Serenity's Journey: Pediatric Pancreatitis Awareness

Serenity's Journey: Pediatric Pancreatitis Awareness Sharing 14-year old Serenity's journey with necrotizing pancreatitis to help families spot early signs in kids, push for timely care, and feel less alone.

07/20/2026

Back to School, One Day at a Time 💜

It's wild to say this out loud, but here we are — Serenity turned 15, and in a few weeks she starts her freshman year of high school.

Here's the timeline we're navigating: her cholecystectomy and full stent removal is scheduled for August 18th. School starts August 19th. One day apart.

We've already been in touch with the school, and I want to give them real credit — they've been in our corner. She'll be starting the year online for the flexibility she needs around appointments and recovery, and they've agreed not to hold her illness against her as a freshman. We're working through a 504/IEP plan together, because the honest truth is she's going to miss more school this year, not less. The tradeoff on our end: less leniency if she starts falling behind, faster communication if grades slip. That's a fair deal, and one we're glad to have in writing before day one.

🦋 The other piece of news, and this one's the good kind: Serenity told me that once she's healed up, she wants to start working vendor markets with me on weekends. Not just to help — to earn. She wants to show me she's responsible enough to earn more privileges before she turns 18, temps included. We're calling it the 2027 plan. It's the first time in a long time we've talked about something on the calendar that isn't a procedure.

One surgery. One school year. One girl who is already thinking past both of them.

Stronger. Braver. Fighting every day. One day at a time. 💜

This page shares our family's real experience with pediatric necrotizing pancreatitis. It is not medical advice — always consult your child's care team.

🏠 HOME!She did it — we were discharged today! 🎉After a rough stretch of pain, new meds, and a lot of watching and waitin...
07/09/2026

🏠 HOME!

She did it — we were discharged today! 🎉

After a rough stretch of pain, new meds, and a lot of watching and waiting, Serenity ate, kept it down, and earned her way home.

Quick recap from this stay: a new medication was added to ease digestive cramping as she eats, Vitamin D was started after some deficiency showed up in labs, and a few of her other meds got minor adjustments. She even got a surprise visit from one of her nurses from her very first admission — that one made her whole day.

Here's hoping the next time we're back at that hospital, it's for her already-scheduled surgery in August and nothing else. We're endlessly thankful for her care team — we just don't want to see them quite this often. 😊

Home, resting, and grateful. 💜

This page shares one family's experience and is not a substitute for medical advice.

🌙 Evening Update — Staying InpatientDischarge is on hold. Serenity's pain returned about 2 hours after eating today — sa...
07/09/2026

🌙 Evening Update — Staying Inpatient

Discharge is on hold. Serenity's pain returned about 2 hours after eating today — same pattern as Sunday night. It eased some with medicine but came back in waves, never fully gone.

She'd been wanting pretzel bites since her stent diet lifted, so we tried a few to see if hunger was part of what was going on. She made it three bites in, chewed carefully, and stopped herself: "I don't want to overdo it — I already feel pain, so I'll try again in a bit." Twenty minutes later, the pain had climbed again anyway.

She's had Motrin and her nighttime meds, and the team wants to keep her another night to watch the pattern closely. If it repeats, an ultrasound tomorrow seems likely.

Hard day, especially missing her brother's 19th birthday at home — we managed a video call, but it's not the same. Staying focused on getting her comfortable and figuring out what's driving this.

More tomorrow. 💜

This page shares one family's experience and is not a substitute for medical advice.

07/08/2026

⏸️ Midday Update — Discharge on Hold

We were mid-process on discharge when the pain came back. Timing looks similar to Sunday night — about 45 minutes since her last bite, roughly 2 hours since she started eating.

We've let the nurse know and are waiting on meds and next steps. Not sure yet if this changes the picture or just needs to settle, but wanted to keep everyone updated in real time.

More as we know it. 💜

This page shares one family's experience and is not a substitute for medical advice.

🏠 Update — Hoping for HomeBig goal on the horizon today: if Serenity can keep down food and fluids with no vomiting, she...
07/08/2026

🏠 Update — Hoping for Home

Big goal on the horizon today: if Serenity can keep down food and fluids with no vomiting, she could be discharged this afternoon.

She said this morning she's feeling better and is willing to try eating — I'll take that as a great sign. Lunch is already pre-ordered.

If all goes well, we might just make it home in time to wish her brother Gio a happy 19th birthday in person (assuming he's around — it's his day, after all).

Fingers crossed for a quiet, uneventful rest of the day. 💜

This page shares one family's experience and is not a substitute for medical advice.

☀️ Morning UpdateRough night. Some nausea and a few anxiety attacks overnight. I stepped in just before shift change to ...
07/07/2026

☀️ Morning Update

Rough night. Some nausea and a few anxiety attacks overnight. I stepped in just before shift change to request her nausea meds and Tylenol since she wasn't asking for them herself, and she's resting peacefully now.

Doctors made rounds this morning: scans look good, labs look good - all things considered. She's on maintenance fluids while she rests, and if she can handle eating/drinking today, we could be looking at discharge tonight or tomorrow.
Huge relief that her stent isn't the issue — that was our first fear when this all started. Scans confirming it's clear takes a lot of weight off.

I'm running on almost no sleep and a migraine, so I'm taking today to actually rest too. Hoping today stays quiet for both of us. I don't know that two coffees is going to cut it today, but here's to hoping.

Thankful for the good news buried in a hard night. 💜

This page shares one family's experience and is not a substitute for medical advice.

🌙 Evening Update — AdmittedQuick update before we try to get some rest. Serenity's CT came back clean — no blockages, no...
07/07/2026

🌙 Evening Update — Admitted

Quick update before we try to get some rest. Serenity's CT came back clean — no blockages, no new fluid collections, and the existing one has nearly resolved. Her lipase, which was over 6,000 at diagnosis, is sitting at 200 tonight. Genuinely good news.

The vomiting is still ongoing though (6+ times since arriving, plus a couple before), and Zofran hasn't been touching it, so the team's trying Amend next. They're keeping her overnight to monitor and get this settled.

She didn't want to be alone tonight, so I'm camped out in the chair next to her bed. We'll have more from the team in the morning — for now, we're just getting through the night.

Also sending good thoughts to our friend Maddie, who got to go home today after over a month in the hospital. Hoping that discharge sticks. 💜

More tomorrow once we've both had some rest.

This page shares one family's experience and is not a substitute for medical advice.

07/06/2026

We are being admitted. CT looks good. They think this is tied to the last few admissions, but since Zofran hasn't kept the nausea at bay they want to keep an eye on her.

I don't have more to share at this time.

Address

Columbus, OH

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Serenity's Journey: Pediatric Pancreatitis Awareness posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category