let if flow

Throwing up. Vomiting. Up-chucking. We got all that and more going on here at the Hays household. Mainly Ira. Vomiting has always been a part of Ira's daily life because of his messed up anatomy. (His stomach lays weirdly inside that little body of his tucked somewhere under his Goretex diaphragm.) But recently Ira's throwing up a lot more than usual.

When Sophia spewed chunks on Saturday night we were relieved to think that Ira just had a stomach bug. We then found out that our upstairs neighbor and downstairs neighbor were dealing with the same issue. Fears of anatomical discord were pushed aside and replaced by a "we'll beat this stomach bug!" attitude.

However, Tuesday will make the sixth day of frequent vomiting for Ira. This is not good. Not just because we find ourselves doing tons and tons of laundry but because Ira's little body needs those calories. Not enough calories leads to dehydration which leads to an increased heartrate which leads to respiratory issues...you've heard the schpiel.

At our last visit with Ira's gastrointestinal doctor we discussed putting in a different kind of feeding tube. (Remember, Ira is fed through a tube that goes directly into his stomach.) This alternative feeding tube would bypass the stomach and go straight into the intestines. The idea would be that the food would not have a chance to come right back up. The other option is a surgery called a Nissen Fundoplication. It's way too complicated for me to explain but it's enough for you to know that it's yet another friggin' surgery! Ugh.

Here's hoping that it's just a really nasty stomach virus that ends after, say, six days! Cheers!

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