An update

Cooper has not been well. The reflux is out of control. He is back on his full dose of Nexium and on breakthrough meds, but it doesn't seem to be getting any better. I don't know what to think. It hasn't been this bad in months. Honestly, I can't remember the last time he struggled like this. It is hard too, because his weight is great, so it is assumed that the reflux is fine. But that hasn't been the case. He has been choking on fluids, gagging and chocking on solids, spitting things out, and coughing like crazy. His throat really hurts. His stridor and raspy breath is like it was as an infant. Yesterday was terrible. He had his normal 6-7am bottle of 6oz. He never asked for breakfast, so I didn't give him anything except some rice cakes. Then around 11, I decided we would do oatmeal for lunch because that is easy to go down. He gagged and winced with each bite. It was so sad. After that, I fixed him a 6oz bottle. He got excited as usually when I shook it up and handed it to him. He tried to take a drink, but he literally couldn't. He couldn't do it; he just handed me the bottle back and went to play. It broke my heart. Then a little later, I tried it again. I thought I would rock him and get him ready for a nap. When I tried to give him his bottle, he pushed it away and covered his mouth. I tried it several more times throughout the day, and he would suck it, but let all the milk run out. He couldn't seem to get it down. The worse part was he always wanted it at first. He had a little chicken and applesauce for dinner, but I had to stop him once he started gagging and acting like he might vomit. So, he went to bed yesterday having only 6oz of formula; he usually has 18-24. Then this morning, he woke at 6, we gave him a 3oz bottle and he "dream fed" it all, then fell back asleep propted on my arm. He doesn't usually go back to sleep, so that was a little out of the ordinary. I hear him reflux, then I hear it again, and up comes the whole bottle, all over me and the bed. He choked and cried. The milk wasn't even warm; he threw it up pretty much instantly. After we changed the bed, he fell back asleep and slept for a little over an hour. I took him into the pedi first thing. His tonsils were huge. They were literally touching each other. He has no sign of infection or a virus. He does not act sick, he just doesn't feel well, if that makes any sense. The pedi said, "it is a mechanical issue, they need to come out." We set up an appointment with a local ENT. After about an hour of thinking it over, I realized he would have to be put to sleep to have his tonsils out. He does not do well with anesthesia. I spoke with the ENT's office and gave them a brief history. They said it would not be advisable for us to use them, so we will be going to the Children's hospital where his GI and pulmo are. I called the pulmo to ask their opinion about an ENT. The nurse gave me a name and agreed we absolutely needed to be there, not here. She said that the pulmo would likely want the tonsils out before doing anything else. She acted as if this is a pretty typical occurrence for kiddos with a story like Coop's. She gave me the name, and told me if I had any trouble getting in quickly, to call back and she would make the call. She also told me to tell them that Dr Hadeed thought he needed to be seen asap. She said that if/when he has surgery, Dr Hadeed would admit him and watch him overnight. This was a huge relief. I called the ENT's office and told them what had been going on. They gave me a March 9 appointment. I can't imagine waiting that long; he is miserable. I told her that he wasn't eating, and that Dr Hadeed's office said it was important he be seen soon and that the nurse said she would be happy to call. I told them how little he ate the past to days. After sitting on hold for several minutes, she came back with a February 19 appointment. That is Thursday. We just got back on Sunday night, but it is so good to get in quickly. They said if he needed surgery, we would meet with a surgery coordinator that day and get a date set up. I am ok with this. I feel that if he will need to get them out, let's do it now, so he doesn't have to suffer. I say, don't put off the inevidable. He had 6oz of Elecare today and about 8oz of applesauce, probably about 6oz of juice. Clearly not a good day of eating. Only one more day until the appointment.