Colorado Children Hospital...meet Cameron Broyles!

It all began going to Dr. Stratton for a baclofin pump refill and botox on my right hand. When we got a there, my mom and dad told Dr. Stratton that I have been struggling to breathe while eating and I was tight all of the time, especially when I ate. So she bumped up the dosage to 5 percent which is not a lot. With all the problems my mom and dad told her I was having including the seizure, she thought it would be a good idea to admit me into the hospital because I had also lost 10 lbs in the last month in a half! My parents thought that it was a great idea. After getting botox and refilling my gas tank, we walked to the special care clinic. For some reason the botox hurt less than the baclofin pump refill. I think that I was worried about it hurting so much because my mom kept on telling me that it would hurt when I asked her. When we got to the room we were going to stay at, people came in and asked all kinds of questions about me since we were new to this children's hospital. My mom mentioned to the doctor that I don't get enough fluids in my body because my urine is always dark, especially since we live here now I have to drink a extra water because there is no moisture in the air. Which is also why I don't have bowl movements as frequently. She also told him that I didn't really have that much of an appetite ever since I started taking my seizure medicine again. The doctor said that one of side-effects to zahnisimide is depression and anorexia...yeah, I was pretty messed up!!  After that he put me on a liquid diet and told someone to give me a I.V. They also made me drink half of a bottle of Gatorade with one packet of miralax mixed in it every two hours. Ever since I got the baclofin pump I have been more constipated more often. Then after staying for a day in the hospital, the doctor wanted to see if I would be a good candidate for the G-tube. So they wanted to do a swallow study with me laying flat on my back to see if anything comes back up. Once they got me on the table I started to get real stiff and started arching my back every time I would take a drink. Next they did a swallow study with me sitting up. I didn't really eat good because I usually move my head to the left when I am eating and I couldn't do that. When we finally got the results from the swallow study, the physician said that I am a good candidate for getting a G-tube. He also said that I couldn't eat or drink anything after 12am once he figured out what time the surgery was going to be on the next day because he had other people to operate on in the morning. At around 12pm the next day, the transporters came and moved me to the operating room while I was laying on the reclinable bed. My dad wanted to go with me until I got to the operating room. My favorite part about the surgery and including all surgeries I have had before, is when they knock me out because it is really the only time that I feel that I get a nice two hour nap without being woken up for a vital checks. You really never can get good sleep in the hospital because stuff is always beeping. After the surgery was done, I had sharp pain every time I would move and whenever my dad made me laugh for the first week. I think that the G-tube definitely has been the most helpful for me because after a week of having it I finally feel like I am finally getting enough water, nutrition and calories. I haven't been weighed yet since we got out of the hospital but I'm sure they will get one with my next appointment. All that I'm hoping for is that I can at least gain back the ten pounds I lost. My favorite part about the G-tube by far is that I don't have to take any kind of medicine by mouth anymore! The only thing my parents has to do is make the medicine small enough so that it doesn't clog up the tube while it's feeding me. Anyway, I think the moral to this blog is to always listen to your body, stop with whatever you're doing and reboot. Now, after getting the surgery I have more energy and I absolutely love it!