Foiled Again 1 comment
After all of the preparation and four hours of no food, Harry and I arrived at the outpatient surgery center in Loma Linda (an hour drive) to be told that he is too little to have surgery there. I was pretty befuddled at this but Harry was glad to eat, and our week has been pretty smooth sailing instead of fraught with post-op recovery.
The pediatrician and I are wondering if two failed attempts at surgery are giving Harry’s body time to heal itself. Examination today showed no sign of a hernia. This would need to be validated with an ultrasound, but I’m holding out hope!
Tuesday, January 25th No comments yet
Harry will be having surgery tomorrow at approximately 10:30am. It’s a 90 minute procedure so we should be home by dinnertime. We will let you know how it goes.
Harry’s Hair-raising Hospital Happenings No comments yet
On Sunday Harry developed a 102ish fever. We took him to the ER where he was admitted to CHOC (Children’s Hospital of Orange County). They suspected he had meningitis. His temperature quickly normalized but the doctors discovered that our little man was extremely anemic so they ordered a blood transfusion. By Tuesday afternoon, Harry showed no signs of meningitis so the doctors decided that Harry was well enough to go home. He will continue to be monitored by a hematologist. His surgery was cancelled and will likely be rescheduled in 3 or so weeks.
Harry showing off his chubbiness at the hospital
As a premiee, Harry’s immune system is less developed than full term infants. Also, given his size (which is now up to over 8 pounds) his pediatrician is reluctant to give him immunizations yet. As result, we have been cautious (although apparently not cautious enough) about letting people interact with Harry. So if you’ve been wanting to come see Harry and we have not yet granted you audience, you now know why.
On a happier note, today is Izzy’s second birthday! We sometimes marvel that we ever had a life without her. She is such a source of joy for us.
I'm officially two
the many whiny faces of HB 1 comment
You talking to me?
waa sniffle
ba sniffle waaa
weewwaaa eh waaa
WAAAAAA
What’s New 1/1/11 3 comments
We have had a very fun holiday season and hope you have too. Thanks to many of you who sent lovely holiday cards! Next week is a big week for the Morriss clan: our little girl turms 2 and our little man will have his first surgery.
We decided to keep Isabella’s birthday a low key event this year as we are still trying to limit Harry’s exposure to people — premature baby’s weak immune system plus no immunizations yet due to small size. We’ll be meeting a few friends at a nearby park for cupcakes and playground fun.
Meanwhile, Harry will be recovering from surgery to correct his inguinal hernia. Thankfully it’s an outpatient procedure, and will be done on Wednesday, Jan 5th. Though it’s a common surgery and we have secured a brilliant pediatric urologist to do the job, the complication lies in Harold’s ability to deal with the physical stress. Our BFF endocrine doc continues to be befuddled by Harry’s adrenal glands. He takes meds daily that replace two crucial steroids, one being cortisol, which is responsible for helping the body recover from things like surgery. Dosage post-op will be increased and we expect that will keep his recovery time in normal ranges. We know he is a strong fella and anticipate no problems but any decent doctor will tell you there are always risks with surgery.
Otherwise, Harry is growing like a weed!! Last official check was 7lbs on December 23rd but I think he’s close to 8 lbs now at 3 months of age — almost the size Izzy was at birth!! And he’s a happy boy.
Enjoy the pics and we’ll keep you posted on next week’s events. Thanks for the support.
