A Shunt

After the CT scan, the GI doctors decided they needed to take over C's management again, instead of the pulmonary docs, so, we won't be transfering over to Cook's after all. Which is fine. They are wondering if what the scan showed is infection or infartions. C is on some heavier antibotics to cover a broad range, but if it doesn't lessen the fever and stomach pain, we might need to consider a shunt, bascially taking out the spleen and using part of a vessel from somewhere else and turning it into a shunt from the liver to make the blood flow where it is supposed to.

I started crying when they told me this. I'm not sure why. Too much stress I suppose, because realistically we came in here for a liver transplant, but this would be much less traumatic, plus he won't have to have anti-rejections. And getting rid of that huge spleen would take a lot of pressure off his lungs and hopefully his liver too. But we aren't at that point yet anyway. First we need to wait a few days and see what happens with his pain. The fever has already gone down. There is a spleen surgeon the GI team is consulting with who is consulting with the spleen/shunt team down in Houston . . . so basically we're waiting right now. I really thought that that coming in the hospital in November would mean we wouldn't have to spend another Christmas in the hospital. Ah, well.

The pain management team is giving Chase a PCI pump today so he'll just have to press a button to get his morphine instantly rather than wait to tell a nurse. Anyway, so that is where we are.

Oh, I just had a pulmonogist come in and tell me they were discussing about whether to just take part of the spleen away, that way there will be some immunity benefits still. A lot of discussion about this, a lot of different options. Which one is best? How's a parent to know?

As my dear friend Faith, and Harry Potter fan said, she wishes she could wave a wand and say "liver repairitus" or "spleen repairitus". Maybe that's why I love to write fantasy, create worlds with lots of magic. I could use a little right now.