“A SMALL high-five” - Dr. A

She's out! No stoma, surgeons found a stricture at the end of the small intestine and also a narrow, unhealthy-looking portion of the large intestine. They removed that area and did a resection.

When we heard, "no stoma, they found a mechanical problem and fixed it," our boys and I praised God, grabbed some eggnog and root beer and I popped the closest thing we have in the house to champagne to toast the good news!!!!!

Our surgery team - much more level headed than I am today - is cautiously optimistic and will only give us a small high five until we see how she recovers and adapts to feeding. Good that they can help us (me) stay grounded. I am so incredibly thankful that they found an issue, that surgery was indeed the right call, that she doesn't need a stoma (for now), that today is just good news.

I really feared the worst today. And today appears to have gone as well as we could have hoped. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Here's a play-by-play of what they found when they went in:

We suspected the problem area was near where the small intestine connnected to the large intestine. Contrast studies seemed to show a blockage of some kind. The surgery team did find a mild narrowing, but it was when they tried to push fluid back and forth they discovered there was, indeed, a cyst or webbing or something blocking the fluid. They managed to break up whatever it was and increase fluid flow, but they noticed another issue:

The area immediately downstream from the potential webbing (highlighted) looked unhealthy and narrow.

They removed the unhealthy sections of the end of the small intestine and the large intestine at the points outline in green. They resectioned and sewed her up. They added a bit of festive holiday cheer as well:

Guess it's an OR thing.

I'm so thankful for today, praise God, keep praying because He hears our cries for Mercy.