Henry's On Deck: ENT and GI Procedure Tomorrow

All summer I had this nagging reminder in the back of my mind that Calvin still needed that last hernia repair surgery. And every time it would pop back to my attention, it brought with it a wave of nervous nausea at the thought of my sweet boy going into surgery again - even for such a simple and safe procedure.

After so many tiny moments of worry over Calvin needing another surgery, I am a little baffled to be faced with not Calvin, but Henry going under anesthesia tomorrow instead. How did we get here??

Calvin's surgery has still not been scheduled. I never heard back from the scheduler (she was waiting to hear from the cardio-anesthesiology team) and now that he's recovering from a clavicle fracture, we are just going to wait until he's all healed up before we try to contact them.

Meanwhile, Henry's on deck for tomorrow. He is having a "sleep endoscopy" to examine his respiratory tract because of his severe sleep apnea and to examine his upper digestive tract because of his severe acid reflux, frequent vomiting, and trouble swallowing liquids.

Henry will be put under anesthesia, and his ENT (ear, nose, and throat) doc will use a scope to look at what's blocking his airway and causing the sleep apnea. The ENT doc will also look for a certain type of cleft (laryngeal cleft) that could be causing him to aspirate liquids (get fluid in his lungs when he drinks thin liquid like water).

The GI (gastroenterology and internal medicine) doc will also use the scope to examine his upper digestive tract to check for any abnormalities that could be causing the reflux and vomiting. He will also take swabs from Henry's esophagus to test for allergies and acid reflux damage.

If there's anything that can be "fixed" surgically, the docs will do it right then and there. It might mean removing his adenoid gland, or some tissue around his voice box. There may not be anything "fixable" after all. We won't know until afterward. Even if there's nothing the docs can do surgically, the procedure should give us some information about what's going on in his little respiratory and digestive systems so that we can figure out how to better help our little guy.

Breathing and eating seem like they should be such simple things. I pray that one day they will be simple things for Henry.

I pray that the surgical team will be skilled and capable. I pray that the procedure helps us in some way to make life easier or safer for Henry. I pray that he will be able to recover and heal quickly.

I am thankful to have access to amazing medical care. I am thankful to have family and friends to help us out when we need it. I am thankful for my beautiful little family of four.

We will report to LPCH bright and early in the morning. We will drop Calvin off at our cousins' house for the day. The doctors plan to keep Henry overnight in the ICU, so I will stay the night with him. If you're interested in updates about Henry tomorrow, I will post them on the blog's Facebook page. Prayers and positive thoughts are appreciated. Thanks :)