! Though tired, he wanted to try and catch the tail end of the school day at HFS. We thought it better that he just come home; he's already had some pizza and is relaxing in bed playing Roblox by himself. Gibson is not home from school yet, and all Garrett wants to do is play with his brother! Jill and I are happy that our house will be full again tonight. Thanks everyone for your thoughts and support this week!

Garrett is progressing well: he ate some pancakes this morning for breakfast and has been managing his pain with tylenol and motrin. His surgeon is happy with that and has cleared him for discharge today, so we'll see how long all the paperwork takes and when he actually gets out the door. 

 Garrett is doing well after his procedure. The obstruction has been fixed and he's passing things normally again. He has understandably been in pain since the procedure and has been trying to rest. He's been cleared for light food to see how his GI tract tolerates it. As he shakes off the heavier painkillers today, we'll be coaxing him to eat and drink today to get that process started.

Garrett had a successful stoma revision and is in post-op; we're waiting for him to wake up. Speaking with his surgeon, everything went well. It wasn't obvious what caused the small bowel obstruction (ie, adhesion or kink), but his doctor did think the opening in the abdominal wall fascia was tight and food may have obstructed it, leading to an inflamed and swollen bowel. More to come...

Garrett was admitted to CHOP on Monday night.  He started to have some abdominal pain around his stoma this past Saturday, then threw up multiple times Sunday and Monday. Because he's an IBD kid, we were immediately concerned that there could be a blockage in his GI tract, but we were also hoping it may just be a virus he caught from Gibson. However, his condition did not improve and we brought him to the ED on Monday afternoon. A sump tube was inserted nasally to drain his stomach and to administer contrast for a CT scan. After the CT scan, there was good and not-so-good news: the blockage seems to be right at the stoma and there were no adhesions further up the small intestine to address (the really, really good news)... however, the blockage has not resolved itself after several attempts to help it, and Garrett now needs to undergo a stoma revision (ie, surgery... the not-so-good news).  Garrett is currently scheduled for the procedure around 11am this morning. Stoma revisions a

Because of the amount of time he spends in the hospital, Garrett knows things most 8 year olds don't. He knows nursing mnemonic devices like "white on the right, smoke (black) over fire (red)" will lead to correct EKG lead placement. He knows what type of iron infusion to request so it won't feel like it's burning going through his IV. He knows the different buttons to push on an infusion pump if the line is occluded or if the syringe is empty and tells nurses when he thinks it's time for them to "flush his line and not just do a reset."  Lately, he's also been a lot more hands on. He removed his own feeding tube, has done a lot of the work to take care of his own ostomy, "helps" the nurses change his lines, and tonight even got involved to the extent it was safe in removing his PICC line! The PICC removal was a big step forward toward discharge.  While we wish Garrett's natural curiosity and intelligence were being exercised in way

Garrett is displeased with the pace of his doctor's discharge planning and feels they are not taking what he says about wanting to leave seriously enough. (I think they are being cautious and considering his overall health, but he just wants to go home.) DOES HE LOOK SERIOUS NOW?  He requested glasses (which he does not require!) to make him look more mature, and therefore be listened to.  He also requested a meeting with his doctor who is the director of CHOP's early onset IBD program which he began with, "Finally! Someone who can make some decisions around here!" If only you could have heard the rest of his conversations today and how he advocates for himself!  The glasses may stay...