He has intestinal malrotation; there’s a place in his intestines where twisting (or “volvulus”) is likely to occur. It has not completely twisted yet – but will if not surgically fixed. So, the surgery (known as a Ladd procedure) will occur tomorrow afternoon. My limited memory of the meeting with the surgeons basically recalls this: It involves moving the bowels around, removing the appendix, moving the colon, folding the small intestine… all with the goal of setting up a functioning GI tract that won’t twist. They've definitely done this before, and probably frequently. The pediatric surgeons here are a class act from everyone we've talked to. Everything should end up okay!
I have no idea what recovery time will be; unless they discover a spleen hiding somewhere in surgery (apparently spleens are sneaky?), we’ve been told that they can’t find one on any scans so far; this could impact his risk of infection… the big thing they’ll watch for is when the intestines “wake up” again and start working properly after surgery, which takes a little time. It might take a few days or a week or I don't really know... we'll see how he responds, as much of this is up to him. We are hoping and praying for the smoothest operation possible and for a quick recovery. By the way, Alli's recovering well from her C section, and Norah's been the best 2 year old big sister EVER.
He still needs heart surgery but that will be a couple of months down the road at Duke. His heart should definitely be stable enough for this GI surgery tomorrow.
Until something changes, I do ask for no visitors, as we’re trying to minimize potential for infection through contact with us, and the NICU is restricted anyway… If things change, I’ll let you know! For the time being, I’ll do my best to keep the photos coming on the http://www.kellergrant.com website for all of you, whenever we can visit him and snap a few.
Thanks for your prayers and support; throughout this whole journey, the outpouring of love has been incredible. Again, thank you!!
God Bless this please bless this family, in Jesus Name
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ReplyDeleteWe are thinking about yall and praying for you
ReplyDeleteMy son was born with this 39 years ago, but we didn't know. The great technology they have today wasn't available. We didn't know he had this condition until he turned 14 years old. On his 14th birthday he suddenly started having severe stomach pains particularly after he ate. It took about a month for the doctor to figure out what was going on. The doctor was amazed that he had lived 14 years with no sign of any problems. He had the surgery and did GREAT! Keller will too! Still praying for all of you!
ReplyDeleteI'm so confident that Keller has what it takes to get through these challenges that lie ahead. God has certainly placed him in the right family. Keller couldn't have chosen better parents himself!! Much love goes out to you, along with our prayers!
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