June 10, 2010 - Part II

Easy news first...both babies did well with their allergy tests. Will had a small trace of allergies for beef, nuts and chocolate but none of these should be an issue since he shouldn't be eating these foods anyway until he's much older. Tenley showed no sign of any allergies.

The reflux test results told a much different story. A PH level of 4 is considered highly acidic. Normal babies reach a PH of 4 maybe 5-10 times in a 24 hour period. Tenley reached a PH of 4 over 200 times and Will reached it over 250 times. All this means is that both babies are now proven to have very severe reflux and will require a three hour surgery to help minimize, if not eradicate, the reflux. They are trying to schedule both babies for the same day but they wont know for sure until somtime later next week. The surgery is called "Nissen" and basically what it entails is wrapping a part of the stomach around the esophogus which then creates a one-way valve to stop the stomach contents from going back up the espophogus. After the surgery, they will need to be intubated again (either over night or for a few days) until they can prove they are breathing on their own again. At first, this wrap around the esopogus will be very tight and will therefore make it difficult for them to vomit or burp. So, they will also be getting a G-Tube inserted which not only serves as a "venting out" mechanism but it will also be used for tube feeding once the babies go home. G Tubes are great for babies who don't take bottle feeding well, however they often times become infected and fall out so it's just an extra something to keep mommy and daddy busy until they are fully on bottle feeds and can have it removed. Some babies have the G Tube in for 4 months while others need it for years

For now, they are off the allergy-free formula (which Will never liked that much anyway) and have every feed via feeding tube except for one time a day when it's a bottle full of mom's milk.