“EMMA HAS A BOO-BOO IN HER TUMMY”

Posted By: Peter DavidPosted On:

That’s how my sister, Beth, explained it to her concerned little daughter, Sarah. Sarah’s baby sister, Emma, had a “boo boo in her tummy,” and that’s why Emma is in the hospital, and why her mommy has to go be with her now for days on end.

In a more adult way of phrasing it…my little niece is distressingly ill. Checked in at the Children’s Hospital in Hartford, CT, she has been vomiting up everything that goes into her stomach for several days now. They’ve had her on an IV drip to keep her hydrated, but she hasn’t been keeping down more than two ounces of fluid an hour. And since she’s an infant and the veins in her arms weren’t big enough, they had to put the IV tube in her foot…except she wound up kicking it out and now her foot’s swelled up so that’s no good, and she just kicked it out of the other one.

I dunno. I’m not a big believer in the collective power of prayer, but on the other hand, I’m not above seeking any resource at this point.

PAD

49 comments on ““EMMA HAS A BOO-BOO IN HER TUMMY””

  1. I will, it seems, start the list of good wishes for your neice. May she have a full and complete recovery… and get lots of ice cream too!

  2. Well, I’m an atheist, but I do tend to believe in the untapped potential of the human brain and the potential for sending “good vibes”. I’m sorry for you and Emma and her parents and anyone else affected. I remember the hopeless, helpless feeling 7 years ago when I found out my then not yet a year old cousin had stomache cancer. Very trying times for my whole family (we’re big and very close, all thirty plus of us get together at least once a month, sometimes more). Thankfully, my cousin survived the ordeal and is a rambunctious seven year old (as of this past Friday, I think). So, that’s my personal story with a positive ending to perhaps give a little shred of hope and to hope that whatever little Emma is dealing with is far less serious.

    I hope all goes well.

  4. I do happen to believe in the collective power of prayer, and your niece (and the rest of your family) will be in mine.

  5. I also believe in it, and she will be in mine as well. Nothing is worse than watching a child be sick and being able to do nothing but hope and pray. So here is hoping and praying that she will be ok.

  6. I believe in the existence of God, but not as the cosmic Santa Claus that makes sure your team scores the winning touchdown that most people seem to believe.

    Even so, my most hearfelt wishes for a speedy recovery for your niece.

  8. Heartfelt best wishes for your niece.

    Your family will certainly be in my prayers, PAD. Consider it done.

  9. Consider young Emma in my family’s prayers, Peter. Even as the father of an 18-month old with another one on the way, I can still only imagine the terror and heartbreak that your sister’s family is going through. I hope our thoughts and prayers for Emma reach the proper authority.

  11. No powers of prayer from here, alas, but certainly as many good thoughts as I can possibly spare. Best wishes for her and the rest of the family.

    TWL

  12. Although I rarely pray anymore, I’ll make an exception for Emma, Beth, and the rest of the family. I hope the Big Guy hasn’t cut the phone line due to lack of use.

    My best wishes to the whole family.

  13. Best wishes for Emma and the rest of her family. Do they have any idea of the cause (virus, bug, birth defect)? I’m curious since I was born with a defect that caused me to projectile vomit all my food, resulting in an operation when I was a few weeks old to correct it. But from what I’ve been told, that particular defect is either completely or overwhelmingly limited to males.

  14. Of course I’ll pray for Emma.

    When I lived in Rota, Spain I knew a man in my church, I believe he had Luo Gerrig’s disease, (though I can be mistaken; this was 9 years ago) who was told he had 6 months, tops, to live. We always prayed for him, whether it was divine intervention or just having that many people care he could hold on when I left three years later he was still alive.

  17. She’s in my prayers. Can’t hurt.

    Little ones are so fragile, even a non-life threatening condition can be alarmingly frightening in their manifestations. I hope that’s the case here and she quickly recovers.

  18. I cried as I read this Peter. While Laura and I don’t believe in God, Emma will be in our thoughts. Please keep us updated onm her condition.

    JHL

  21. I am hoping very much that Emma will feel better soon.

    My now 17 months old daughter Jennifer was born with a hip defect and therefore spent most of her life so far in plaster, from the chest down to both ankles. Until now, she had five anaestetics and each time they put the needles into the back of her hand. It worked very well. The only problem is, the nurses needed extra sticking plaster to keep her from trying to eat it. Nevertheless, the last time Jennifer managed to pull it out and made a mess that scared me to death. Fortunately it looked MUCH worse than it was. Jennifer was even smiling as if she was proud of her achievement :).

