Joshua's First Procedure...

Today we had an appointment with a gastroenterologist. Joshua has had moderate reflux since he was in the NICU and it has continued since he has been home. He has been on medication to help with this for almost 5 months now and unfortunately we haven't seen a huge improvement. After talking with the doctor she told us what we needed to do in order to get some real answers as to what is causing this. On May 16th, Joshua will undergo a procedure in which they send a small camera down his esophageal tube and into his stomach. They will take multiple pictures along the way, focusing on the sphincter that holds the stomach contents back from leaking into the esophogus. Unfortunately the procedure requires that he is sedated, so this will be his first time to have anesthesia. The actual procedure only takes about 30 minutes, but mommy can't go in the room during the procedure, so I'm most worried about leaving him. After taking him home from the NICU, I guess you could say I have had a bit of separation anxiety...can you blame me?  The doctor should know of any major problems right away as he is navigating down his digestive tract, and he will talk with us after the procedure to let us know if any further procedures or surgery is necessary to correct the problem.

In addition to this, they will insert a tube through his nose down into his stomach, similar to what he had in the NICU. The other side of the tube has a machine attached, and it will read the pH of his stomach at certain times of the day. When he has reflux, we will push a button on the machine, and it will make sure to record all his physiological changes at this time. He will wear this for 24 hours, then we will simply pull out the tube from his nose, and take the machine back to the hospital where they will process the data into meaningful information.

There are many different causes to reflux, some are easily treated with medication and usually things they grow out of, but some can be major and require surgery.We ask that you continue to pray for Joshua, for his quick recovery after the procedure and pray that surgery is unnecessary at this time. Your uplifting prayers make all the difference in times like these, and we appreciate all the love and support. We will keep everyone updated. Much love from Team Altman.