Procedure

On Wednesday Ambrose will be put under general anesthesia for a repeat Upper GI Endoscopy and Bronchoscopy.

The endoscopy will probably show evidence of reflux, and if so, the recommendation will be surgery (Fundoplication) to tighten his esophagus, preventing stomach contents from creeping up and causing acid burns.

The bronchoscopy will help to get a better understanding of the state of his lungs. Because of the prematurity of his lungs at birth, Ambrose suffers from chronic lung disease, which is being treated like asthma. Although he does not have asthma "attacks", his blood oxygen saturation does decrease when he sleeps. It is probably not a procedure that would have been ordered, were he not going under anesthesia anyway for the endoscopy.

Since he expends so many calories repairing both his esophagus and lungs, he has gained only two ounces since March. If we do end up with the fundo, he should gain weight dramatically. There are some horror stories online about botched fundos, but then I guess the families who are satisfied with theirs aren't blogging about it - they're doing normal family things instead.

He still wears a pelvic brace to help deepen the socket of his hip, but doesn't let it stop him from crawling, walking, running, climbing. He's a sweet, happy little boy and doesn't seem to mind all the fuss.