Endoscopy

Monday morning, before the birds were singing and the sun was up, Blair and I awoke and readied ourselves for a long morning.  At 5:15am we went together into Grayson's room to rouse the sleeping boy and to our surprise he opened his eyes in the darkness, let out a quiet squeal of joy to see us and wrapped his arms around my neck.  Pure sweetness, this boy.

Little did he know the day wasn't going to be ideal and would hold within it a vague memory of being gassed to sleep, scoped through and through, and waking disoriented, tired and starving.

Except for a little fussing as we put him in the carseat, Grayson remained as happy as can be through the whole morning.  He hadn't eaten since 6:45pm the night before and even on a little fasting belly this kid's light could not be dimmed.  We drove the 45 minutes into the city to Phoenix Children's Hospital and checked in for his Upper Endoscopy and Sigmoidoscopy (lower bowel).

Sleepy boy, laughing with Daddy while we waited to check-in.

Every time I've visited this place I've been blown away by their attention to detail, their kindness, and overabundance of kid-friendliness.  What a blessing to be near such a great children's hospital!  After check-in we were ushered to the procedure waiting area and then into our own waiting room.  Vitals and weight were taken (he was 20 pounds 10 ounces I believe, almost a full 4 pounds lighter than Ava at this age), we changed him into his purple hospital gown, and played in the play area until it was our turn to see the anesthesiologist.  While we were playing, we were visited by both the doctor who would be performing the procedure and the anesthesiologist to see if we had any questions for them.  Again, so impressed with their effort to make us feel comfortable and at ease before such an anxiety-provoking procedure!

Waiting for our turn, sweet as can be.

When it was "time", I of course was holding steady on the outside while dreading every step on the inside.  It was a quick process, laying him down on the procedure table and holding his arms while the anesthesiologist put a mask over his screaming face.  It took under a minute for his screams to quiet and his watery eyes to close, but it was such an unnatural thing to experience and so hard for this mom and dad to watch.  I gave his limp body a long kiss (until they warned me not to take a breath next to the gas mask that had just put my son to sleep) and Blair and I strolled our belongings to the waiting area.  The procedure would only take about thirty minutes and I'm thankful for that.  We were so exhausted at that point but couldn't rest, and instead spent the time looking at pictures of our sweet children and reminiscing about our first 'dates' as a couple, 14 years ago.  Back then we were engulfed in awkward dance photo-opp's and how and when to hold hands in public, with no idea the future that would unfold!

The doctor came out right on schedule and was very informative and thorough in sharing his findings with us.  This first picture was taken of his esophagus, at the top of his throat, looking perfect, healthy and as it should.

This next photo is of his lower esophagus, right above his stomach.  It shows what he called Severe Erosive Esophagitis--swollen, congested tissue with multiple linear furrowing (the raw-looking red lines going down) suggestive of Eosinophilic esophagitis (Esophagitis in response to an allergy).

Multiple biopsies were taken of the tissue and will be able to tell us whether this condition is caused by persistent gastroesophageal reflux disease (acid reflux), or some type of food or environmental allergy, lactose intolerance or Celiac disease.  He is to begin Prevacid again immediately, and depending on the results of the biopsies may need further allergy testing.

I look at those pictures and 1) wonder how this boy manages to still be the happiest kid on the planet, and 2) am no longer surprised that he has had so much trouble swallowing food and am instead surprised that he has learned to swallow anything!  This condition can also explain his Dysphasia (aspiration of liquids) so we're very optimistic that once we get him treated he will be able to swallow thin liquids again, drink from a sippy cup, and so forth.

Recovery was by far the most difficult part of the day for Grayson.  He had a harder than average time coming out of the anesthesia, was very disoriented and incredibly frustrated by attempts to feed him clear liquids instead of formula (the nurses prefer this in order to make sure patients are swallowing correctly).  He was also doing a lot of abnormal coughing and gagging which concerned the nurses but thankfully once we got him settled and fed and removed from the recovery room, the coughing subsided and he had no further complications.

Drinking a bottle in recovery.

An out-of-it little dude, resting the full weight of his head

on my cheek as we made our way to the car.

Thankfully once we left the hospital, Grayson was exhausted but otherwise his normal, calm, and relaxed self.  He fell asleep on the ride home and by the afternoon was eating, tumbling and laughing as usual.  The resilience of kids is ah-mazing.

Wiped out on the car ride home.

Though the day was exhausting and the news not-so-great, it is overwhelming a relief to have a grasp on what is going on inside this sweet little body and a plan to get him healthy, growing, and pain-free.  In 1-2 weeks we will have all of the biopsies back and we'll be able to move forward with treatment once we know exactly what we are dealing with.  In the meantime, this house is full of excessive amounts of snuggling for this boy who my heart adores!