Malrotation.
You’ve most likely never heard of the word.
We did not hear of malrotation until our first-born son was
in kindergarten.
Looking back, he was not often sick as a baby. He had his bouts with ear infections. He spit up a lot. He was “colicky” at times. There were a few nights I doubted my
mothering skills when he would scream for thirty minutes, but the doctor
reassured me it was just “night terrors.”
Half way through his kindergarten year, he started
complaining often that his tummy hurt. It
didn’t seem to interfere with any activity, but as the frequency of these
“tummy” aches increased, I became concerned.
I took him to his pediatrician who did a physical exam, but
did not find anything wrong. The
complaints persisted. I took him to my
doctor. Nothing. I took him to another doctor in town who said
if the pain continued he would order an x-ray.
The pain continued. He had threw
up a few times, but it was flu season. I
took him back to get the x-ray order, but another doctor was filling in that
particular day. She said kids get tummy
aches because of stress and not to worry.
The complaints continued.
Dead-ends.
I did not know what to do next. I believed my son’s complaints were
real. I believe that God put an aching
on my heart to keep on searching. I am a
pretty “obedient” patient; I do not challenge doctors. But I felt they were wrong. I figured there must be some sort of stomach
specialist, but I was so naïve I had to “Google-it” to figure out that my son needed
to see a “gastroenterologist.”
We saw a very kind doctor who ordered a few tests. My son had to have an Upper GI with lower
bowel follow through. I did not know
what that meant except for the fact he needed to not eat breakfast that
morning. My strong willed five year old
who often challenges his momma, drank chocolate flavored barium like a champ
and had X-rays of his stomach and intestines.
The x-ray showed intestinal malrotation. We then saw a
pediatric gastroenterologist. It was hard to believe we finally had a
diagnosis. My mind had not even processed what we would do if we found out
something was wrong. All of a sudden we
learn he needs surgery…and fast.
Within a few weeks we were at UCLA Medical Center. Our son had a three hour laparoscopic LADD’s
procedure to untwist and straighten out his intestines and an appendectomy. As
soon as he recovered from surgery, his appetite increased and the tummy aches
were a thing of the past!
Malrotation in a birth defect in the way the intestines
rotate (the pattern they make during the 10th week of pregnancy). Malrotation
cases are often caught because of severe
pain, weight loss, blockages, vomiting bile, etc. My son had consistent, mild pain. It is really a blessing that he was diagnosed. I thank God for allowing me to be persistent
and not stop until I had answers. He is
our Protector.
Important facts to know:
If your child vomits bright green/yellow bile, take them to
the ER immediately.
Trust your God given instincts.
For more information:
(Image courtesy of www.cksinfo.com)
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