Our miracle (this will be a long one)

Our Tuesday started off like any other day. Zander wanted his first morning bottle around 8 am. After his bottle I dressed him for the day and started getting ready to go shopping with my best friend Jess who was in town for the week. A few minutes later Zander threw up, it was bad enough that I decided to give him a bath and redress him. Once dressed I continued to get ready when he threw up a second time. This was defiantly out of the norm and I started thinking that maybe his tummy was having a hard time with a sample formula (Similac Sensitive stomach) I had decided to try the night before. I decided to change back to the normal formula and called a nurse to see if he needed to be seen for the flu...with no fever I wasn't too concerned. I also called my babysitter and told her not to come today because I didn't want to leave Zander if he was sick. I wasn't too concerned until I saw the color start to drain from his face...it was subtle at first until the third time he threw up and it was the throw up was yellow. I knew something wasn't right when no one could comfort him...Zander really only cries when he hungry and getting his diaper changed. The look in his eyes was pure terror, it was if he was pleading for us to help him. I asked Dustin to give him a blessing before he left for work...it was now after 11. I wasn't in the room when he blessed him but as I passed Dustin on the stairs I glanced down at Zander and his arms were hanging down at his sides and his eyes were glazed over. He was white as a ghost and we knew it was time to rush him into the Emergency room. I called to see if the doctors office could get him in sooner than 2:30 but they couldn't. I asked the nurse if she thought we should go to the ER and she said she couldn't decide for me.

At the ER we breifly told the nurse at the desk what was happening she too said it was our call. Dustin and I took a second to decide whether or not we should stay...it was now just around 12:00. We were admitted and patiently waited to be seen. The nurse came in to our room and did some basic checking. She said things looked normal except his blood pressure was high (about twenty points and that could be a sign of infection). We waited for the doctor and explained why we thought we needed to be seen. He ordered an I.V. and some blood work. He asked us tons of questions one of which was..."Has he had any blood in his diapers"? I breathed a sigh of relief (because the answer was no) and he asked me if we could try to feed him. I pulled out a bottle and watched Zander take a few sips and then loose interest.

He ordered a CT scan of his brain incase he had a seizure. When he left the room 3 nurses tried to give Zander an IV the first three pokes were unsuccessful and Zander was limp and lethargic as they tried. With three failed attempts they called the NICU nurse. She was extremely patient and finally got one...they also needed a blood sample...and instead of bleeding his blood was almost impossible for them to get out. It was like he was drained dry.

The doctor decided to order a CT of his stomach. We walked over and he was filled with a dye that was ex-rayed as it traveled through his stomach. While we waited for the results the nurse came in and gave us some great news that some of the results came back normal. I was starting to think we would be going home soon until I looked down at his diaper. It was dark and when we opened it, it was blood red. We called the nurse over and she went and told the doctor who was overwhelmed with ER patients. He came right in and told us that the CT had confirmed his worst fear.

MALROTATION! Malrotation is when the large and small intestin start to twist and turn on each other. This cuts of blood flow and the bowel starts to die.

He didn't wait to call our pediatrician he called for the Life Flight Helicopter. It all happened very fast from that moment.

Our brother and sister in law came into the room while I was whispering to Zander to stay strong and that we would meet him as soon as we could. Zander was given a blessing as the helicopter landed. The pediatric team from Children's Primary Hospital rushed into the room, changed his nose tube, and strapped him to the gurney. As we ran to the helicopter pad they took down Dustin's cell and told me there was no longer room for me in the Helicopter. He was loaded by the medical team as we kissed him good bye. This would be the last time we would see him until the recovery room.

After the helicopter took off we drove home and packed our bags. We are so lucky that my best was there to take care of Cohen. She took over and kept us together. We left as soon as week could but we knew we wouldn't make it before the surgery.

When we arrived at the hospital he was already 15 minutes into surgery. As we prayed and cried in the waiting room we got a call from the anesthesiologist saying they went in without our approval because Dustin's cell phone number was written down wrong. He told us that they had made it in time and there was now bowel death...they also had removed his appendix. He told us it would be another hour and that the Head surgeon Dr. Scaife would come and speak with us once they were done. My aunt and Uncle came and sat with us while we waited.

Dr. Scaife and one of his residents walked calmly into the room and told us that they had finished the surgery and it was successful. It was when he began to explain Malrotation that I realized the gravity of the situation. This was a congenital problem (present at birth) and it was only a matter of time before the bowel began to twist. He explained that Zander's bowels did not twist and turn like Heavenly father designed...his were unorganized which allowed them to twist like a wet towel. He said we only had a 4-6 hour window where this problem changes from something they can fix to fatal. Dr. Scaife said there was a baby upstairs that had not been seen in time. He said Zander was very lucky and should make a full recovery.

His nurses were amazing and each day Zander was in the IMSU he improved. His color started to come back and tubes were slowly removed. On Saturday Dr. Scaife said most babies that have the LADDS procedure done don't do as good as Zander. We were expecting to be there until Tuesday...instead we are home today.

We cannot thank Zander's Doctors and nurses enough. We know that Zander is one of the lucky ones. We are truly blessed to have him in our lives. He is our miracle baby.

Thank you for all your prayers in our behalf...we could not have made it without all your support!