Singing a Silly Song

Although it was a tramatic experience for Logan, the barium test came back and actually gave us some insight into what's been going on with him. He has reflux. That is why he wakes up coughing and wheezing so often. It's also why he throws up at random times, it's not because of an illness, it's reflux. So a combination of a "floppy airway" and reflux makes for what would be a "normal" cold for other kids a terrible experience for Logan. Hopefully we'll be able to get him on some reflux medicine and see if that makes a difference.

For anyone asking, "what in the world is a barium swallow?" . . . .
First, I was not allowed to give Logan anything to eat or drink 4 hours prior to the treatment. His appointment was at 9:00 a.m. so basically he couldn't have anything from the time he woke up until his appointment. My idea was that he would sleep late and we could close that gap as much as possible. Instead, he woke up at 6:15 a.m.! He cried all morning. He kept opening the refridgerator and pointing at the milk, as if to say, "Here it is mom, the milk, remember this, that drink I partake of every morning!" Then when we arrive they want him to drink barium (a liquid that is thick enough to be seen on an x-ray) while lying on the x-ray table. Now, Logan is tramatized from the whole finger incident this summer, so he basically starts SCREAMING the moment they call his name. They mix the barium with strawberry nestle quick, but he's not fooled. Finally they used a medicine syringe and squirt it down his throat. All this takes forever and they finally get the pictures of him swallowing. The rest they let him drink while I was holding him in the chair and then the took a picture of his stomach. The x-ray showed that he definately has reflux and that what he just drank had gone back up and out of his stomach.

Next we'll contact his primary care doctor and talk about what to do from here. . . . thanks for your concerns. I'm glad to see the light at the end of this tunnel.