It's good to remember...

So much has changed in one  year.  I remember this time last year - Jack had just had surgery for a duodenal atresia repair.

The events leading up to his surgery were gruesome:

June 22, 2009 ( a Monday) Jack was born.  We were sent home on Wednesday with what we thought was a perfectly healthy little boy.  On Wednesday he was yellow and projectile vomitting.  Thursday we were informed that he was jaundiced and that spit up was 'normal' and that he might have Down Syndrome.  Vomitting continued, bilirubin level wouldn't drop and Saturday, June 27th, my parents left to go back to TN and that same day we found out Jack had Down Syndrome. No family nearby.  Very few close friends.  Hard Hard Day.  Jack would not nurse, so I was pumping around the clock - he was sleeping non stop - projectile vomitting all the time (dr. was still saying that "spit-up is normal"), bilirubin level still wouldn't drop.  Had photo therapy light for the jaundice delivered to our house - Jack had to wear it all the time.  Had to take him for blood work EVERY single day.  The days seemed to never end.  Our baby didn't seem like a baby.  Projectile vomitng is NOT normal.  Green bile coming from your child's mouth is NOT normal - I told the Dr. this EVERY SINGLE DAY!  This went on for 2 weeks, until finally we went to the ER on July 9th.  That's when we found out about the duodenal atresia.  July 10th - Jack had surgery.  Jack and I were in the hospital for 10 days.

Jack couldn't eat for the 1st 5 days after surgery.  I remember sitting in the hospital room watching Twilight and the Ellen Show - holding him as much as possible trying to comfort a hungry tummy.  I was so mad at that damn pediatrician for not listening to me.  I knew something was wrong with him, I knew it wasn't normal - but she thought I was a crazy new mom.  Needless to say, we don't see her any longer.  And since 1/3 of children with Down syndrome are born with some sort of intestinal blockage, you would have thought she would have been on the look out.  I still get angry thinking about it.  And I remember being thrown into survival mode. There was no time to cope, only time to get Jack well.  All these people would come in the room to talk about DS, and I wanted to yell at them and tell them to leave.  I just wanted Jack to be well and then we would worry about DS.  Then we would start scheduling therapies.  Then we would get in touch with other families.  I know they were just doing their job, but that week was very hard.  I was a new mom with a very sick child and no family around.  That was one of the hardest weeks of my life.


Here's a pic of Jack a week after we got home from the hospital...he is very skinny and little.  He dropped to 5 pounds 12 ounces after his surgery:

And here is our Jack now - 1 year later:

A chunky, happy boy.  Thank you God for bringing Jack so far. I am so grateful that our Jack is well.  We have been in the hospital many times for various things, but overall Jack is healthy...if we could just figure out those fevers.

Side note - for those of you who live near family or have tons of close friends in your area...count your blessings and don't ever take that for granted.  Michael and I would love to have one of our family's in driving distance. The closest is 8 hours away...which pretty much sucks.  So, even though they might drive you nuts sometimes, be grateful they are nearby.




Have a great week!