It's Been a Long Time!

It's been a long time since Annie has been in the hospital, but she was admitted yesterday. She has had some GI problems since the beginning of the month, but they intensified last week enough to land her in the hospital.

We suspect that she might be having an ulcerative colitis flare up, but still don't have definite answers. Annie was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis several years ago but it has been well managed with medication and has stayed in remission. Last week Annie also began vomiting, which isn't typically expected with UC. The vomiting has persisted for over a week, and combined with the other GI troubles, she has become very dehydrated. Yesterday they pushed a lot of IV fluids with no real improvement. Things have been a little scary as her electrolytes have gotten all off balance and flashbacks of our 2014 scare have been heavy on our minds.

Annie's seizures have also increased this past week, having several a day, since it's a struggle to keep her seizure meds down. But now that she's got her IV and can rest her tummy more, the seizures are starting to improve some.

Annie's electrolytes have become more stable today, so she is less lethargic now than she was yesterday. However, she is still dehydrated. More IV boluses may be ordered on top of the 3 she has already had in the last 24 hours. She is scheduled for an endoscopy and colonoscopy tomorrow morning if we can get her well hydrated by then. That will hopefully give us some answers and help us start treatment.  Annie also has a UTI, and is starting treatment for that today, although we believe the UTI is secondary to the underlying issue.

It's been such a long time since we were at Children's that a few things have changed. Most of them small, but the big change is all the construction on their expansion project. Our typical view overlooking the city has been replaced partially by construction. It's actually quite interesting to watch the workers, but there are times we do feel like they are looking right into our room!