Day 8

After two days of the parasite treatment, Hudson was scheduled for a biopsy this morning. They put him under for this process, then go into his stomach in four different places with small instruments to see what is going on inside, and remove at least a tissue/liquid sample to find out exactly what the mass is. Since the weekend was uneventful, and Hudson was doing and acting surprisingly well, it was hard to believe he still needed surgery. But at about 9:15 this morning the nurse came to pick us up to go meet the surgeon, and by 1:00 this afternoon we were back in our room with a very groggy little boy. It was horrible to wait for him while the surgery happened, and I was able to walk him back to the room where it was all happening, which almost made it worse. Lots of machines, fancy lights, and people dressed head to toe in hospital gear. I held Hudson while they gave him the medicine to put him to sleep, then had to lay my limp baby on the operating table and walk away. I pray to God I NEVER have to do that again.

A little over an hour after I dropped him off, the surgeon came out to tell us how it went. Our surgeon, Dr. Rothenberg, is one of the best in laproscopic surgery in the country, if not the best (i think he was a leader in creating it, but you can google him if you want to know for sure). What he said was both relieving and frustrating. What he saw in the mass was not conclusive, but if he were to bet on it, he would say it was a trauma wound, caused by a blow to the stomach. Because it was so close to the pancreas, it caused the pancreatitis. SO we have been running through days and weeks in our minds to determine a time when Hudson may have hurt his stomach. Either way the good news is, it's not something worse. These kinds of wounds heal, and though we may never know where the injury initiated, it should not be something that comes back - same with the pancreatitis. We have to wait for the pathologist to review the tissue and liquid they took from his belly to be sure, but because Dr. Rothenberg is such an expert in his field, we feel good trusting his feedback. We will know tomorrow for sure, and if that is in fact what it is, our Hudson will begin drinking liquids again - beginning his slow process of eating and drinking through the mouth again.

In retrospect it seems like a crazy roller coaster we've been on to find out it's something that CAN be diagnosed fairly easily. But because this wound showed itself in such bizarre ways - increased white blood cells pointing to a parasite coupled with pancreatitis and a strange looking mass - i guess it took an entire staff at a children's hospital (Pediatrician, GI specialist, Oncologist, Pathologist, Surgeon, Anesthesiologist, Infectious disease specialist, nurses) AND the main office for the CDC to figure out that Hudson bumped his belly somewhere.

Though we aren't out of the woods yet, we all feel a bit better that it isn't something super serious, and he will most likely NOT have to have surgery again. Because it is probably a trauma wound, however, they will have to do more screenings on him to ensure he doesn't have injuries elsewhere on the body. And he'll need ultrasounds to make sure the wound is healing itself. So we'll end up being in the hospital for two weeks. WOW. didn't see that coming. I'll update with final results tomorrow.