Another Procedure – Another Tube

6am: As Ethan completes three weeks of his current hospitalization, he has found a procedure and medical tube he has not had before.  Hard to believe there is something Ethan has not experienced after spending 243 days and counting in the hospital.

This afternoon, Ethan is scheduled to receive an NJ (nasal-jejunum tube) to assist in introducing tube feeds and getting his GI System to re-start.  Ethan has healed wonderfully from his surgery on the evening of Jan 8, but re-starting his GI System has been a real challenge.

We all struggle to understand why Ethan has to endure such issues after all he has experienced these past 19 months.  We can tell you that with each challenge, it seems Ethan faces it with strength. The past two days, Ethan has been laughing up a storm – we just wish he could tell us what is so funny.

At this point, Ethan will be watching the Super Bowl from the hospital (Go Seahawks!) with the hope of returning home sometime next week, having spent another four weeks in the hospital.

***6pm: Well… it turns out his NJ procedure turned into a GJ in the end—third time’s a charm—the doctors have struggled to place Ethan's GJ Tube given the curvature of his back and rotation of his pelvis. They encountered challenges this afternoon as they were placing the NJ, so they tried one more time and were successful with placing it as a GJ. Hopefully the feeds will begin tomorrow and proceed so we can have a discharge date!

Staying strong,

Alexia and Scott