Next stop, the E.R., Emergency Room

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Let me first begin with we are all okay.  Enzo is at Wolfson's Children's Hospital and is under amazing care.  He has a severely inflamed pancreas and duodenum.  

Okay...let's start back at the beginning......when we landed in Eleuthera Bahamas after flying out of Nassau, Bahamas.

Every time we travel to a new country we have a routine and one of the things we have to do is make sure Enzo's medication is readily available.  However, it took us a while to realize the Bahamas does not have Enzo's meds in liquid form, an absolute must for Enzo since he doesn't chew and has texture issues.  

So we knew we had to end our trip earlier than expected.  

We made the most of our stay in the Bahamas - enjoying the people, the climate and the water!  It's seriously the prettiest water I have ever seen in my life!

We enjoyed eating seafood practically every day, most of the time fried (yikes).  We made new friends that we will keep in contact with (and still do). 

Leaving the Bahamas was easy. Flights, car rentals and accommodations were quickly found.  

The planning of our trip went as smooth as I could ever expect as long as it was on December 2!  Why December 2nd? I don't know but all the dates, the use of miles and points all came together on that date.  No other date seemed to fulfill all our needs. 

I told Scott I felt that God was telling us something and that we had to head back to the states early and via Jacksonville, FL.  Naturally we had to head back early for Enzo's medications but we had no idea there was going to be a bigger reason for needing to get back to the states so quickly!  

We left Saturday December 2nd with enough meds for Enzo for just one more week.  

Enzo has to be carried inside an airplane. He refuses to walk into an airplane although he absolutely loves being in one.  Scott and I take turns carrying him onto a plane and walking all the way back to the end of the plane.  

Now before you wonder why the back, just remember, the bathrooms are back there and if there is one thing we need is easy access should something happen to Enzo, we can quickly take him to the bathroom.  (Think potty accident, nothing major)

 

We are the first ones on the plane and Eli got invited into the cockpit where he met a graduate from the United States Air Force Academy.  Did you know Eli wants to be a pilot too?!?!?  Oh yes, he's all about it and was beyond thrilled to go into the cockpit while Enzo and Scott went to our seats. 

Finally we were airborne and flying away from one of the most beautiful places on earth! We had to change flights and arrived in Nassau.   

Enzo began violently vomiting and he continued for the rest of the day.  We flew into ATL and he was still vomiting.  It was so bad that I was shocked that we were still allowed on the plane since by now we all know that any sign of anything that could be deemed "contagious" was a good enough reason to refuse us to board!

Fortunately Enzo stopped vomiting just long enough to make it to the next and final flight to JAX.  We were exhausted but we needed to get Enzo comfortable and getting back on the plane was exactly what Enzo wanted.  

Although Enzo was vomiting, he would do his "business" and then look back out the window and giggle or smile!  The poor people behind Enzo were doing everything they could to not have "sympathy vomiting."  Oh my, I felt so bad for them as they struggled to keep themselves from being a part of the chaos.

We were given trash bags since Enzo doesn't have good aim with the small bags provided.  The flight attendants were amazing!  We kept apologizing but they just kept right on as if this was not their first rodeo!  

By the time we landed in Jacksonville around 10pm at night, the newest flight attendant was so concerned for Enzo that she asked me if we needed the medics to help us and I said YES!  I'm can't thank Delta enough for all their patience during our flights.

The captain asked everyone to remain seated while we exited and met with the medics who were more than happy to help.  The JFRD crew were AMAZING!  They were so calm, which allowed us to just sigh a breath of relief that we were back in our neck of the woods.  

We also requested that Enzo be taken to Wolfson Children's Hospital.  We had been there many times prior to our move to Colorado.  Fortunately, the JFRD crew agreed and had already made plans to take him there especially since he was a child with special needs. 

Enzo began his treatment in the ambulance with an IV and some anti-vomiting medications.

As you can see, Enzo was feeling better with the help of the amazing JFRD Airport crew!    

Tests were run and Enzo's pancreas numbers were a bit off.  But the IV fluids and anti-vomit meds were working so well, the doctor felt confident we could take him home.  However, he was cautiously advising us - should the vomiting continue, we were to return immediately Wolfson's ER.

We arrived at our AirBNB around 4am Sunday December 3rd.

We were exhausted Sunday since we didn't get to sleep until 4a.m. and by Monday morning December 4, we thought we were in the clear when Enzo first woke up.  He didn't get sick that morning.

