Staci Miller

We wanted to begin by thanking everyone for their generosity, thoughts, kind words and continued prayers. It means so much to us.
We felt it was important to share with everyone how we got to Children’s Hospital with Sean Hendricksen.

On May 23, we went swimming in a local river to kick off the summer. It had been raining for several days and it was the first nice day of summer. Sean had accidentally swallowed river water, and we didn’t think it was anything serious at the time.

On May 25, we ended up at the ER in Broken Bow because he had severe abdominal cramping and was screaming uncontrollably. The doctors thought it was gas, told us to give him Gas-X and Peptobizmol and we took him home and monitored him.

May 28th -June 2nd...
On May 28th, Sean started getting sick at home with several diarrhea incidents. Come midnight Sean had started cramping and screaming on the toilet, and was having diarrhea every 15 minutes. At 2 am we called the hospital in Callaway (Sean’s regular doctor is in Callaway) asking for advice. They had the doctor call our home and he thought Sean should come in. Sadly, we had to stop half way for him to have diarrhea on the side of the road. This especially concerned us because it was all blood.

On May 29th, we were admitted to Callaway and they ran stool samples and blood work. They came back positive for E. Coli. He was continuing to have bloody diarrhea every 15 minutes and this continued through the week with a few short breaks of no diarrhea. At this time he was able to take a short break on the patio outside in the Sun and have his first bath! We were very excited that Sean was able to show motivation and have more energy, but It seemed like with every up, there was a deeper valley that followed.

On June 2nd, he started having what looked like blood in his Urine. Through the week he was on IV fluids and had no interest in eating or drinking due to immediate
diarrhea and vomiting with any intake.
Due to no food intake, lack of nutrition, and blood in both the stool and urine, his doctor thought it would be in Sean’s best interest to be taken to Kearney Hospital.
We were transported by Ambulance mid morning and admitted to Kearney Hospital.
When the Pediatrician saw his labs and visited with us, he thought Sean would be better suited for Children’s Hospital. At this point Good Samaritan Air Care life flighted him to Children’s Hospital in Omaha.

On June 3rd, Sean was diagnosed with HUS, which is a blood disease where the toxins from the E. Coli destroy the red blood cells and the platelets. This in turn leaves behind a protein that clogs the kidneys and causes further complications. He may require dialysis and is already receiving blood transfusions.
Sean went under for surgery to have a central line put in for blood draws and for if and when he needs dialysis . Sean received a blood transfusion during surgery and had a tube put through his nose down his throat into his jejunum (just passed his stomach) for tube feeding. At this time he was allowed fluids and he was actually thirsty for the first time!
We gave him a few sips of water and sadly he started vomiting so hard that his tube came up out of his stomach and up his throat. We changed the feeding plan to IV fluids, leaving the nose feeding tube out for now.

June 4th...
Today began with a rough start as Sean had a migraine, and had a hard time getting on top of his pain. He had another blood transfusion and was able to pee! He stood at the side of the bed and emptied his bladder and then walked a few steps to lay on the couch!

Currently we have a team of 4 or more doctors caring for Sean. They say we will be here for two or more weeks, stating that this is not a sprint, but rather a marathon. One with lots of peaks and valleys.

June 5th Great news, Sean’s Hemoglobin levels are up, so he isn’t in need of another transfusion today! He does have pancreatitis but the team of doctors said that is common with the illness Sean has. Another positive, he got out of bed today to play for the first time in a whole week! He asked if he could play with LEGO's and the nurse brought them right in! It's so amazing to see! We are just so happy that he gets to play with the toys! There is a toy room with a Pin Ball machine and so many other cool toys but Sean can't leave the room due to Isolation. Isolation will could be for another week at least just because he needs two healthy(non bacterial) stools 24 hours apart and the stools take 48 hours to get results back. He's only had one stool since Saturday and that was on Sunday so we should be getting the results back soon, but he hasn't gone to the bathroom since.

June 7th Today Sean woke up ready to play, and wanted to color. He was wide awake and alert and laughing. As the doctors were rounding we noticed Sean’s eye was drooping, he was sent have a CAT SCAN and MRI today, and transferred to picu for close observation because is blood pressure is high. All tests came back normal but they are still wanting him in observation in picu.

June 8th Sean received another blood. He Is in the PICU for observation and having high blood pressure, they are now giving him daily medication for high blood pressure to reduce the risk of stroke. This is just apart of him having HUS the doctors warned us this would be apart of it.

June 9th Sean received another blood transfusion in the morning and having a decent day. By the evening Sean was feeling up to looking out the window and saw the construction site below. We watched the cars go by and talked about how the cars look like little hot wheels going by.  We colored for awhile too! He was starting to get an appetite back and wanted the entire McDonald’s menu, we laughed about that for awhile. He was due for a dressing change on his central line. He ate the apple and kept it down, and ended the night with a huge bowel movement

 June 10th Sean is up and about, looking out the window, coloring and visiting with his brother. He won’t be needing a blood transfusion today and he ordered pancakes and French toast for breakfast, he was able to eat two bites of each and didn’t like the taste. But happy his appetite is back.

June 11
 Sean is starting to act as his goofy sassy self! The doctors are impressed with his recovery so far, they estimated his turning point to be a few weeks out, and he is starting the road to recovery already!! They are backing off his IV nutrition and letting him eat whatever he wants, so far by morning that’s been an apple, some pears, pretzels. And half a bread stick and a few bites of pizza yesterday! He is happy and playing and making our hearts happy ❤️ All the prayers are helping, I believe that is how he is making the turn for the better as quickly as he is ❤️ still expected a week or so here, but there is an end in sight ❤️ Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!! What a beautiful thing. For supper tonight he ate 3 PIECES of pizza! WowZa!! We had a tornado warning and spent sometime reading in the bathtub by flashlight! It was only a short warning so we made the best of our time, so happy it was today not a few days ago or I wouldn’t have been able to get him out of bed.  So much improvement in these last two days ❤️ Thank you for your prayers❤️