Just a quick update: for those of you who don't know,
Eliza had a gastrojejunal (G-J) feeding tube inserted
today. Basically, her feeding tube no longer empties
into her stomach but into the first part of her
intestine. This was not a surgical procedure; the
radiologist simply fed a new, longer tube through the
existing hole in her abdomen into her jejunum
(beginning of intestine) while watching under a
fluoroscope (x-ray).
The theory is that if we don't put formula into
Eliza's stomach, she can't throw it up. Sounds
wonderful, and you may wonder why we've waited two
years to try it. Unfortunately, it's a little more
complicated with Eliza, as always, since tubes like
this in kids like her (whose intestines, you may
recall, were rearranged when she was four weeks old
due to a bowel malrotation) have the tendency to slip
out of place (that is, back up into the stomach) and
need to be reinserted by a radiologist. In fact,
getting the tube in place today proved to be almost
too much for two radiologists--one gave up rather
quickly--as her insides are just so tricky! I confess
that, as I watched, I, too, was about ready for them
to throw in the towel; the procedure seemed very
unpleasant, and Eliza rather uncomfortable. But the
tube is in, and we're hopeful for a significant
improvement in her quality of life, not to mention our
quality of sleep. We'd appreciate your prayers that,
once again, Eliza will defy doctors' predictions by
keeping this tube in place! "The Lord is my strength
and my shield; my heart trusts in Him and I am helped"
Psalm 28:7.
We'll keep you posted!
With love,
dixiejax
