Salmonella Poisoning
Harris was born on 5/16/03 weighing 11 lbs. When he was 5 weeks old, he was not eating well and not gaining weight. We saw the only Pediatric GI Specialist in Montgomery and after 2 hospitalizations to run several tests, we chose to seek a GI specialist at the foremost hospital for children in the state of AL, Children's Hospital Birmingham. We got an appointment with Dr. Shezad Saeed in the GI clinic. During our first appointment, we discussed what Harris had been through in the first 6 months of his life. He was admitted the week of Thanksgiving to have tests run and his calories increased. During that stay, we met a Nutritionalist and an Occupational Therapist. The Nutritionalist let us know what she recommended to be our goal every day. Harris was released the day before Thanksgiving, but was readmitted during the beginning of December because he had gotten a cold and refused to eat at all. He was still losing weight. He was admitted again the week before Christmas to put in another NG tube until his surgery to receive his G-tube in January. We were released on Christmas Eve and then we returned in January for consults with the Surgical Department. Harris received his G-Tube on January 13, 2004. We did not have an admission during February, but had many doctor appointments. We were readmitted during March for complications with the G-tube and Harris' reflux. Harris had his G-tube until the summer of 2007. We continue to see Dr. Saeed every three months now because he stopped eating again during May 2008. Harris had his 4th EGD during July 2008 and was diagnosed with Eosiniphillic Esophagitis, which essentially is an inflamation of the esophagus that secretes a mucus that will eventually thicken the lining of the esophagus making swallowing difficult. Since that time we have been seeing Dr. Saeed and having EGD's every three months. His last EGD was in February 2010, and the visual results showed no improvement, and we are still waiting on the boipsy report to show Dr. Saeed what his next plan of attack will be. We love the Drs and Nurses at Children's Hospital in Birmingham. We have a very close relationship with Dr. Saeed, and Harris actually has begun interacting with him in the last year and a half!! Our last appointment in January, Harris and Dr. Saeed talked about the movie Avatar, which is one of Harris' favorites! Every staff member we have ever met, the cleaning crews, the cafeteria staff, and all the other wonderful people that work at CHS-Birmingham, always have a smile on their face and sweet things to say to the children. Thank you Children's Hospital for making children SMILE again!!!!