    Her next appointment is in two weeks. It will hopefully be the last anaesthetic she will get for a very long time. If everything looks good, she will get rid of the cast for good – finally! I am sure, Jennifer will be all over the place very quickly. Even with cast, she is crawling around and busy investigating.

    Maybe putting the needle into the back of Emma`s hand is possible?

  22. I’ll pray for your daughter as well.

    My 2 year old had something similar 2 weeks ago. After 3 days at the hospital (in isolation, which bored her to tears), her doctor gave her a prescription of an anti-nausea drug they normally give cancer patients. She was on that for the next two days, and then was OK. Have they tried giving her something specifically for nausea?

  24. If this helps, I had much the same thing happen to me when I was an infant (could not keep food in my stomach, needed to be fed intravenously as well as blood transfusions.) Though I hear it got scary, I pulled through, and have not had to be checked into a hospital once for the last 37 years since. Figure medicine’s a whole lot better these days then the 60’s, too.

  26. PAD: I had the same situation as an infant; the condition is called Pyloric Stenosis, which is usually caused by a thickening of the muscles of the pyloric sphincter, the connection between the end of the stomach and the beginning of the intestine. This thickening causes food to back up into the stomach, hence the projectile vomiting. Hope this helps, and of course, a speedy recovery for your neice.

    Ken

  28. While I am the *worst* person to offer a good word at times like these, I’ll say this. Where there’s life, there’s hope. And children are full of life.

  30. A little prayer never hurt anyone, PAD. I’m not a deeply religious person myself, but I’ve often found that having faith can be a powerful thing.

    All my hopes.

  33. Best wishes from me too. Please keep us updated on this and what they eventually decide to do to fix it (and how the rest of us can recognize the condition in our own loved ones early on.)

  34. First, I too had pyloric stenosis (mentioned by tyg and another poster above). I believe this problem is indeed unique to males, and primarily first-born males. I am less sure about the connection here, but I also believe that those who had this condition often fall prey to something called a “pylonodial cyst” in their teenage years.

    None of this would be connected to what Emma is going through, though.

  37. Peter, I noticed that you didn’t mention what was wrong with Emma. What’s she got, if you don’t mind my asking?

    And regardless of whether prayer works or not, one’s health can be affected by a positive outlook, which relieves stress. For an infant, that would mean making her as comfortable and happy as possible, whether it means tickling her, playing peekaboo, or whatever.

    I do hope she is feeling better soon. Please keep us all posted.

  40. Part of the problem is that they don’t REALLY know what is wrong with her. The first call was stomach flu that kicked her little diaper butt, but it’s been more than 5 days which is the point where they start to look for other causes. I’ll update what we know after I talk to Beth this afternoon

  42. I will certainly add Emma to my prayers. It has been my experience as mother and grandmother that little kids get sick very fast, but can often get well just as fast. This is my hope for Emma. When my nephew had pneumonia at 2 years old they were going to do a cutdown to keep his IV in. Don’t be frightened if they have to do that to Emma. It looks bad but it gets the hydration in which she needs.

  45. Thank you for the clarification, Kathleen (or at least the affirmation that nothing is clear). Peter, since you are seeking any resource, I add a sincere (pagan) prayer and blessing for Emma. Even if she kicks the IVs out, they have other places they can attach them if needed. May your family be some comfort and aid to each other.

    Keep us posted on Emma’s condition. She has a lot of people pulling for her.

  47. No God found around here, either, but you have my best wishes.

    I know what all concerned are going through. My younger son had to be hospitalized for the same symptoms some years back – constant refluxing wasn’t allowing him to keep anything down. A tough, tough time to go through.

    Fortunately, not only did it all work out eventually, but as we were taking care of it at St. Christopher’s hospital – a pediatric hospital – the atmosphere was the best possible. The staff was wonderfully accomodating in not only allowing one of us to stay 24/7, but providing us with a roll-out bed in the room so one of us was always within reach.

  48. I am praying for precious Emma and those around her. That’s my daughter’s name too. It’s so hard to see sweet little children in pain. 🙁

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