3/13 Afternoon update: Boring wasn't in the cards

Hey all,

Little Madeleine doesn't seem to like the idea of us getting comfortable... not a good sign for the teenage years. We didn't learn bad news today but we learned some new news that may be a sign of concern tomorrow. The head doctor, Dr. Lotze, was out this afternoon and we met with another doctor, Dr. Kessler. Dr. Kessler was actually responsible for diagnosing Madeleine's NEC early Monday morning so she was well aware of the different issues facing Madeleine. She actually showed us the X-Rays that have been taken over the past few days and she noted that the last three X-Rays look almost identical. I'll do my best to explain how they looked: First, let's create a mental image. Think of the anatomy picture on the wall of your 7th grade science class-- in that picture the large intestines were all symettrical and wrapped nice and neatly inside the abdomen. In Madeleine's X-Rays, the large intestines on her left side are enlarged and much more lumpy (yes, that's a technical term) than normal. The inflammation is caused by air in the intestines and a clear sign of improvement would be for the gas to move through the bowels in the different X-Rays. (Yes, passing gas is actually a good thing.) Unfortunately, Ms. Madeleine doesn't seem to be able to pass gas (to think, she's my child?). We're hoping that the evening X-Rays and morning show some signs of movement. If not, we're meeting with the surgeon sometime tomorrow-- we don't know her schedule-- and the doctors will begin to discuss other options. One possible solution is to insert a drain to allow the air to escape in the hope that once the air is removed, Madeleine will be able to repair the inflamed area and continue her road to recovery. Surgery is the other less desirable option and there's always the option of just sitting and waiting for something to happen!

In short-- there's nothing bad to report but some potential signs of difficulty down the road. The truly frustrating part of all this NEC stuff is that the doctors are as confused/frustrated as we are. Dr. Kessler was certain to point out that NEC can change dramatically at any point-- good or bad-- and there really is no way to gauge it. Fun, eh?

In any case, we're going to have some fun tonight and we'll hope for the best. This computer isn't going to be turned on again tonight so don't try to read into the lack of any responses. Have a good one and expect more (good) news tomorrow morning.

Brent