The show must go on: Teen overcomes motility disorder

In October 2016, we were spending a weekend in Minnesota for a family wedding. Little did we know we would be there longer than expected! During the rehearsal dinner, my 16-year-old daughter Sophie said she wasn’t hungry — a surprise because it had been a long day of travel and the rest of us were starving. She managed to force down some food but seemed lethargic and not herself. She later confessed that she had been feeling sick all day. Back at the hotel, I had just drifted off to sleep when my other daughter called me from their room. She said Sophie was sick and crying. I ran down the hall and when I saw her, I just knew something was wrong. My instincts said get to the ER right away. We went to the closest hospital to our hotel, but after X-rays and blood tests, the doctor couldn’t find anything wrong and sent us home. They told us to pick up a stack of treatments, including enemas, a laxative drink, and an array of pain medications. We went back to the hotel to try everything they suggested, to no avail. In fact, Sophie began vomiting, hunched over in agony. A medical emergency far from home When we returned to the ER, a CT scan showed that her sigmoid colon was completely twisted — a problem called sigmoid volvulus that can create an obstruction and cut off blood supply to the area, potentially destroying the tissue. She was transferred to the local children’s hospital, where surgeons performed an emergency procedure to untwist Sophie’s colon. The procedu...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Diseases & Conditions Our Patients’ Stories Dr. Belinda Dickie Dr. Samuel Nurko Motility and Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders Center volvulus Source Type: news