• Home
  • About Us
  • Blog
  • Resources
  • Contact Us
  • Photo Gallery
  • FREEBIES
  Rainbow-Colored Grass

Blog

Picture
Just the thoughts millin' around in my head...random-the good, the bad, the ugly.
Subscribe
Autism Parenting Magazine
Published Articles:

Issue 54: Ways to Survive ASD Parenting and Stay Thankful
Issue 58: Winning Ways to Share the Love with All of Your Children
Issue 81: When Special Education Fails to Be Special
Issue 89: Volunteering with Special Needs: Teaching the Served to Serve
Issue 107: The Everyday Reality of Parenting an Aggressive Child

Blog Post Topics

All
Apologetics For All Abilities
Behaviors
Community Based Education
Diagnoses & Medical
ESE Ministry
Family
Friends
Interviews & Published Magazine Articles
Products
Resources
Revelations From God
Social Skills
Special Education
Special Needs Parenting
Tara's Ramblings
Therapies

Tara Bertic, through her Rainbow-Colored Grass blog is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Amazon, the Amazon logo, AmazonSupply, and the AmazonSupply logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

G-Tube

2/13/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
So the results are in. All of Jerry's biopsies and his test for SMAS are negative. However, if he doesn't start eating and drinking again, the SMAS will return and we will be back here yet again.

So now that we know this is behavioral/psychological, we at least have a starting point, if not a plan yet. They re-inserted his NG feeding tube about an hour ago. They had removed it after using it to clean him out. Not sure why. They should have just left it in "just in case." Anyway, they didn't and there were lots of tears over getting another new one today, shed by Jerry and his mom. 

The plan medically is to work on getting him to eat during the day by mouth and then feed him 360-calorie-a-can formula from 8 pm to 6 am. After seeing how well his stomach tolerates this over the weekend, Monday they will put him to sleep and two GI doctors will convert his NG tube into a G-tube. One navigates the internal camera to choose the proper placement while the other doctor actually makes the incision and attaches the tube to his belly. Again, this is a more permanent solution to feeding him at home until we get him eating and drinking again. If the calorie rich formula proves to be too upsetting to his sensitive stomach because it hasn't had to handle that many calories in a long time, then they will back him down to a milder formula.

I spoke with Jerry's behavior therapist today and her and his other therapists are working diligently now on a plan to change his behavior and habits and get him eating again. I am anxious to implement this new plan they are working on devising. We are speaking to an occupational therapist about sensory issues and how to cope/compensate/correct them. Feeding therapy may also be in his future. In the meantime, we have to begin logging everything he does eat and drink. We are going to try to figure out a connection between what he is eating and the sensory stimuli he is either looking for or trying to avoid by eating that particular food.

While initially I was angry when I realized this was all behavioral, I truly believe that he cannot help what is happening. He cries over food, literally. He cannot tolerate the smell or the taste or the texture. He wants to go home. He hates the feeding tube. He is not doing this on purpose. And it likely does hurt to eat much of anything at this point. His belly and colon have not had to work hard to digest much of anything lately. So when he does eat, it hurts. He ate a few bites of his lunch yesterday afternoon and then sat on the potty for twenty minutes in pain.

We have our work cut out for us. So does he.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    I am a Christian. I am a wife. I am a mom. I am a teacher. I am an author. In that order.

    Archives

    August 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    April 2019
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    August 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Blog
  • Resources
  • Contact Us
  • Photo Gallery
  • FREEBIES