Back to Theatre (Again!)

It has been another one of those days! Wills kept me awake most of the night complaining of pain and asking me to sit him up, only to slip down again and ask me to sit him up...this went on from about 3am until CBeebies provided a bit of a distraction at 6. I was getting a bit short with him and felt pretty bad when I realised later what he was going through - there are only so many times you can cheerfully pull somone up the pillows when you are sleep deprived!

The surgeon on call popped his head round the door at 8am asking how Wills was and what his tummy and stoma looked like. Seeing both were bigger than ever and learning about William's night, he promptly ordered a repeat x-ray and told me the day would be planned from there and that he was expecting him to have a contrast study to see how the dye travelled through William's new bowel. We never got that far. The x-ray showed the obstruction to be worse than yesterday and William was booked in to theatre as soon as the surgical team had seen it. This was a relief as Wills was in loads of pain and I was syringing out several loads of bile from his somach whenever he wretched, even though it was on drainage and filling up bags in between.

The two consultants who had performed William's transplant were both in today so worked together today to try and fix the problems he has been having. This time they were able to see a clear reason for the blockage. He had a hernia at his stoma. The bowel had folded over itself, causing the stoma to swell and blocking the flow through it. As a result, the bowel was full and distended and the only was was for this to be relieved was for everything to go up to the stomach. We are all really hoping that this will be William's last trip to theatre and that his bowel will now be able to get to work properly. We are letting it rest over the weekend and hope to re-start feeding on Monday. Meanwhile, he is fully morphined up and peaceful. He is back on 5 IV pumps with an assortment of fluid to re-stabalise him and, of couse, his TPN. He also has several syringe drivers of antibiotics, antifungals, antivirals.. all part of the usual protocol although some are being kept going a bit longer due to William's trips in and out of theatre. It has been a very tough couple of weeks and Wills really deserves a clear run now. He hasn't felt well enough to do anything at all really since his transplant. Even his beloved engines have been left untouched.

My Godfather appeared at the hospital just as William was about to go to theatre. This was a lovely surprise and I was treated to a lovely lunch (Christmas lunch and pud, a real treat!) and some great company. ALthough I would rather it hadn't been a theatre trip that enabled it, it was really nice to get out of the hospital and enjoy a conversation over a nice lunch. It is very isolating being up in a new city, away from all your friends and going through all this. Paul has been away on tour all week and can't get up until the middle of next week. This blog is great for being able to stay in contact and I get so much from all the comments. I do get a real sense that people are rooting for us and sharing this journey with us and it means a lot. Thank-you all. I hope we have some more good news and smiley photos to share from now on in.