Update on Sawyer

Ah, Sawyer. Our little man has had some challenges this year. Earlier I blogged about his (still) undiagnosed illness that landed him in the hospital. That was so scary for Will and I. Since returning home, he has been plagued by seemingly constant health problems. One of the most severe symptoms prompting his initial hospital stay was diarrhea. Bad diarrhea. I am talking 12-14 diapers a day. Even after coming home, this was still a huge issue. It was determined that his illness had trashed his intestinal tract, and he was placed on a very strict diet, consisting mostly of a predigested infant formula (that was $28 for a teeny can!!). After a couple weeks on the formula, we were allowed to slowly reintroduce solid foods. But to no avail. Sawyer began to refuse any and all food. Will and I were at a complete loss. Before he got sick, he was the best eater. We continued to try different foods, and he continued to refuse them all. On top of all that, he was constantly sick. He seemed to be catching one thing after another. Ear infections, pneumonia, the flu, URIs, pink eye, bronchiolitis, ect...After several months of this, and multiple trips to the doctor, in April it was finally decided that he may be immuno-compromised, and we were sent to the lab for blood work. Among other things, they tested him for cancer, immunities to vaccines he had already received, and they did a nutrition panel. His lab work was a mess, but he was not immuno-compromised. What a relief! The thought of living with a baby in a bubble was nearly unbearable. No church, no school, no public places, no one in, no Sawyer out. He also did not have cancer. Another HUGE blessing.
Now what though? He still wasn't eating, and he was still sick more than normal. They sent him to see a pediatric GI specialist, Dr. Horvitz, who thought he merely had developed an aversion to food after being so sick, and since he wasn't eating, he wasn't getting the nutrients he needed to fight of illness. She placed him on another special diet. Since he takes a bottle well, he was placed on Pediasure twice a day ($10 for six bottles, on sale!), and we had to start adding Duocal to his bottles. Duocal is a formula-like substance containing mere calories, and nothing else ($38 for a super teeny can!!). She also told us to add butter, milk, cream to whatever he did eat. Dr. Horvitz ran a few basic tests, but told us that she didn't expect them to show anything, and made an appointment for us to follow up in two months. Will and I thought we were finally making progress with our little (he has only gained about 5 ozs since December!!) man. He had started to eat a little better, and no longer refused everything, just most things.
A week ago though, I got a call from Dr. Horvitz's office. Some of Sawyer's tests came up with a few things, and they wanted to schedule him to have an Upper Endoscopy and Sigmoidoscopy on June 14th. They will be taking biopsies from his esophagus, stomach, and upper and lower intestines. Sadly, these procedures are only done under general anesthesia, so there is the added worry of having him do that.
We just hope that they will figure something out, and we can start fixing whatever might be wrong. We also have high hopes that things will be just fine. In the meantime, we appreciate any and all prayers. We truly feel that our little Sawyer is just having one big bump in his road, but things will smooth out, and we will be able to move forward. We will keep you all posted.