Later that afternoon Enzo wasn't feeling well again.  He was continuously vomiting and we returned to the E.R. as recommended by the doctor.

More tests were conducted and his blood work came back even worse than on December 2nd.  In fact, Enzo's pancreas enzymes were off the chart!  

It was a long night again.  Eli did the best!  He was so supportive of Enzo and helpful to his mama!  But even this future Navy SEAL and Pilot could not stay awake the entire time. 

Enzo didn't look as sick as his test results.  The doctors and nurses were trying to figure out what was wrong.  

He even had to get a CT.  What a trooper.  By now he had slowed down on his vomiting due to IV fluids and anti-vomiting meds.  BUT he was so happy he wasn't feeling so sick.

Enzo is so amazing.  The staff at Children's hospital E.R. were amazing and Enzo did as he was told.  It took a bit to convince him to lie down for the CT scan but he finally did it.  After it was finished he asked, "again?"  

How does Enzo keep such a happy demeanor when we know something is terribly wrong?  

First step, Enzo had a regular IV treatment plan.  With all the vomiting, Enzo needed more help.  Next step, more tests and more scans......and then being admitted!

Sometime around 4am or so on Tuesday morning on December 5, Enzo was admitted into Wolfson Children's Hospital.  Since being here we have had minimal sleep.  Eli slept anywhere.  Wow, I wish I could do that.  😆

Since arriving Enzo has been lovingly poked and prodded and he's taken it all like a champ.  The care here is phenomenal and we couldn't be happier.  He now has a PICC line, an IV through a larger vein because he will need a treatment that will be much longer, providing him nutrition and bowel rest.  There's other stuff going on but this is the gist:

CT exam results:

                                                                              

Partial gastric outlet obstruction due to severe pyloric and proximal

duodenal wall thickening.  Primary consideration is for pyloric

inflammation/gastritis and severe duodenitis.

                                                                              

Limited exam due to motion artifact.  Due to this limitation, the "cystic"

structure seen on the ultrasound is not well visualized.

                                                                              

Distal esophageal wall thickening concerning for esophagitis.

While all of this is going on,  we were able to drop off Eli at Nonna's.  This was such a good grandma/grandson bonding moment!

Nonna has taken such good care of Eli and she is giving him the royal treatment.  Her friends are in love with Eli and are treating him like a little prince. 

With all that is going on, we have had to cancel all our trips and will be staying in St. Augustine for a while (who knows how long) to take care of Enzo's needs and follow-ups.  

As a surprise, Eli and Nonna decorated Nonna's home with all sorts of Christmas decorations!  It was such a wonderful surprise!  

Yes, I cried with tears of joy!

There's a lot going on and I can't explain it all here.  Scott and I are grateful to be back in the states and to be close to friends and family.  As Scott and I alternate staying with Enzo while the other goes home at night to sleep in a real bed, we are so grateful for God's guidance.  We continue to sing His praises and Thank Him for taking such good care of our family.....

James 5:13-14

New International Version

The Prayer of Faith

13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.

I'll leave you with some more pictures from Eleuthera, Bahamas.  Our phones are turned back on and our Colorado phone numbers work.  We still use WhatsApp, the World's leading form of messaging system, we can now be reached via iMessage or even voice calls from our iPhones.

Playing Frisbee was our favorite pasttime.

We walked a little bit, the shady trees were so neat. 

How would you like to Park on Lord street?

The Kupcake Lady had her bakery next to our Airbnb.  Oh man, talk about spoiling ourselves!  A LOT!  Genele was amazing as a baker and a new friend!  

Scott  collected a ton of shells while at Eleuthera. Yes, I still can't get over our view from our AirBNB!

Check out the security system.  Pay close attention.  Eli is going around the walk-thru.  The black bins are on a table, there is no x-ray machine.  This is so old-school.    😅

How it works is that we all got checked-in and went through the security walk-thru but then we went back to our seats in the airport with the ability to walk outside, shop, go to the bathroom, etc.  Crazy huh?

The skinniest part of the land is the Glass Window Bridge.  The light turquoise water is the Bight of Eleuthera waters on the Caribbean side of the island and the deep blue is the Atlantic Ocean. 

For you folks that remember, TWA went bankrupt.  Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1930 until 2001 when it was acquired by American Airlines.  I haven't seen the TWA logo in forever but hey, check this out!  We saw this on the runway at Nassau Airport.  AND I spoke with my cousin who is a flight attendant for American Airlines.  He says he's been on this plane (or an AA plane with a TWA tail).....how cool!