Surgery

About a half hour after I posted somewhat hopeful news this morning, Aaron's belly became very distended, indicating that something was very wrong.  We talked with the surgeons and decided to go forward with surgery.  His chance of survival without surgery was looking very low, and at least with the surgery we would all be able to find out what is going on--what part of the bowel was dead and if other organs were also dead.

Our main concern throughout has been to ensure that he is not experiencing pain and suffering, and through pain meds, anesthesia, and close monitoring of vitals, the team has been able to reassure us that he is comfortable.

He made it through the surgery without additional complications.  However, they did find that a good portion of his bowel were not looking viable.  He also had not released any urine for the entire night, despite an influx of fluids, which was also not a good sign re: his kidneys and bladder.

At this point, we talked again with the surgical team, and they said that there was one more option, called a "silo," by which the abdominal region is left open and covered by a balloon-like plastic bag.  This could relieve the pressure that had been building up in his abdomen and possibly help in some way.  Additionally, the team said that unlike adults, who would never be able to survive with a bowel in this condition, there have been some instances of babies somehow resurrecting their bowels.

Dan and I talked about the options and felt like he wasn't telling us to let him go quite yet, so we decided to give the silo a try and reevaluate the situation on a continuous basis.  Again, our main priority is to know for sure that he is not suffering at all, and that seems to be the case.

The silo procedure is now complete, and Aaron seems to be stable.  There were a couple drops of urine in his tube, so we're hoping for much more in the coming hours.

We will be staying here at Children's until we know more. We have everything that we need.  Alison will have another sleepover with Baylah, who has just been beyond amazing today and has kept Alison so happy and carefree.

We got to see and talk to Aaron before surgery and after the silo was done, and we held his hand and foot and kissed his soft head.  I was glad to have the chance to tell him to just do what he needed to do, what was best for him, and that we will always love him and he will always be part of this family.

Side anecdote that I just don't want to forget--Aaron never liked getting his temperature taken (just a thermometer under the arm), and even as weak as he was today, I saw him kind of put up a little fuss when it was being done. No reaction to the millions of needle sticks or catheters or breathing tubes...but the thermometer was where he drew the line.  That seems like a Schneidimoto sense of humor to me.