Author Archives: Greg Mercer

About Greg Mercer

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Isolating Experience

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One thing that I have noticed since Lily has had her tube out is that many more adults, specifically parents of young children, will now approach us when we are out in public and comment on how cute she is. Now, by no means do I think that the presence of her tube made her un-cute in the eyes of strangers. However, I do think that, for whatever reason, these same people who now offer such wonderful compliments did not feel comfortable approaching us back then. Perhaps they thought that we were just so overwhelmed and stressed out caring for … Continue reading →

About Last Night

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Last night, we had to give Lily an Enema. It truly was an awful experience for everyone involved. If you’ve never had to administer such a procedure to your own child, consider yourself blessed. In a way, though, I guess we should consider ourselves blessed, because this was only the second time that we have had to give Lily an enema. The surgeon who performed Lily’s surgeries and oversaw her recovery told us that he has some patients with Lily’s same condition who require daily enemas. So I guess we shouldn’t be feeling sorry for ourselves. She had been doing … Continue reading →

Baby #2

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Before Lily was born, my wife and I agreed that we both wanted two children. Many parents with this same progeny plan carefully time their second pregnancy around their desire to either have their children grow up together (i.e. get the child rearing over with and out of the way), or have their children grow up separately (i.e. parents can’t bear to think of chasing two toddlers around the house). For us, that particular decision was directly correlated to another, even bigger decision… whether or not to adopt. As you know, even the speediest adoption procedure can take years. On … Continue reading →

Triple Paste

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When my daughter was born, she was diagnosed with VATER syndrome. Her renal system and vertebrae were fine, but she did have an esophageal Atresia and an imperforated anus. In her first week of life, our baby had two surgeries; a minor one on her butt and a major one on her esophagus. As a result, she was in a lot of discomfort and needed as much rest as possible. In addition to not wanting to disturb her, the nurses also had to be extra careful not to irritate her bottom area. Therefore, they did not change her diaper as … Continue reading →

Fun at the Library

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In my opinion, one of the biggest challenges of being a stay at home dad is finding enough fun activities to keep your little one (and you) entertained. Trendy places like Gymboree may be the latest craze, but they are also very expensive. Museums and zoos will occasionally offer discounts, but even those locales are not enough of a bargain to be considered for frequent visits. Lily and I both love to go to the park and spend time outdoors, but we live in Georgia; so I don’t have to tell you how hot it gets down here. After all, … Continue reading →

Forgiveness

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When my daughter was in the hospital, she had so many tubes going in and out of her it was hard to tell which tube was doing what. At one point, the quantity of IVs became so great that the doctors recommended that a PICC (peripherally inserted central catheter) be inserted. The IV is really long. It gets inserted in a peripheral vein, but it is advanced until it almost reaches the patients heart. A PICC line has many advantages. First, it can remain inserted for up to thirty days whereas traditional IVs must be replaced after only a few … Continue reading →

Saying Goodbye to Your Doctor

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Last week, my wife and I received a letter in the mail informing us that our daughter’s GI doctor was leaving the Children’s Hospital in our city and would be joining a new practice in the state of Ohio. We had been to see this doctor only a month prior, and he had given us no indication that such a move was imminent; so I am sure you can appreciate how taken aback we were when we received the news. Let me be clear, by no means do my wife and I begrudge this man’s decision in any way. We … Continue reading →

Simply Thick

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In a previous blog, I wrote about a wonderful product called Hypafix. It is an adhesive bandage that we used to hold my daughter’s feeding tube in place. While Lily no longer requires a feeding tube, she still aspirates when drinking liquids. Therefore, we have to mix in a thickening agent with everything she drinks. While there are a few different ones available, the one we like best is Simply Thick. In our state, Simply Thick is not available in stores (we live in Georgia). However, the company’s Web site does list states along with a number of retail locations … Continue reading →

Pears Over French Fries?

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I would not have believed it had I not seen it with my own eyes. For the act, itself, defied all laws of kid physics. The story begins with a craving my wife had for Arby’s curly fries. If you knew my wife, you would know how odd such a craving would be. For her to want something that isn’t leafy and green or didn’t fall out of a tree is out of the ordinary. She had had the craving for a couple days. However, on Saturday morning, we had to drop off some letters at the post office, and … Continue reading →

The Over/Under on Medication

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We’ve all heard the stories and read the statistics on how children today are being over medicated. Personally, I’m not sure which is sadder and more infuriating: a doctor willing to prescribe Ritalin to a toddler or a parent who is willing to give it to them. Thankfully, our child’s doctor would never do such a thing, and today was just another reminder why my wife and I love Lily’s pediatrician. We took Lily in for her eighteenth month check-up today. We informed the doctor that she had been a little congested and had felt a little feverish when she … Continue reading →