Honestly, this procedure was explained to be very simple, quick (approx 30 minutes, however pre and post obviously added to that with the anesthesia), with instant results of being able to eat soft foods again. We planned to be back home by lunch yesterday, ready to eat some Thai food to celebrate that he could eat real food again. However we encountered a MAJOR bump in the road. During the procedure one of the tools that they use to stretch the esophagus wider caused a tear right at the junction of where the new esophagus was "hooked up" on the upper end. The interesting info we learned, for those detail oriented seekers, is that Jason's opening was only 3 mm wide when the procedure began. They stretched it to 11mm during the procedure. Now it wasn't the stretching that caused the tear. It was the instrument they used as they were pulling it out, finishing the procedure. You think about 3 mm, that is SMALL! No wonder even cottage cheese was getting stuck when Jas was eating.
The Dr. shook his head and said never in the 20 years of doing this has this happened. Jas just looked at him calmly and said, "It is what it is. Let's talk about the game plan from here." Well, I'm praying that Jason's attitude of Christlike suffering will be forever embedded in the Dr's heart and that a seed of Christ has been planted. What an amazing husband God has given me! We love this Dr. and fully respect and trust him and you can see that he just feels awful about what happened!
So from there, Jas had to head down to radiation for another "swallow/leak" test to see if the tear in the esophagus was leaking liquid to determine whether or not he could eat/drink anything orally. It was very interesting as they let me come in the room and watch this time. Last time I wasn't part of the process. But man oh man, the first drink of the lovely liquid they gave him and the nurse and I saw liquid shooting out the side of the junction right away : ( Sigh. The Dr. confirmed that about 10% of what he was drinking was leaking outside of his esophagus and into his body where it shouldn't be going.
What that means for us? Well, that means back into the hospital room we go, probably until Monday at the earliest. It also means no eating or drinking anything orally until he can pass the next "leak" test. This is something that the body will be able to heal itself on, however it takes time and even more time when we're talking about operated scar tissue healing. So, Praise God they still have his feeding tube in. He's back to straight tube feedings into his intestine for the next week. Our surgeon even commented tonight when he did his rounds, "Thank God the feeding tube is still in. I thought about taking it out on your last visit to see me and I'm so glad we didn't." I smiled big and said, "God knew what he was doing!" First time I heard our surgeon mention God :)
Oh, that reminds me of another neat thing to share. When we first checked in for the procedure, the lady who has registered us multiple times in the past, registered us again. I looked at her and noticed that the lanyard that she usually wears around her neck to hold her badge on that read "I Love Jesus" wasn't on that day. So I asked her what happened to it, as it was always a comforting reminder that we were in good hands. She smiled and said, "Well I have about 5 different lanyards that I color coordinate with my outfit. But just because I don't have it on today doesn't mean that Jesus isn't always in my heart!" LOVE IT! I agreed with her and was excited to know we had another sister in Christ here at the hospital!
To summarize the remainder of the day yesterday and last night... Jas was in a LOT of pain and had more nauseousness than I've ever seen him have the poor guy! It took until about 3 to 4am this morning before they were able to get his pain to a manageable state and for him not to dry heave every 15 minutes. Uggh!!! It was a LONG DAY and LONG NIGHT for him!
I headed home last night to take care of Taylor, talk her through why daddy didn't come home and tuck her in. Now I have to say, after the day we had I never would have expected to smile at the end of it. But how could you not, when you walk home to this surprise? Cards of blessings lined the kitchen counter about what she was thankful for. And Taylor greeted me with a red nose and washable marker "makeup" all over her face. She and Grammie Bev had decided to do make overs together. So her toes and fingers were painted pretty which she loves. However, Taylor's manicure on Grammie Bev with washable marker was hysterical. I don't think she hit one fingernail :) I would attach a pic of the two ladies together with their war paint on but I think Grammie Bev would shoot me lol
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| 10 Blessings Cards for Daddy & Mommy |
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| Grammie Bev's manicure given by Taylor |
By the way, a HUGE thanks to everyone who offered to help with Taylor! We have coverage for her through end of day Tuesday, which is all we are expecting to need at this point, but man do we feel blessed to have so many willing to help if needed! THANK YOU! And a special thanks to Grammie Bev, Couches, Shanks & Conrads for loving on our baby girl this weekend :)
After arriving back to the hospital early afternoon today, Jas is looking and feeling better - Praise God! Don't get me wrong, he's still wiped and only sleeping in 30 minute increments, but his pain is back to a manageable state and he is only having sporadic nausea now. Praying that he gets a good night's sleep so he feels even better tomorrow!
At this point, our Dr's are still discussing best route to head in terms of next steps, so we'll keep you posted as we go. They are hoping that Monday he may be able to go home. However if he does, he'll still be on a straight tube feed until he can pass the "leak/swallow" test. They are debating about whether he do the test on Monday before heading home or if they give it a week and then have him come back to do it. We shall see!
Well, that's it for now. To sum it up, things happen: good, bad and ugly. While this turn of events was a major surprise to us and very disappointing, we know it wasn't a surprise to God at all and that it's all part of His perfect plan - Romans 8:28. It's comforting to be reminded that nothing surprises our God!
Time to get back to work and hang up our Romans 8:28 decor in the room with some encouraging cards to brighten his spirits and reach out to the staff here once again!
Thanks for your continued prayers!
In Him,
Meg
