Hirshsprung's disease

Well, unschooling has proven it's validity once again. This week, my whole family is learning all about Hirshsprung's disease. My nephew's son was born last Tuesday. By the weekend, it was clear something was wrong with little Joey's gut and he was in the hospital. Basically, the nerves that cause bowel movement are missing &/or incomplete, leaving him without the ability to eliminate properly. Treatment involves surgically removing the affected intestine and reconnecting the rest. But docs want to wait until he's 12 pounds, and he's now only 6 pounds. Until surgery, he'll have to have enemas to help him eliminate.

This is in the IBD (inflammatory bowel disease - not the same as IBS, irritable bowel syndrome) family of diseases. And we are an IBD family. I have Crohn's disease. I have one sister w/ ulcerative colitis. My mother has 2 cousins & 1 brother w/UC. My father's brother died of complications from UC 10 years ago. And if that weren't bad enough, little Joey's mom has a brother very sick with Crohn's. This little man's gut didn't almost didn't have a chance. Thank God for God!!

The blessing here is that this could not have been caught sooner. He wasn't even dehydrated yet when he was hospitalized. And his days are getting better. He's able to keep formula down (we won't go there!!) and had a small BM on his own yesterday. They may get to go home today. So prayers for good weight gain are appreciated. And feel free to join me in praying that these nerves continue to grow and develop making surgery unnecessary! AMEN!