Spencer and Zachary
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< > February 2008
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Mon, Feb 25, 2008 9:28 PM
Dear family and friends,
First, let us assure you that Spencer is ok. We left for Mexico on the 12th, and had a fabulous first 5 days in the sun, sand and water with Grandma (Jess' mom), our friends Lisa and Kurt and their kids Vivienne and Michael. Although he never quite figured out not to stick sandy hands in his mouth, Spencer loved playing with his trucks, pail and shovel on the beach and swimming in the ocean and pools, especially with Vivienne and Micheal. The resort, on the Mayan Riviera, was beautiful and uncrowded and even had a long lazy river (Spencer loved it but got so lazy that he fell asleep twice). We had great weather and had just gotten into a groove on Day 5 of 7, when...
Spencer woke up very happy at the unreasonable hour of 6:45am the morning of Day 6. But within 15 minutes, he was squirming and crying in pain, trying to throw up and had a diaper full of blood. The resort doctor came quickly and sent us to the Playa del Carmen hospital via ambulance with a diagnosis of either dysentery (treatable with antibiotics) or something more serious that needed surgery. We never thought we'd be rooting for a dysentery diagnosis! After ultrasounds and x-rays, the doctor confirmed that it was something called intussusception and that Spencer would need surgery immediately. They got us into another ambulance to move to the bigger hospital in Cancun, where they had the facilities and staff to do the operation.
By 5:30pm that afternoon, Spencer was given anesthesia and headed into surgery. With reasonably fluent doctors, Jess' mom's translation help and discussion with nurses through our health insurance, we understood that the condition involves the intestine 'telescoping' into itself and requiring to be pulled back out. We knew there were a lot of possible complications, which made us even more scared than we already were. The only consolation was that this is relatively common in boys under 2 (4 in 1000 ... not bad lottery odds) and the pediatric surgeon had done the same procedure already that week.
The surgery was a success with no complications, but we braced ourselves for 5-14 days of recovery before we could go home. Poor Spencer had an IV feeding tube in the side of his neck, a tube going through his nose into his stomach to pull out his stomach acid, three sensors attached to his chest, a heart rate monitor strapped to his foot and a blood pressure cuff on his arm. He stayed hooked up like that in the ICU for 3 days, which was tough on everyone but especially him. He was clearly scared, confused and got hysterically upset any time the doctors or nurses came near, which was at least every hour to monitor his condition, change his bandages, give him a sponge bath, change his IV fluids, etc (all necessary and appreciated, but unfortunate!). Steven, Jess and Jess' mom took shifts with him while the others tried to get some rest. Luckily we were armed with a DVD player and lots of books to keep him calm otherwise.
After a few scares that he might need another surgery, the doctors let him come upstairs to the regular hospital room and stay with us on Thursday. At that point everything had been removed except the IV in his neck and on Friday Spencer finally got out of bed and for a walk around the floor in his stroller, trailing the IV tower. On Saturday he devoured his first food in almost a week (two little cups of jello, apple juice and water) and on Sunday the IV was removed from his neck. A few hours later, we were discharged and on our way home.
We got home late last night and today, Monday, we saw our family doctor for follow-up. He was very happy with the way the 4-inch incision is healing, took out the stitches and confirmed that our little Spenny should be as good as new in a week. He is clearly happy to be home (thrilled to see his teachers and friends at daycare during a very quick visit!) but is still very upset when his stomach or neck are touched, although he hasn't had any pain since he went into surgery. We're all glad to get more than 45 minutes of uninterrupted sleep.
Although it was a horrible week, the care we received in Mexico was superb. The facilities, the doctors, the nurses, even the resort and airline staff were terrific. The fact that we're home and that Spencer is healing well is proof.
Through this all, Spencer has amazed us. He managed a few smiles and giggles even when tethered 7 different ways in the ICU and remained so strong that it often took 4 of us to hold him down when necessary. For the most part, he respected our instructions to not pull at his tubes and wires and tried valiantly to sleep through the poking, prodding and incessant beeping. After not walking for a week, his legs were wobbly but he was taking steps by mid-morning today.
We'll post pictures of both the good and the bad parts of our vacation soon. Despite the ordeal, we're not turned off travel because of the wonderful care we received. Remember kids, always have travel medical insurance.
Our heartfelt thanks to all our family and friends who have helped us through this, especially Jess' mom and the medical staff in Cancun. We're mentally and physically exhausted, but happy as long as Spenny continues to get better.
Much love,
Jess, Steven and SpencerAdd a comment:
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Take care and see you soon.
M
it was great to see Spencer on Monday afternoon....so glad to hear and read about what a brave lil' guy you have....can't wait til he comes back to daycare to tell us his side of the story.
Ms. Jenn