Back on track

Well, Ella got through the stomach virus…or so we thought.  She was fine all day Wednesday, went to school Thursday and Friday, and even had an iron infusion Friday afternoon.  Then last Sunday night (March 4^th) the stomach virus struck again.  Around 10:00 pm Joe went in to kiss her goodnight, and she threw up again…everywhere!  When I say everywhere, I mean EVERYWHERE!  All in her hair, all over her arms (she was wearing short sleeved pj’s), all over her legs (I threw her socks away and would have thrown her jammies away too except they're her favorite Sponge Bob pair), all over her bed, the carpet, the wall…you name it.

Needless to say, we had to start a bath and bandage change at 10:30 pm.  Joe and I worked as fast as we could.  He gave her a bath while I took care of her sheets and getting her bandages ready.  We started her bandages at 11 pm and the poor child didn’t get into bed until midnight.  All three of us were completely exhausted.  She stayed home from school the next day (obviously) and both Ella and I slept in.

The good news is that when she woke up she was asking for food, something she hadn’t done at all the week before.  Her appetite has steadily increased and yesterday she took in a whopping 1385 calories (that is nearly unheard of for Ella).  The bad news is that now she won’t even touch Pediasure or any other calorie drinks, but at least it seems like she’s taking in enough calories in her food and doesn’t need the Pediasure.

All of this really showed Joe and I how much she needs a g-tube (feeding tube).  We’ve talked about it numerous times over the past year and had decided that this summer we were going to go ahead and get one.  Unfortunately with this stomach issue, not keeping anything down and not wanting to eat for a week, Ella lost weight.  She probably only lost about 3-4 pounds, but Ella didn’t have 3-4 pounds to lose.  She is noticeably skinnier and her clothes are now too big.  One morning she was walking from her bedroom to our bedroom and her pajama pants fell right off…they are size 4T.  Given all of that, we decided to move up her g-tube surgery.  The plan now is that she’ll have the surgery before the end of the school year.

As weird as it sounds, we’re both really relieved.  God has given us such a peace that this is the right decision, and we’re eager to go ahead and get it taken care of.  One little boy that I know of got his g-tube a little over 6 months ago.  In the first 5 weeks of having it he gained 5 pounds.  In the past 6 months he has gained 10 pounds.  That is incredible!  I can’t imagine Ella being 10 pounds heavier.  That would give her a little bit of chunk, and actually put her on the chart for growth.  This will also give us an outlet to give her much needed vitamins without having to fight with her to take them (namely, iron supplements).  This also will mean that for the first time in 2 years, I’ll have to go buy her clothes.  Any clothes she has gotten in the past 2 years were because I wanted to buy them, not because she actually needed them and was outgrowing the ones she had.

I’ll be sure and keep everyone informed of when the surgery will be.

After Sunday night Ella was back to her sweet self.  She went to school Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and has had a great weekend.