G-tube time

After several swallow studies not going well, it was recommended that James have a more 'permanent' feeding tube surgically placed in his tummy as it is a more cleanly, comfortable and less stressful solution to his current nasogastric (NG) feeding tube in his nose. This new tube is a gastrostomy tube, or G-tube for short, and is essentially a port placed on his abdomen that leads directly into his stomach. We will still hook him up to the same infusion pump we have now for feedings and hopefully continue with the 2-3 small bottles of thickened formula per day. We were all for this procedure and new tube as he was constantly pulling the NG tube out of his nose requiring us to basically hold him down screaming to put it back in. Certainly not pleasant for him but I think more stressful on us. Maggie even chewed the cap off of the end of the tube once requiring me to put a new one in -- she was almost kicked to the curb.

The surgery is planned for tomorrow, Thursday November 13. We have been eager to have this done but as it's coming closer I'm beginning to grow more anxious and scared. Is this the right decision? Are we going to be causing him more discomfort instead of making things easier? What if he gets an infection? What if we get stuck in the hospital again? I just can't help but to expect the worst after all we've been through. Things have just never seem to go quite right and I sometimes am not the most optimistic person but that's where Adam comes in as he is always positive and able to make me feel better. We seem to balance each other out so I'm lucky to have him support me and James is lucky to have at least one parent who won't be in tears tomorrow.

He's also finally going to be circumcised as that has taken a back seat to everything else that his team has been worried about and dealing with since he was born. I hope he heals fast and that there are no complications. Any advice is welcome! We were told he will stay overnight in the hospital and that they don't expect any complications or issues and he will likely come home Friday. Keep James in your prayers and also a prayer or two for us parents to stay strong and keep positive!



The following pictures are from a procedure James had done to check the anatomy of his stomach and intestines so that they know where to cut his abdomen and place the g-tube. It was quick, easy and painless and they were impressed with James' good behavior :)