Aliens or Angels

We are home.  AJ is happy but tired.  

Today at the hospital, the operating rooms were super busy as they had a large number of serious trauma patients.  AJ's doctor finally decided to use a procedure room in the pediatric intensive care unit.  They would not be able to use gas to put him to sleep but instead would use conscious sedation.  The medication would take care of the pain, cause AJ to be very relaxed and would also leave him with no memory of the event as it causes amnesia.  They took him in and tried to get an IV and were unsuccessful.  Then they used a medication to relax him and followed up with two injections to really knock him out.  The doctor said it may cause hallucinations.  We waited...waited and AJ just kept looking at us.  So they doubled all of the meds.  Then AJ began staring at me with huge eyes and kept repeating over and over, "Mama?  Mama?  He must have said my name a hundred times.  When they did the procedure to open his stoma he screamed in terrible pain and shouted at the doctors to leave him alone and that he wanted to go home.  Poor guy.  When it was over he continued to look at me, repeating, "Mama?  Mama?  Then he fell asleep.

I was so thankful that he would not remember it.  When he woke up he asked where we were and why.  I told him that he had to have his g-tube replaced and that we were in the hospital.  He was good with that and was even more excited when he heard we were going home.

On the way home AJ asked where I was when he told the doctors to leave him alone and that he wanted to go home. (Clearly he remembered some of this)  I told him I stayed with him the entire time.  He said, "No, I didn't see you but I saw an alien and it had five eyes and two mouths"  He said he watched the doctors working on his tube and it hurt really bad.  The Alien stayed the whole time watching him.  AJ thought that was pretty cool because the Alien looked like me.  He had an alien for a Mom!

Now you have to realize that some kids see angels when they are sick.  Maybe they are real sometimes and maybe other times they are hallucinations.  AJ loves aliens.  An angel would not have been a big deal.  So...God is good all the time...either he made me into an Alien creature just long enough to get AJ through his procedure or he provided some great medications so that AJ could have a great hallucination.  Either way; AJ loved it.  All is good.

Barbara

Peacefully Sleeping

AJ's tube is in place and he is sleeping so peacefully.  It was not an easy procedure and it involved more than double the medication it normally took to sedate him.  It will take him a while to sleep this off.  They want us to stay another night but I am hoping we can go home.

 He kept asking me, "Please Momma, I want to go home"  Soon we will little man, soon we will!

Thanks for praying,

Barbara and AJ

In the hospital

Sorry for the long delay.  We have been very busy in fun ways but right now AJ is in the hospital.  He was having a great time with his sister, Katie, when he fell and pulled out his G-tube.  His tube is very difficult to replace and we could not get it in.  We went to a local hospital in Minneapolis since we were not near our home.  The doctors were unwilling to do anything and they made AJ wait four hours before agreeing to help put his tube back in.  As expected and as I had warned them many times, his tube site had closed.  We are back down at Mayo as he spent the night waiting to go to the OR this morning.  Due to the lack of fluids he is constipated (also not a surprise) and is vomiting (happens with constipation).  Hopefully he will get to the OR soon so that he can get his medication to get his intestines moving.  Patience is the key.  He is watching movies but not feeling well at all.  Thanks for your prayers for AJ.  Hopefully I can update soon with some good news.  AJ is much happier to be back at Mayo and so am I!