There are no guarantees in life

I have never once wished for a boy or girl in particular when I was pregnant. After struggling to achieve a healthy pregnancy, I simply couldn't imagine asking God for such specifics. It's such a cliche, but really all I ever prayed for were healthy babies. Of course we all pray for that, right? As I think back, I realize that while I did pray for healthy babies, I just kind of took it for granted that everything would be fine. It's that subconscious thinking, "Oh, it won't happen to me." But, as I've come to learn, there are no guarantees in life.

Luke's biopsy results came back today and showed normal ganglion cells...good news and bad news. I think we were all slightly hoping for different results because then we would at least have a very clear-cut answer. Again, Hirschsprung's disease is where part of the colon does not function properly because it lacks the necessary ganglion cells to help the stool pass through. This could lead to an obvious variety of adverse affects. So the biopsy shows us that the pull-through surgery did, in fact, remove the entire non-functioning portion of the colon. However, it leaves question marks for the doctors as to why Luke continues to have issues with the distention, not stooling, vomiting, etc. Sorry, by now you are probably learning way more about the colon and Luke's stooling issues than you cared to know! Anyways, we will discuss next steps with Dr. Liu at our appointment this Wednesday. I have a feeling he is going to suggest a colostomy bag, which would give Luke's colon time to heal and recover for possibly a year or so. Before we agree, we will have the meeting with the surgeon at Children's just to make sure we aren't missing something. A colostomy bag means another surgery, and just doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun for such a little guy. Yet if it's the best option to help Luke heal, then that's what we'll do. I've learned of 2 other children with Down syndrome who were also diagnosed with Hirschsprung's disease. One is 9 years old and the other is 5 years old, and both are still dealing with significant issues related to the disease. We had hoped the surgery would completely take care of the issue, but again, there are never guarantees. For now we will focus on the next steps and will hope for a successful solution for Luke soon.