Results

James had his GI study this afternoon. They put contrast material in through his stoma (ostomy opening) to examine how it flowed through the intestines. James pretty much slept through the procedure, which made it easier for the radiologists (it's hard for them if the babies squirm too much). They let us stay down there while they were doing it, which we didn't expect. (They gave us snazzy lead coats to wear -- that pink thing isn't a normal part of Mike's wardrobe.) It was kind of interesting in a Discovery Channel sort of way, although we couldn't have told you what the results were just from watching on the screen.

The preliminary report from the surgeon was that James had developed two more small strictures, close together (a centimeter or two apart). Of course we didn't want him to have more strictures, but on the positive side, 1) this provides an answer for why he had problems this time around, 2) it sounds like these strictures can be relatively easily removed when they're in doing the already-planned surgery to reattach his intestines from the first surgery, and 3) the two new strictures are close together, so he won't have to lose much more bowel. Assuming that a more detailed examination of the pictures confirms these results, they'll decide when to do the next surgery, and whether he can have small amounts of feedings before then.

They've been getting a lot of stool out with the irrigation procedure, which is good because it will probably make him more comfortable.

Meanwhile, Matthew has been doing normal baby activities.