Oh Yeah!

I've enjoyed reflecting on our recent trip to Orlando, planned two days before we departed. Two moms, five kids, and no agenda. To some, this would be more of a nightmare than a vacation, but to us, it was perfect. We didn't tell the kids anything about our plans for the day. Their anticipation never turned into disappointment and there was not one single fight or tension-filled moment.  Even the car ride was a blast.

We allowed the kids to sleep in, starting each day around 10 a.m. and arriving at the parks after lunch. I am sure this is causing some Disney Purists to cringe, but it worked for us.  I had to do Ari's intestinal flush every morning, which, start to finish, takes over an hour.  Once he's done, we are usually clear of any accidents for the next 24-48 hours.

As we arrived at the park, I tried to stifle my fear of the worst case scenario.  One of Ari's more memorable ambulance rides was from Universal Studios in Orlando when he was two years old.  Hindsight, it was not the best vacation idea, as he was only five months post-op from his major esophageal connection, but we felt we could handle it.  The medics were afraid of him, not willing to do anything except keep him stable, deferring all treatment and liability to the local Children's Hospital. I clearly recall the hospital's inability to care for him and signing the waivers to get him discharged against doctor's orders.  It was Thanksgiving Day and my clothes were still soaking wet from a water ride the day before. We drove straight back to CHOA, our hospital in Atlanta. It turned our Ari had his first bladder infection, which by then had backed up into his kidneys.  It was also the first time we realized that illness of any kind affects his esophagus, as he was unable to swallow the entire time we were there.  What were we thinking?!? Thank God he still had a G-tube and we were able to keep him nourished and hydrated. 

I was afraid that Ari's stamina would not hold up during this trip, that he would choke, get dehydrated, that his "button" in his intestines would come out... that we would end up back in the hospital that was unable to care for him.  Day one, ride one, Ari freaked out in line, which was completely uncharacteristic for him.  Allowing my friend to take Liv, I went outside with Ari who was crying hysterically.  Calmly trying to assess the situation, I identified the source of his distress- a very full, very messy diaper.  Since he was flushed hours before, I knew this was not a normal bowel movement.  Ari's intestines had "dumped" the entire content of his lunch, eaten just 30 minutes prior.

Gastric dumping occurs when food bypasses the stomach too rapidly, causing painful cramping, dizziness, and nausea.  It's been happening more and more frequently and we're not sure why or what causes it, though there seems to be a link between activity level and his ability to digest his food.  You do see the irony here- right?  He finally gets neurosurgery clearance to be active and his intestines are not about to let that happen.  I cleaned him up, but the incident left him fatigued and, for lack of a better word, sad.  Quite frankly, I was a little sad, too.  I tried to regain the same levity we had when we arrived, but it was hard... I was afraid it would happen again.  Some ice cream and a visit to Seuss Landing was just want we all needed and the rest of the trip was, thankfully, incident free.

We left with so many great memories, but by far the moment I will never forget was riding Ari's favorite roller coaster, Woody Woodpecker at Universal Studios.  We rode it over and over again, with Ari yelling "Oh Yeah!" the entire time.  He seemed so carefree and happy. As we repeatedly got off of the ride and back in line, he was skipping, smiling and excited from the thrill.  The lump in my throat was so large I could barely swallow past it. As we rode it for the final time that evening, I gave into the tears burning my eyes, smiled down at Ari and joined him with an enthusiastic "OH YEAH!"