In a little break from my mortifying photos of ME from my colorful past. As seen here, and here and here. This week in my Sincerely Fro Me to You post (hosted by We are THAT Family) I am not putting up a photo of me at all. But instead it is a photo of my son Tucker at 8 weeks old. AND YES it is super mega can’t-believe-she-calls-herself-a-photographer BLURRY. There is a REASON.
From the time I brought Tucker home he threw up. Bottle in, bottle back out. He didn’t just spit up…he THREW up. Like in a poltergeist sorta way. I am talking on the sofa, on the curtains, and once ON the CEILING fan. My doctor would condescendingly say….”oh you have a spitter there. It will get better, blah,blah, blah…its your fault,blah,blahblah” and send me home. Well that went on for 8 solid weeks. Until one morning when I was feeding him and he threw up before he had taken an ounce and it went- IN MY MOUTH-I decided to get in control. Hmmm, what to do? Go to the Internet of course!!!! Where I stayed all day researching. By late afternoon I was VERY certain my poor baby had Pyloric Stenosis. I drove to the ER at 4:00pm. I told them my self diagnosis. They nearly LAUGHED at me, but I persisted. They agreed to do an ultra sound. They agreed, I think just to get rid of me. Around 11:00pm they came to me and said “Your son has severe Pyloric Stenosis and needs surgery within 8 hours”. I was over come with TRIUMPH and IN YOUR FACE STUPID CONDECENDING DOCTOR and the obvious total fear that my poor 8 week old infant had to undergo surgery. Then he said ‘he can not eat for the next 8 hours until the surgery’. So I sat in a hospital room with a screaming infant for 8 solid hours. He was looking and me and begging me to FEED him. And I could not. It was a living hell. Something I will never ever forget. Every mother should be able to feed her children when they are hungry. Sadly this is not a reality. Sometime during that night I took this photo.
Cameras were not allowed in the hospital and It was night time so I could not use a flash, so that is why it is blurry. And I was shaking from exhaustion and fear. So this is not a photo you will ever find framed on my mantle…but it IS in his scrapbook. Along with a piece of paper the doctor doodled on to explain the surgery. All went well. We all came thru it…..and I learned that a mothers instinct and the Internet make a powerful combination.
{ 1 trackback }
{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
WOW! You go girl. Persistence does pay off most of the time and I’m so glad it did for you in this case! How terrible to have suffered through that for 8 weeks!
How horrible for you! My dad actually had Pyloric Stenosis back in 1943 and nearly died from it. No doctor in the area that my grandparents lived in had ever even HEARD of it and finally they found a doctor several hours away that someone had recommended to them who knew exactly what he had and did surgery.
Good for you for sticking to your guns!
Good for you! I can’t imagine what that whole ordeal must have felt like to go through. Way to stand up for yourself and your baby.
Oh God Marcy!
This is such a devastating story. I mean, whew…
Life changes in an instant. What this must have done for you as a person to understand your importance in this world. Just how important you are. How much you are needed.
What a mom!
Oh, Marcy. This post started so funny, but developed into such seriousness!
thank goodness you persisted. I had a similar situation with my son – now a healthy 20 year old – and your story brought back the fear and frantic feelings.
But the old photos? Well, they just made me remember how awful I looked in the 80’s I had a perm – and I henna’ed my hair!! GAH!
Bless your heart!! God was speaking directly to you since the doctor had failed so badly.
I had to keep my then 14 month old from eating for HOURS before her surgery (had to have a peanut removed from her lung). The surgery kept getting delayed and she was screaming her head off. I remember that awful feeling. So glad we both came through it!!
Bless your heart! That must have been terrifying. I am so glad that everything worked out. And I took pictures of my son in the hospital once too. Memories, right? Just some are good and some are not.
That is amazing Marcy! I have tears in my eyes reading your story. My grandmother’s first born had the same condition when he was born but sadly medical science didn’t know how to correct it back then so he died of starvation. We are blessed with what doctors can do now.
