A Little Update on Dorian
Posted on June 23, 2011 - Filed Under Kids, Personal | 5 Comments
I realized that it’s been almost four months since Dorian was in the hospital, and since I don’t have time to compile a real post, I thought I would do a quick update on the boy.
He’s been doing great since surgery! Problems that we never realized were actual problems, have been resolved. For example, he used to get a lot of gas and his belly would bloat up. We figured it was normal, the doctor gave him medicine for it and we would do things like tickle him and flip him upside down to help him get rid of the gas, but it was a daily issue. Since most kids with IA have similar issues with gas, it didn’t seem like a big deal. Except that it was. Turns out that was caused by his intestines being twisted up so the gas couldn’t escape. Since the surgery, his tummy has been nice and flat and there has been no need for extra measures.
Where he used to have some fairly serious cycles of constipation, those are mostly gone. However, he does have to take medicine daily to stimulate the intestinal nerves because they are so underdeveloped in that section of his intestine. In the future, he may need more surgery to completely remove that part of his innards, which sucks, but it may make everything even better.
He’s happy. This is the best part. My little boy who would get so miserable because his tummy hurt or he just didn’t feel well . . . he’s feeling great almost every day and he grins and laughs way more than he did before.
There are some extra side effects, too.
- He suddenly has become far more outgoing. I’m not sure if it’s because he feels better or if he just got used to talking to doctors and nurses or if he has just stared death in the face and figures nothing else can touch him, but the boy is suddenly chatting up strangers on the bus, in the store and he doesn’t hide behind me all the time now. The other day he started talking to a punk looking kid in a cafe, telling him that he used to have long hair, too and letting the guy know that he looked “really cool”. 
- He’s more independent. Even though he’s only five, he seems to feel that he’s quite old enough to handle things on his own. He’s more than willing to do as much as he can on his own and he’s grown a lot recently, so he can reach his own cups and food and frequently prepares snacks for himself and Dante without needing any adult help.
- He’s more loving. Before the surgery, I was lucky to get a kiss because “that’s so disgusting, Mama!” Now he comes up to me in the morning, before I get out of bed, hugs and kisses me and tells me he loves me and that I’m beautiful. It’s awesome. He does this throughout the day, too, just randomly giving me hugs and kisses. And the best part? Dante follows his example. Sometimes they have competitions to see who can love on me more! That’s not a practice I’m going to discourage, heh.
- He is far more disciplined when it comes to his health. He drinks water religiously, every half hour, setting the alarm to remind himself. He lets us know if he needs a dose of laxative. He needs to know the ingredients of everything he eats and exactly how it will affect his body. He is studying blood and the digestive system so he can understand just what is going on inside his body and he checks his own stomach for tenderness and backups on a daily basis. He’s realized what can happen if things get out of control and he is very much about taking control and not letting his body get the best of him again.
- He isn’t scared of doctors. We’ve been taking him twice a month to a doctor in our town (who is actually our usual doctor, but he started practicing in our village) and Dorian confidently talks to him and even, while the doctor talks to us, borrows his stethoscope and listens to Dante’s belly to see if he has normal digestive sounds. He used to scream and cry when he had to see a doctor, now he’s fine, but he does check each time to see if he needs to get a shot or have an IV, which he is still very much against.
Overall, though it was terrifying at the time, the surgery was the best thing to happen to Dorian. He’s happier, healthier and more confident and as his mom, that’s really great to see!
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5 Responses to “A Little Update on Dorian”
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Travel can be H E double hockey sticks on the digestive system, but I am assuming you will have access to decent health care in Canada. I will be praying for you all!
Thanks for the inspiring story! I hope to write my Sunday post about it. Again, thank you so much for sharing with us.
We’re prepared with everything we need to make sure he stays healthy and we will have insurance for the trip, too. I’m taking along his meds, of course, plus we will have a couple of enemas on hand. The great thing is that my parents eat very healthily, so it won’t be difficult to keep his diet on track while we are in Canada.
I’m so glad to hear he is doing well! With all the new interest in health & such, you just might be raising a future doctor! How cool would it be if this experience led him to a life of helping others!
I asked if he wanted to be a doctor and he said no, he wants to act in movies, lol. We’ll see what happens.