The unexpected

This past week has certainly been a week of the unexpected.  Derek & I have felt from the moment that we brought Harper home that we were some of the lucky ones that were blessed with a really easy baby.  Harper only cried if she was hungry or had a dirty diaper and only got to the crying point if you ignored her grunts and groans a little too long.  She slept well, smiled almost from day one and has such a sweet disposition.  So when she began to have 15 to 20 minute spells of painful crying we began to wonder if something was wrong.  She would cry and then crash out asleep.  These little spells were so random that we couldn't tell if there was something wrong or if she was just going through some changes. 

Then on Wednesday she had two instances where she projectile vomited right after eating.  We took her to the Pediatrician and he sent us to our hospital for a sonogram of her abdomen.  He thought she might have a problem called pyloric stenosis (Pyloric stenosis is a narrowing of the pylorus, the lower part of the stomach through which food and other stomach contents pass to enter the small intestine).  The only way to repair it is to do surgery.  Thankfully, the sonogram ruled it out.  He suggested that we watch her and if it happens again to come back.  All was well until this Saturday.

Saturday morning she woke up very cranky and when she ate she threw up.  I called our doctor and they told us to take her to the ER at All Children's Hospital in St. Pete.  When knew then that the issue was a more serious than we thought. 



In the ER.  She was such a good sport
through all the poking and prodding.

Harper went in for another sonogram in the ER at ACH.  The Radiologist saw that she was having an issue called 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.)  He said that it was a fairly easy fix, but because it's an issue that is not usually found in babies her age he wanted to find out what was causing it.  We were admitted to the hospital overnight for further testing.  They did another ultrasound and took xrays and found a mass that they thought was a cyst on her intestine.  They wanted Harper to get an MRI on Sunday so that they could get a clearer picture of the mass.  Little did we know that Sunday was going to be the day from hell.

Harper would have to be sedated for the MRI which meant that she would not be able to eat before she got the anesthesia.  She was unable to have anything by mouth after midnight on Saturday but we wouldn't know what time they would take her for the MRI the next day.  18 very long, hard, painful hours later she went in for her MRI.  She was so miserable during those 18 hours.  It was so painful for Derek and I to see her so upset and not be able to fix it.  I never want to do that again.

She didn't get in to the MRI until after hours, so her results weren't read until first thing Monday morning.  The MRI did indeed show that she had a cyst on her small intestine.  She was scheduled for surgery at 12:45 that day.  It was so heartbreaking to give up our 36 day-old little girl to the nurse at the door of the OR.  We knew that we had to trust that all our prayers were heard and that God would take care of her.  I've been in experiences where I have had to trust that God was in control.  None were as difficult as this.  It was definitely helpful to know that there were so many other people praying with us.  It is overwhelming to know that many of those praying have never even met Harper before.  We are so thankful for our community of friends and family.

Harper came out of surgery well.  Our prayers were answered!  They removed the cyst and a small portion of her small intestine.  We are now in recovery mode.  It will be at least 3 to 5 days for Harper's intestines to heal before she can start eating.  Once she can eat we will have to make sure that everything is working like it's supposed to work.  We are anticipating being here at ACH for at least the next 7 days.  If we have to be at any hospital for that long, I am grateful that we are here.  It really is an amazing hospital and is very family-focused.  Derek says that it's the Ritz Carlton of hospitals. 

Please continue to pray for Harper's recovery.  Derek will be going back to work on Thursday.  I would appreciate any prayers for my sanity once he goes back to work.  My prayer is that those hours will go quickly and I will not feel lonely at the hospital by myself. 

I will do my best to keep the blog updated as Harper heals and we move closer to going home.

Harper pre-op

our sweet girl post-op