The Week I Almost Lost My Son
Many 1st time parents are of the variety that worry and over worry about every little nuance of their angels. Any wrong cough or sniffle has them calling their pediatrician at 1am, freaking out, much to the Dr.'s chagrin. This is a story about me, the least overprotective mother I think there is, and my son, Justin.
Justin was born April 1990. He was a happy, healthy baby, no problems to speak of. His nickname was Butterman, because at 3 months he was almost 16 pounds. Justin was my butterball. One morning when he was around 4 months or so, he was very irritable, not wanting to eat or drink, pulling his legs into his chest, screaming and his stomach seemed bloated. Not really sure what was going on, I figured he was gassy and that once he relived himself, he would begin to feel better. Well, that didn't happen. He soon had a fever to go with discomfort and he was vomiting a little. I called the pediatrician and since it was after hours, he suggested i take him to the emergency room. Off to UMC we headed.
When observed at UMC, the Dr. thought that he might just be a bit colicky with a bit of a bug bothering him. He told me don't worry and sent me on my way. He did however mention to return immediately if his condition became worse or if he had bloody stools. Again, I'm not worrying too much as the Dr. has given me reassurance that Justin was ok. 9 hours later, still not much fluid intake and a long, very long night, Justin had the feared bloody stool, the consistency of jelly. This is not good! An immediate race back to UMC emergency. It turns out Justin was suffering from an intussusception.
Intussusception occurs when one portion of the bowel slides into the next, much like the pieces of a telescope. When this occurs, it can create a blockage in the bowel, with the walls of the intestines pressing against one another. This, in turn leads to
swelling, inflammation, and decreased blood flow to the part of the intestines involved. As I was told in layman's terms, basically if you were to take your tube sock off, it generally folds over on itself as you remove it, this is what happened to Justin.
Treatment involved a barium enema. Once the fluid mixture is passed through the intestine, the intestine will unfold
itself and fix the problem. Justin had this treatment done, stayed in the hospital for a day or two until he was eating and having normal bowel movements.
Intusssusceptions:
occur most often in babies between 5 and 10 months of age (80% of cases occur before a child is 24 months old)
affects between 1 and 4 infants out of 1,000
is more common in boys than girls
Unfortunately, the story does not end there. Here is where the Mama Bear (me) had to come out. And boy did it come out. After about 4 days at home, Justin still was not behaving quite right. He really wasn't interested in food and every time he took
a full bottle, he would vomit a little too much up in my opinion. Over the next 3 days off being in and out the emergency room, again, I was the overprotective mother I was told, there was something wrong with this child. It was not until I told the hospital that unless they kept him in for observation for a day or two (I threatened to sue the hospital and every single person who had contact with us) they realized that he was a bit dehydrated, hooked him up to a fluid IV and he began projectile vomiting. Now, for those not familiar with projectile vomit. It literally flies across the room and hits the walls. I'd already been dealing with that for 3 days, so it was nothing new to me. But, what came out of his mouth made the hospital realize something was seriously wrong with him. He was vomiting stools.
For 10 days Justin was in the hospital, for 4 of them Dr.'s were telling me they did not know what was wrong with Justin, but they
tried to prepare me in case he passed away. I lived at the hospital with him. On the 5th day, his surgeon said he wanted to go into his stomach for exploratory surgery to see if they could find anything wrong. Luckily, they did. The intussusception had caused about 3 inches of his intestine to die. When they did the barium enema, the problem was corrected, but the tissue perforated and as it tried to heal, it had adhered to his stomach lining. So basically, his intestinal track was blocked and ended at the stomach adhesions. Once they removed the dead tissue, and reconnected good tissue together, Justin made a swift recovery.
Justin's complications were the 1st time anyone in the medical profession had seen, which was why so little was known. Our Dr.'s consulted with others throughout the country and no one could offer any solutions. Justin did become famous in some circles as his case was written up in the Journal of New England Medicine. Hopefully, no other family had to suffer
the way we did.
Today, Justin is a healthy 22 yr old man. He's never had a relapse, which is common with those who have had an intussusception. Mama Bear's out there, don't let the medical profession bully you into thinking you don't know what is right with your kids. Sometimes, you have to be the one who is in their face fighting for them.
Signs & Symptons:
The first sign of intussusception in an otherwise healthy infant may be sudden, loud crying caused by abdominal pain.
Infants who have abdominal pain may pull their knees to their chests when they cry. The pain of intussusception comes and goes, usually every 15 to 20 minutes at first. These painful episodes last longer and happen more often as time passes.
