Another ER visit

We ended up at the ER again, this past week.  This time with Corban.  Thursday morning, after waking up, he kept walking around grabbing at his stomach and whining/crying.  I figured he was having gut pangs, as his routine lately has been a BM mid-morning or so.  He had no fever or other symptoms. He seems to be fine if he was sitting or laying down.  Well the morning came and went, with a normal BM.  Then was lunch time and nap time, in which he was either sitting or laying down; therefore, he seemed to be better.

After his nap, he didn't say a whole lot, we ate dinner and did their expander fills.  Well, after the expander fill, he was grabbing at his stomach again (more to the right side) and would not stop crying - in the midst of trying to play.  That is when I decided I better take him to the clinic to have him checked out.  A young girl from our church had just had her appendix removed the prior week so this concerned me as a possibility.

At the clinic, pressed around on his belly, not really feeling anything abnormal, took a blood draw and did an Xray.  His white count came back within the normal range and nothing noticeable on the Xray.  With the lack of further scanning available there, they referred us on to the ER to have a CT or ultrasound done.  Once again, I made the trek to the hospital, where we spend the next few hours.

At the hospital, the doctor, once again pressed on his stomach. She did not feel anything abnormal and he didn't wince; therefore, she had me stand him up since this is usually when it bothers him.  She wanted to see where he grabbed.  It didn't take long for him to grab at his belly so we noted the area and laid him back down.  She again pressed around on the right side of his belly, then began pressing on the expander, that is when he winced.  She ordered an ultrasound.

The conclusion from the ultrasound was that it appears like the expander may be placing some pressure in the liver/kidney which is likely causing the pains. We were released to go with the understanding that we were to contact the specialist the following morning to find out what he wanted to do. 

After an email to him, that evening, his response the following morning was to alternate Tylenol and Motrin to see if that relieves his discomfort.  He does not think that they are putting pressure on any organs due to how he placed the expander but did say that some kids do tend to become uncomfortable with the large expanders. 

So far, the Motrin and Tylenol seem to calm the majority of his discomfort but it is apparent that he still feels some pain as he grabs at his stomach from time to time, while he plays.  He does not tend to cry out though. Hopefully, that is all the problem is and we can survive the next two weeks, when they will be removed. 

The Lord will see us through, just wish I had some insight as to how it all looks.