The worst night of my life! Leading up to Ryan's surgery.

ByErica
UPDATE!!!
So much has happened over the last 24 hours and so many people are wanting to know exactly what happen with Ryan and why she had surgery. First let me explain that we still do not have all the answers. We don’t know what caused this or even what it was still. That’s honestly one of the worst things about this whole situation, aside from her needing surgery, of course. Seeing your child being treated by medical professionals (the best of the best may I add) is something that no parent should ever have to experience, let alone seeing them have surgery. I know she is in the best hands. If anything, now is the safest time for her to have surgery because of the improvements that have been made in surgical and medical equipment. Nowadays, something as simple as a surgical retractor can help to make the whole process of surgery more straightforward, and for that, I should be thankful. At the end of the day, she is ill and I only want the best for her. And if surgery is the answer, then that is what we must do.
Yesterday started off with a horrible trip to the hospital to get labs draws on my 2 year old Luke for more testing to find out what all is going on with his little body. Until this, our baby never had any issue, and we were always very careful about what to feed and when. I remember researching different formulas like the enfamil enspire benefits and similar other brands to ensure we only get the best for our baby. Anyway, this night just turned out to be the worst. I had worked the night before so I was already running on no sleep. We got home around 11:30 am, I passed out and woke up around 4.
Everything started around 5:30 pm 01/13/15 yesterday. We had just eaten dinner and I went to change Ryan and found what can been seen (almost) in the photo below. It was about 6 inches around from what the Dr. measured. I will admit that I freaked out just a little bit. We headed out to Hospital A and was seen for the first time around 6 pm.
At Hospital A we had two test run to see what the mass could have been. A X-ray and a ultrasound. Around 8 we got the results that told us my poor baby Ryan had a hernia and that the Dr. was going to contact a pediatric surgeon to find out what the next steps were.
We then found out that she needed to be transferred over to pediatric hospital to be assessed even better by a pediatric doctor. By the time we left in the ambulance it was 10:30 pm and we arrived at Hospital B around 11:00pm. This was both Ryan and my first ride in the ambulance and this was not as fun for me as she seemed to like it. She was all wide eyed and loved every second of it. At this time I was so pleased that the mass on her abdomen only hurt when being pushed on and not at all time. I think this saved most of my heart from breaking even more. I’m not sure what I would have done if she was screaming the whole time.
After arriving at Hospital B the first Dr. we saw was just the ER Dr. who assessed Ryan and took a long look at what was going on. This was the first time we heard “I’ve never seen a hernia this big before on a baby” After he called and talked with the pediatric surgeon we now had our first plan. We were to try to reduce the “hernia” and plan for surgery the next day. If you’re not sure what I mean by reduce what they do when you have a hernia is basically push it back in. Not a fun thing for adults and worse for babies.
After learning the plan the Dr. assured us that he has never failed at reducing a hernia in the 20 years he has been a DR. Now was just a waiting game to get everything set up for the operation.
Don’t forget this is the biggest hernia the Dr. has ever seen on a 2 month old.
This photo was after our first hurdle. The IV. Not a fun thing to do or watch them do to your baby. Jared was a champ.

It was almost time, monitors set up, IV in next was to sedate her and start the reduction process.

1:00 AM 01/14/2015

I snapped this photo right after they gave her the meds and before her surgery. We (Jared, Diane and I) were aloud to all be in the room during the procedure. They did have her in an operating room due to the risk of her to stop breathing during the sedation. Once Ryan was “out” everything started and it was not something I ever want to go through again. He the Dr. tried and tried and tried and had no luck. I was so big and the “hernia” didn’t change in size one bit. All the while my “sedated” daughter screamed her little head off because of the pain she was in. That was the hardest that she was sedated and she still felt so much pain she fought through the sedation and cried and cried and cried.

I was very thankful when the Dr. stopped and said it didn’t work and you have to know when to quit. Then he went on to say “this has never happen before, I’m now not sure this is a hernia we are looking at. I’m going to call the surgeon and we will go from there.”

2:00 AM

Next thing I now the surgeon walked into the room to take a look at Ryan. He said I just have to see what we are dealing with. He took ONE look at Ryan and said this is not a hernia. It is in the wrong spot and showed us what he was talking about. He said I have never seen anything like this. That he was not sure and he wanted to look over the ultrasound that was taken and run another.

3:00 AM

Ryan and I headed down to ultrasound and have one more ultrasound.

4:00 AM

We get back to our new room, (3rd room since we had been there) My husband was so tired and had passed out. I know he will hate this photo but I just had to take it.

4:30 AM

Surgeon walked back and said this… “Radiologist still are saying this is a hernia. I do not think this is a hernia. I have no idea what this could be but the best bet would be to go in and make sure there is no hole in her abdomen because if for some reason I am wrong and this is the rarest case I have ever seen then we need to fix it and repair the damage. I do not want to be wrong and wait. I want to do the safe thing and just make sure.” We then agreed to the surgery and prepared to head back soon.

5:15 AM

When they came to get Ryan it was so surreal. My baby was about to have surgery and we have no idea what it is they are going to look at. Jared and I were able to go with her to the back before they took her into surgery. There once again the Pediatric Surgeon said “I’m one thousand percent sure this is not a hernia, I have no idea what this might be”. After signing all the paper work and giving her our last kiss they rolled her back for a wait that we had no idea how long it would take.

6:30 AM

The surgeon finally came out to talk to us about what all went on. The first thing he informed us was the she indeed did not have a hernia. Then he went on to explain that while he was in her abdomen he did pock on the mass to see the consistency and that’s when he saw a green fluid come out. He then decided to drain the mass which had 30 cc’s of green pus like fluid. That is a lot people in case you were wondering. He was still stomped as to what it was and how it got there.

This is where we are right now. Ryan is doing well and being a champ at recovery. They send off a culture to see what it was. All we know is that it was some kind of bacteria. I’m hoping for more information soon and will keep everyone updated as to what is going on.

11:30 PM

I am now going to bed and will try to get some rest. Thank you all for your prayers and all your kind words. I again am sorry if I did not reply to your messages but there is only so many times I can write the same thing and being stressed at the same time does not help. Jared and I love you and will keep you all updated as to what is going on.

Good Night

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14 Comments

  1. What a scary thing to go through and so suddenly! Sending prayers for some answers and a quick recovery!

  2. I have had to hand my babies over to surgeons and it such an awful experience. However, what a major blessing to live in a time where doctors are so well trained and knowledgable. Praying you get answers very soon-

  4. Oh what a little sweetie pie to go through all that, and how scary for you. My thoughts are with you and your sweet little girl, Erica. I hope the doctors get to the bottom of it soon.

  6. Will continue to pray for the best outcome. Hang in there.

  7. Poor little baby! I've been praying for ya'll and hope the doctors get you all the answers. Keep us updated.

  8. So scary, but happy their working to get to the bottom of it. As a child who went through open heart surgery at age 5 all I can tell you is that I don't remember the pain. What I do remember is the smiling, loving faces of my family around me. So keep up the vigil and try to smile and comfort her more than you cry. And if she remembers anything at all, it will be that. Hugs and prayers being sent your way.

  10. oh I am so sorry to hear the news 🙁 I hope they find out what it is and fix it! hang in there mom and dad…….get some rest and know we're all praying for you guys!

  12. That is just an astonishing story! It looks like there's a small hole in that first photo, on her abdomen where the "hernia" is. Was that after they worked on her? Did they notice that hole? Praying for you and your family that they'll figure out what caused this and that her recovery is quick!

  14. I have a four month old daughter and can't even begin to imagine going through this.

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