It’s been almost a month since Lincoln got his biliary drain removed. Labs were so-so in the beginning as we were fighting rejection, but then started to look better and then really good. However, Lincoln was not feeling good.

We were told the steroids Lincoln was on could cause nausea and irritability. We definitely got the irritability, but nausea not so much since we were on a medication to prevent it. Last Thursday though, Lincoln started having some vomiting episodes and became very lethargic.

The team wasn’t overly concerned since he was still eating and drinking decently. This past Monday Lincoln felt his worst but his labs looked so good that we felt comfortable keeping him at home and monitoring. Tuesday though, he threw up again and was refusing almost all food and water. We brought him to the ED and they started to work him up.

A CT and x-ray showed that Lincoln had a lot of stool in his intestines and showed some concern for a diaphragmatic hernia. Repeat CT today confirmed that there is a hole in Lincoln’s diaphragm allowing intestine to fill his chest.

Almost a year to the day, Lincoln had a second chest surgery to fix his diaphragmatic rupture. They sutured and added mesh to the area, but apparently that area still weakened and formed a hole. Tomorrow the thoracic surgeons will push Lincoln’s intestines back into his abdomen, either re-suture or add more mesh to his diaphragm to repair it, and Lincoln will head to the PICU for close monitoring.

This is a pretty big surgery, and one that brings us back to one of the scariest moments of our lives. Please keep Lincoln in your thoughts and prayers. Pray for a smooth surgery, quick and easy recovery, and no complications 💚