Familiar places

Two days before Colby's second birthday and we find ourselves camping out in a hospital room next to Colby. A bit of deja vu that we would really prefer not to experience.
Our little guy isn't doing very well. He started vomiting Saturday. His vomiting and lethargy have gotten progressively worse. We came to the ER last night to have them look at his shunt. A CAT scan of his head showed that his ventricles were not enlarged. That seemed to be a good thing. They said there were no obvious signs of anything else so they sent him home around 11:30pm last night without any real answers. This morning Tracey and I woke around 3:30am to the sound of Colby crying. He continued to throw up and wasn't very responsive. Tracey called his doctor who asked her to bring him in early this morning. We then got admitted to the hospital where they continue to run tests which thus far, have provided few answers.
The neurosurgeon doesn't believe it's his shunt because his ventricles aren't enlarged. However, Colby's lethargy and non-responsiveness mimic his condition from the last two times his shunt failed. He has no fever, no appetite. As the day has gone on, he has simply become more and more "out of it". For the past 9 hour or so, he just lies in his bed or in our arms, moving only to cry, vomit or thrash about as if in pain. Then as quickly as he starts, he stops and drifts off, limp in our arms or quiet in his bed.
....I just got back from bringing Colby to another CAT scan. The doctor said that clinically, he's showing signs of increased pressure on the brain. The only way to positively show whether or not this is happening is another CAT scan and compare it to last night I'm not thrilled about the idea of subjecting him to more radiation, but what are our choices? It will take a couple hours to show the results of this latest scan.
The doctors and nurses seem to be at a loss....the X-ray of his belly came show no signs of any twisted intestines or other obstructions. No fever....so no thoughts of an infection in his shunt or in his belly. And no enlarged ventricles. Just a little boy who can't keep anything down and who becomes more and more lethargic and seemingly more and more in pain as time ticks on.
In many of his previous hospital visits, tests would often point towards a "problem". A plan was devised and we'd tackle the issue. This time things are different. Some of Colby's symptoms are the same, but we can't seem to get any rest results to send us down one path or another. It's frustrating to see your child there, obviously sick and in pain...yet not really able to help them.
We've spent much more time in this hospital than we every wanted to. It's strangely familiar being back in this room....a metal crib with wires snaking their way over the bars. The muted beeping of alarms going off in other rooms on the floor, the dim light on in the corner of the room shining down on his empty stroller.
Tracey and I have shifted into "Colby in the hospital" mode. Taking shifts, ensuring that the other is taking care of them self. Tracey stayed with him last night in the ER, early this morning at home and all day today.
I don't know that I'll sleep much tonight. So I'll update the blog as I get more information.