We have had an eventful week – in both good and bad ways.
On Monday morning early, Dirk left for Cape Town. He attended annual meetings of the Attorney’s Fidelity Fund and the Law Society of South Africa. My parents arrived later that day – ostensibly to deliver a cupboard for toys that my dad made for us, but actually to look after us. I took three days’ leave and really spent some quality time with my parents. Wednesday morning a friend from school days arrived with her family and there was much joy as we caught up on news and as the children (they have two girls of similar ages to my boys) got to know each other better.
Wednesday night Dirk came back from Cape Town and as it was out 10th wedding anniversary, we took some time off and went to stay overnight at a B&B in the KNZ Midlands. We had a lovely dinner at a restaurant we have always wanted to visit but somehow never got around to.
It was good to take a leisurely bath without being interrupted by a needy child or two, putting on a full face of make-up, doing my hair and dressing nicely. And of course not to have to rush dinner. In fact, Dirk had to remind me once or twice to slow down eating!
Even the next morning’s coffee on the verandah overlooking a pine forest and the superb breakfast was a treat. Dirk arranged to come in for work a little later than usual and I still had a day’s leave left. I had planned a day-trip to a child-friendly eatery with our friends and the kids.
But this, alas, was not to be. When we arrived home, we found that Loren had had a very bad night. So bad, that both my mother and my friend – capable, strong women – were in tears and wanted to phone us halfway through the night. It seemed that the tummy problems plaguing him in recent months were back in full force. He spent the night hyper-extending and crying non-stop and he was still at it when we arrived.
We decided to take him to the doctor. I’ve come to my own conclusions about his problems and my theory is that he has an ulcer. I tested it by giving him Losec MUP – an acid blocker – and he responded well to that. Wednesday night the medicine ran out….
His symptoms are exactly what we had this time last year – even after he had the Nissen Funoplication done. We took him from doctor to doctor and even had him with the Red Cross Children’s hospital in Cape Town. Nobody could give us any answers. He wasted away and was in constant pain. I think this is where I finally lost all trust in doctors. Some even wanted to tell me that it is part of his condition and that he does not feel pain. At the time we gave him some Losec and the problem sorted itself out after a while.
This time, his problems started after we had to replace his old feeding tube in November. It had to be yanked out, because the surgeon wanted to avoid anaesthesia. Things just started deteriorating slowly after that. So slow, that I almost didn’t notice the weight loss and ascribed the tummy ache to a bug and winds and strange food etc. But in the last two weeks, Loren lost a lot of weight and the episodes of discomfort and pain started increasing in duration and severity. He is literally only skin and bones now.
It was only after I Googled (yeah, I know!) ulcers that everything fell into place. The weight loss, the pain while he is fed or roughly two hours after, the waking at night… It all added up. There must still be some raw spot somewhere inside and with dear, wonderful Anna who would not even hurt a fly taking the initiative of giving him things like naartjie (a VERY acidic citrus fruit) the spot probably doesn’t get a chance to heal properly.
So, I went to the very nice GP, ready to convince her with an arsenal of information. It didn’t take a lot to convince her to prescribe Losec, but she actually wanted to hospitalize him on the grounds that he might be slightly dehydrated. I showed her his very wet nappy and she agreed that it probably wasn’t necessary. But we all agreed that we had to get his weight (which had dropped from over 8kg to 6.5kg – shocking even to us) up fast. We contacted a dietician to advise us on supplementation and I started him on the Losec again immediately.
That night we had another very bad night, but from the next day, things started improving. I was too tired and literally felt sick after not sleeping at all and worrying all night and stayed home from work. Loren slept most of the day, so I spent time with Marco, just chilling. It was good to just be around him after the abnormal week we’ve had. I must say that he adjusted well to the influx of strangers on his turf and our absence, but by Thursday evening I could see that he was getting tired and overwhelmed and that he was starting to misbehave as a result.
This week-end was fine. Loren doesn’t sleep well at night, but if you see the state of his gums – new teeth on the brink of erupting – it is probably understandable. I left him this morning with Anna – in tears. It just breaks my heart and I really hope it IS the teeth and not something else. I’ve just phoned home and he seems to be asleep.