Severe abdominal pain that comes and goes (intermittent pain)
Stool mixed with blood and mucus (sometimes referred to as "currant jelly" stool because of its appearance)
A lump in the abdomen
Swollen (distended) abdomen
Vomiting, possibly vomiting bile (yellow-brown or greenish fluid)
Diarrhea
Fever
Dehydration
Lethargy
Justin was born April 1990. He was a happy, healthy baby, no problems to speak of. His nickname was Butterman, because at 3 months he was almost 16 pounds. Justin was my butterball. One morning when he was around 4 months or so, he was very irritable, not wanting to eat or drink, pulling his legs into his chest, screaming and his stomach seemed bloated. Not really sure what was going on, I figured he was gassy and that once he relived himself, he would begin to feel better. Well, that didn't happen. He soon had a fever to go with discomfort and he was vomiting a little. I called the pediatrician and since it was after hours, he suggested i take him to the emergency room. Off to UMC we headed.
When observed at UMC, the Dr. thought that he might just be a bit colicky with a bit of a bug bothering him. He told me don't worry and sent me on my way. He did however mention to return immediately if his condition became worse or if he had bloody stools. Again, I'm not worrying too much as the Dr. has given me reassurance that Justin was ok. 9 hours later, still not much fluid intake and a long, very long night, Justin had the feared bloody stool, the consistency of jelly. This is not good! An immediate race back to UMC emergency. It turns out Justin was suffering from an intussusception.
Intussusception occurs when one portion of the bowel slides into the next, much like the pieces of a telescope. When this occurs, it can create a blockage in the bowel, with the walls of the intestines pressing against one another. This, in turn leads to
swelling, inflammation, and decreased blood flow to the part of the intestines involved. As I was told in layman's terms, basically if you were to take your tube sock off, it generally folds over on itself as you remove it, this is what happened to Justin.
Treatment involved a barium enema. Once the fluid mixture is passed through the intestine, the intestine will unfold
itself and fix the problem. Justin had this treatment done, stayed in the hospital for a day or two until he was eating and having normal bowel movements.
Intusssusceptions:
occur most often in babies between 5 and 10 months of age (80% of cases occur before a child is 24 months old)
affects between 1 and 4 infants out of 1,000
is more common in boys than girls
Unfortunately, the story does not end there. Here is where the Mama Bear (me) had to come out. And boy did it come out. After about 4 days at home, Justin still was not behaving quite right. He really wasn't interested in food and every time he took
a full bottle, he would vomit a little too much up in my opinion. Over the next 3 days off being in and out the emergency room, again, I was the overprotective mother I was told, there was something wrong with this child. It was not until I told the hospital that unless they kept him in for observation for a day or two (I threatened to sue the hospital and every single person who had contact with us) they realized that he was a bit dehydrated, hooked him up to a fluid IV and he began projectile vomiting. Now, for those not familiar with projectile vomit. It literally flies across the room and hits the walls. I'd already been dealing with that for 3 days, so it was nothing new to me. But, what came out of his mouth made the hospital realize something was seriously wrong with him. He was vomiting stools.
For 10 days Justin was in the hospital, for 4 of them Dr.'s were telling me they did not know what was wrong with Justin, but they
tried to prepare me in case he passed away. I lived at the hospital with him. On the 5th day, his surgeon said he wanted to go into his stomach for exploratory surgery to see if they could find anything wrong. Luckily, they did. The intussusception had caused about 3 inches of his intestine to die. When they did the barium enema, the problem was corrected, but the tissue perforated and as it tried to heal, it had adhered to his stomach lining. So basically, his intestinal track was blocked and ended at the stomach adhesions. Once they removed the dead tissue, and reconnected good tissue together, Justin made a swift recovery.
Justin's complications were the 1st time anyone in the medical profession had seen, which was why so little was known. Our Dr.'s consulted with others throughout the country and no one could offer any solutions. Justin did become famous in some circles as his case was written up in the Journal of New England Medicine. Hopefully, no other family had to suffer
the way we did.
Today, Justin is a healthy 22 yr old man. He's never had a relapse, which is common with those who have had an intussusception. Mama Bear's out there, don't let the medical profession bully you into thinking you don't know what is right with your kids. Sometimes, you have to be the one who is in their face fighting for them.
Signs & Symptons:
The first sign of intussusception in an otherwise healthy infant may be sudden, loud crying caused by abdominal pain.
Infants who have abdominal pain may pull their knees to their chests when they cry. The pain of intussusception comes and goes, usually every 15 to 20 minutes at first. These painful episodes last longer and happen more often as time passes.
Severe abdominal pain that comes and goes (intermittent pain)
Stool mixed with blood and mucus (sometimes referred to as "currant jelly" stool because of its appearance)
A lump in the abdomen
Swollen (distended) abdomen
Vomiting, possibly vomiting bile (yellow-brown or greenish fluid)
Diarrhea
Fever
Dehydration
Lethargy