Surgery Again

Well it was not the result we were hoping for but Jacob has to have a g-tube put in.

G-Tube and Nissen Procedure:

Jake has so much reflux that it is causing his vocal cords to be red and inflamed but more than that they are afraid that it is going to cause him to aspirate and that could cause serious harm to his lungs. His lungs are already not normal. When he was born they were under developed and they were flooded with fluid after his atrial septal defect became intact. The doctors all feel that it would be way to dangerous to send him home on an ng tube. If he aspirates his food into his lungs it can cause pneumonia. With his lungs already in a weakened state that could be fatal.

He is already maxed out on reflux meds so the best thing for him is to have the nissen procedure and the g-tube.

The Nissen procedure is an operation to sew the top of the stomach (fundus) around the esophagus; used to stop stomach contents from flowing back into the esophagus.

This prevents the acid from going up the esophagus. It also makes it so Jake can not throw up. The hope is that it will stop the stomach acid and it will prevent him from any aspiration.

So although this was not our ideal situation we know that it is the best thing for Jacob. He can still take bottles a little bit so that he won't loose that instinct. Once he gets older he can still have baby food or any food by mouth. The tube will be removed in a few years once he no longer needs it.

The main goal right now is to get Jake to gain weight so he is ready for his second surgery. This will help us get him there.

It is surgery so he will have to go back on the vent for the surgery and back to the cicu afterwards. We should find out when they will do the surgery on Monday. Please pray for Jacob. Pray he tolerates this operation and is able to get off of the vent quickly.

Because he needs this operation we will be here at least another 2 weeks.

Oxygen:
Jacob is also back on oxygen for now. He was deSATing which means his oxygen was dropping. They checked his heart and everything is fine, the shunt is clear and also in good news his aorta looked good. So the heart looks great, yay! They said the deSATing could be from the acid as well. The oxygen was dipping into the 60's which none of us were comfortable with so for now he is back on oxygen and his oxygen has been hanging out in the 80s which is much much better.

So today we took a bit of a step backwards but as all heart mom's know it is a rollercoaster. Jacob will direct this movie and we are going at the pace he needs us to.

Hopefully we will all be home together soon. Andy is taking care of Aidan back home but I miss them terribly. Hopefully we will all be together soon.

Thank you all for the continued support.
Please pray for Jacob and his upcoming surgery.