Running Out of Options

Last night, I suddenly felt as though I was going to throw up. Because I was attached to the feeding tube and couldn't move, I frantically motioned for Nathan to get the designated throw-up bowl. And then I threw up the feeding tube. Half of it, to be exact.

8 inches formed a loop coming out of my mouth, and the rest of the tube remained down my throat. I started panicking and gagging because I couldn't breathe or talk. The tube was down one nostril, making breathing through my nose difficult, and the rest of the line was coming out of my mouth, obviously further impairing my ability to breathe. Nathan was great at calming me down, so I could catch my breath. He then began calling our list of doctors and Home Health Care nurses in an attempt to find out what we should do. The advice was to go to the emergency room, so the rest of the tube could be removed.

Nathan hurried off to pick up our friend Tina, who was nice enough to spend her night watching Eliza (instead of watching fireworks). As soon as he left, I began vomiting again, as the tubing was constantly gagging me. The rest of the tube came out. I couldn't believe it. The tube was put into my small intestine to prevent me from being able to throw it up. And then, the very first time I throw up- it's out.

We still went to the emergency room, where we were told a specialist would not be available until Tuesday to replace the tube. At this point, I don't know what to do. Thankfully, I still had my IV line in, so Nathan was able to give me fluids intravenously last night. Today though, the line went bad, so I now have no feeding tube or IV. I am going to do my best to eat and drink until we can be seen again, but I am worried what our options are. The insertion of the NJ tube required exposure to small amounts of radiation. It's not like I can go have a new tube inserted daily and the fact that the line lasted for only 24 hours is worrisome.

What do we do? I don't want to have another x-ray while pregnant. I don't want to endure the insertion again. And yet, that seems to be the only way I am going to get calories. The feeding tube offers 1600-1800 calories a day, while IV therapy only can provide 400 calories. We're praying for a miracle. Perhaps, I will be able to keep food and liquids down...because realistically speaking, we are really running out of options.