grow baby grow

Hank was suppossed to go to Salt Lake yesterday and get tubes put in his ears.  Since October, he has been plagued with 5 (+) ear infections.  He has been on 5 or 6 courses of antibiotics (I can’t remember the exact number).  So, do you know what antibiotics do to my kid, and maybe yours too?  Combine it with 6 other oral syringes (filled with bitter tasting medications) we force into his mouth twice a day (12 total) + a moderate oral aversion + food selectivity/texture problems and you end with multiple unwanted upchuck episodes over multiple days.   Today he puked twice. 

But seriously.  It’s hilarious, but it’s not.  We are on the verge of moving to more intensive feeding care (and possibly the unmentionable list) with our heart failure cardiac team.  Meaning, Hank won’t eat and Hank won’t gain weight so Hank is not healthy enough.  He’s a little shrimp.  He has been loosing weight over the course of the last months.  Hank’s cardiologists are trying to figure out if this is because Hank doesn’t eat, or his heart isn’t healthy enough to allow him to grow.  So, since our last appointment, Steve and I (and the rest of us that take care of Hank) have been trying to proove to his heart doctors that he just isn’t eating enough.  We hope it’s not his heart.

 

So now, everyday, we count calories.  Hank should be eating ~ 1600 calories a day according to his dietician.  Sheesh!  That is a ton and it’s virtually impossible.  Our pantry is filled with any type of junk food we can get Hank to eat, and it is challenging. 

But now we have a small dilemma!  Hank was suppossed to get ear tubes but he can’t.  His cardiac team won’t okay his procedure because they feel his heart cannot handle any anesthesia.  Let me explain:

Terrible eater with a bad ear gives us a worse eater.  He won’t eat, so his heart won’t get better.  If his heart isn’t better he can’t get ear tubes.  If he can’t get ear tubes, we have more ear infections.  Then he won’t eat.  Ughhhh!!!!

 

At least we have these babies to tide us over until then…

Oh and good news, since his last appointment about 4 weeks ago, he has gained at least a pound. 

Grow baby grow.