Well, after an 8 1/2 hour emergency visit, Tyler was released home to run further tests tomorrow. We went to the ER because Tyler was looking very jaundiced. It is amazing how much closer we have to watch him because of his heart condition. I learned that jaundice, which we all know is very common and not a big deal in newborns, is a big deal in older babies, like Tyler. When a child shows signs of jaundice after weeks or months, it's usually associated with liver failure. The ER doctors ran bilirubin tests and they showed that the levels were at 6, which is very elevated. Normal is <1. Jaundice is yellowish discoloration of the skin and eyes caused by hyperbilirubinemia. When red blood cells die, the heme in their hemoglobin is converted to bilirubin in the spleen and in the hepatocytes in the liver. The bilirubin is processed by the liver, enters bile and is eventually excreted through feces. For some reason he isn't excreting it. There are three different classes of causes for jaundice. Pre-hepatic or hemolytic causes, where too many red blood cells are broken down, hepatic causes where the processing of bilirubin in the liver does not function correctly, and post-hepatic or extrahepatic causes, where the removal of bile is disturbed. In simple terms, they think that Tyler either has hepatic causes, acquired hepatitis from a blood transfusion or has some type of viral infection. Or has post-hepatic, a blockage from poor circulation or a blood clot due to his heart, a malformed liver or obstruction such as a cyst. Lastly, he could have liver failure due to congestive heart failure, however, they don't think this is the case. They are going to do an extensive ultrasound of his liver to check for malformations or obstructions tomorrow or Tuesday and are doing all types of blood work to further diagnose. We will keep you posted. Heidi's medical advice..if you notice your kid is jaundiced weeks or months after being born bring them in...it could be a big deal. We'll keep you updated on the medical sagas of our little one. We are both pretty tired from lack of sleep so night night. I'll post pics tomorrow of our yellow boy and ER visit.
6 comments:
Thinking of becoming a health care professional after this? I'll bet schools would let you in without the prerequisite courses, and just give you "life experience credit" :) Hang in there!!!
Good luck with all the tests today. I'll be praying for some good results. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to help out. We are so proud of you both and you give us so much inspiration.
love,
Heather
Hey McMillans - hang in there! I'm glad you took Tyler in. If we can help watch Scott this week let us know ok? Love to you.
The Louies.
Oh my goodness! I hope they figure out what it is. It's like getting a medical lesson reading your blog. I never knew. Thanks for enlightening me, and I hope that sweet Tyler is okay!
You guys are going through so much. I can't even imagine.
Stay faithful. And I like that you're saying "this too shall pass". Because it will. When my husband was going through chemo, I said that over and over again.
I'll keep your family in my thoughts and prayers.
Heidi I have to say I am VERY impressed with your accurate and easy to read explanations of all of Tyler's medical conditions. I'm a cardiovascular RN so I know this stuff can be tricky to figure out, yet even explain in a semi understandable way, but you explain it all so well. Have you ever thought of being a school teacher? Anyway I'm so sorry about the late nights and ER visits. I sure hope you are catching up on sleep somehow! I am amazed at how positive you are all the time! Keep the faith going strong!
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