I am so glad you pursued information, you armed yourself with enough information to get your son looked at! I remember having to keep my 7 month old from eating before surgery too…it’s so hard as a mom.
Thank goodness for moms who don’t give up! Sometimes doctors don’t have a clue and moms just KNOW there’s something wrong. There’s nothing worse than a hospitalized baby and not knowing how things will turn out. So glad he’s all right and those days are only memories now.
Firm believer in mothers intuition. Had a situation, not as severe as your, but Madi had acid reflux and took a few different Dr.’s to get one that would listen.
When I hear this story…retold with the advantage of time and space between that night and now….I am really touched again and amazed again.
Thanks for the reminder of your bravery, and every mother’s bravery.
(You forgot to say that there was no one you could call to come be with you that night and you spent it all alone.)
I am sure that was so scary! Thank God you were persistent! Beautiful baby blurry and all!
I’m a big believer in mother’s intuition too. What an amazing story! I’m so proud of you for sticking to your guns.
If we don’t advocate for our children, who will?
Sure the pic is blurry but, is it just me, or are his eyes TOTALLY clear? So moving….thank you for sharing and you are AWESOME for being such a ferocious mama. :)
Great story. Glad everything turned out OK. How did we ever get by without the Internet?
That must have been a completely heartbreaking night for you! Glad you both pulled through it and glad you didn’t ignore your instinct!
My kids always get sick in the lungs and as a result, I KNOW their different coughs now. I can also gauge a fever within a degree, just by kissing their forehead and back of their neck. With 12 years I know the doctors hate self-diagnosis as much as auto mechanics do, but Doctor Mom has been right almost every visit within the past few years. I should start charging copays for my diagnosing ability, I tell ya.
Glad the surgery went well and I simply can’t imagine not being able to feed your wailing baby for that long.
how horrible…but how wonderful that you took the matter in hand and diagnosed him yourself. the internet is an amazing thing.
my baby is 2 months old and I rushed her in to the dr. after she spit up projectile ONE DAY and they took me very seriously; even discussed the possiblity of pyloric stenosis (even though it is rare in girls) I hope you got a new pediatrician!
Way to go, Momma Bear!!! Always trust your instinct. And pfffftt to the doctor who didn’t believe you. It must have felt so terrifying at the time, but perspective after the fact changes so much, doesn’t isn’t it?
How very difficult for you and the baby. I can’t imagine what that was like, but I’m so glad he pulled through. I would always go with a mother’s intuition, too. We know our kiddos!!
I can’t even imagine how you felt. Thank goodness all came out well. You prove that mothers’ intuition is real…a good reminder to all us moms.
Oh my goodness, bless his little heart, bless your heart! Thank goodness you keep trying to find something out. I hate it when doctors wont listen.
How horrible, yet wonderful. I felt sick in my gut reading about you being in the hospital with him, not allowed to feed him. Horrible. I’m so glad this has all turned out so well.
Wow! What an amazing story of a strong determined Mom who fought for her child! I’m so sorry you had to live it, but I’m glad he is okay!
It’s amazing that you were able to catch in it time, how frightening!
Marcy. Whoa.
You’re one amazing woman… and just went up to “hero” status in my eyes… my teary eyes.
Amazing story! I loved what you said: “a mothers instinct and the Internet make a powerful combination.” When we just know, as a mother, that something is wrong, we must never give up. I’m so sorry you had to go through those 8 hours of not feeding your baby!
You would think by now a doctor would learn to trust a mother’s instinct. How frightening for you! Poor sweet baby.
I feel kinda bad for laughing about the ceiling fan and your mouth.
Never had to go through anything remotely that bad, but now I have a new Mom Hero to model my behavior after, should I need to. Go get ‘em, Tiger.
– Laurie
hi marcy, happy birthday to tucker and to you too! i know how horrible having a sick baby can be. my first went straight from my womb into CHOC NICU. and my second lost weight and was allergic to my breast milk. it feels great, doesn’t it? to look back on that kind of nightmare as only a frightening memory instead of a life sentence…