Before Jasmine had a diagnosis she was puking just about
everyday and most days were multiple times a day. She would wake up and eat her
favorite, OATMEAL!! Then we would go on an outing (simple trip to the store) and she would almost always
puke in the car. After several months of this I had gotten so accustomed to
this. Even when she was a baby I had to wash out her car seat regularly because
she puked in it all the time. The doctors would tell me as long as she was
gaining weight it was probably something she would grow out of. I had no idea
that her puking was getting so out of control until she was about 20 months and
puking every single day.
Jasmine was puking so much that she would limit the things
she would eat. We were down to oatmeal and French fries as the only acceptable
items. Desperately trying to get my kid to eat I would try anything and
everything. I tried to bribe, sneak and even force food into her mouth. She
would wake in the middle of the night (3-4 am) and puke all over only to go
right back to sleep a few minutes later.
At first I tried to get her to the bathroom. It’s the middle
of the night, I wasn’t thinking… puke… my brain is tired. So I would grab her
and try to make it to the bathroom. Why? I have no idea. After two or three
times of cleaning the puke trail to the bathroom as jasmine falls blissfully
back to sleep, I decided no more.
I am sad to say we had gotten so used to this that we would
put her in between us in bed and situate her on towels. When she started
heaving we would catch the puke with the towels and replace them with new ones.
We struggle daily with puking and the constant threat of
Jasmine puking. Sometimes you can see it coming and there’s a brief minute
warning. When I say minute I mean ONE SINGLE MINUTE= 60 second warning.
Sometimes there is absolutely no face crinkle or widening of the eyes… there’s
just a puke assault. It hits you in your face, in your chest, down your arms
and legs and of course all over your hands.
I have gotten so used to this that its more of a “oh darn”
moment. It sucks that it happened but it happens so much that I am in no way
upset or even shocked. We pick everything up. Take off clothing. Rinse it out.
Jasmine gets a quick bath and new clothes and we go back to our day.
Jasmine pukes for a variety of reasons mostly related to her
condition. I’ve been told that OTC survivors have an almost hangover like
experience in which they feel nauseous and vomit when their levels are high or
elevated. I also believe that Jasmine pukes because of her stomach capacity.
Sometimes it seems as though her feeding of 5 oz is no big deal and other days
5oz is WAY TOO MUCH. We resort to using the pump when we have a lot of puking
days. The pump gradually pumps in her total feeding into smaller quantities
over the course of an hour or hours depending on what she needs for the day. I
wish I could say that we were going to see a day when this would stop but for
my near future I just don’t think that’s the case. For now, everyday is a
surprise and a challenge that we have to get out of bed to face head on,
without complaint or disregard.
