Perturbed, disturbed: A routine, interrupted.

It has been one heck of a week.

We enjoyed our free time over the holiday. Chris and I hung out with some friends while PP went over to Grandma Glenna's for a sleepover. This time of R&R was so wonderful because I knew that a lot could change over the week. Turns out, I couldn't have imagined the things that would be different by today!

Tuesday was a normal day, with just one therapy session at home. Wednesday was the day I had been anticipating the entire week prior, and for good reason. We were going to visit the Urologist to discuss the bilateral vesicoureteral reflux situation with PP's urinary system. This condition, VUR, affects only 1% of children in the world. Depending on the severity of the reflux, a child can grow out of it, take antibiotics, or have surgery to correct the problem. It is measured on a scale of 1-4; the least worrysome and most simple to fix is a 1, while a level 4 is very frightening and requires a full reconstruction of the urinary system. PP had level 2 on both ureters. Even though PP had to have this odd condition, she didn't get the worst of it, which makes me very glad. However, she has been taking an antibiotic every day for the past two years. This presents a few problems. For one thing, the body can adapt a resistance to the antibiotic and the bacteria can still break through and cause infection. This was the main factor in deciding that we could no longer wait for PP to grow out of VUR, because the bacteria in her body were becoming resistant to the antibiotic. I also did not want to keep giving her the antibiotic because it can pose health risks for her in other ways.

After talking about our options with the doctor, Chris and I decided it was time for surgery. To make things less stressful, the surgery could be done endoscopically. The doctor would go through the bladder and make a tiny little bump outside of PP's ureters. This bump would make the ureters smaller, but it would not inhibit the urine from flowing downwards like it's supposed to. With VUR, the urine flows down from the kidneys, into the ureters, and then into the bladder. From there, some of the urine flows back up the ureters because the little valves between the ureters and bladder do not work properly. This increases the risk of infection (UTI) in the bladder and kidneys and can lead to scarring. What the doctor does is make a new valve, and the procedure is 90% effective. He injected a material that will go away as PP grows up, but as her body heals new tissue will grow around the material. So it's not a permanent procedure if you want to get technical, but the body can now correct the problem with a little help.

I forgot to mention that the doctor wanted to do this procedure ASAP, so we were scheduled for surgery two days after our visit. I was nervous and anxious to say the least. This also meant that on Thursday, PP had to have a pre-pre-op checkup with her regular physician. This was the only day we could do it, but we also happened to have a therapy appointment in the morning and an eye doctor appointment shortly thereafter. Our day was already jam packed before this surprise surgery! I managed to make it work. I scheduled her pre-pre-op checkup for the early afternoon, almost immediately after the eye doctor appointment. I had to factor in driving and possibly eating lunch, so it was a fly by the seat of your pants kind of day.

Thursday went by so fast. We went to ST at 10AM and left early to go to the eye doctor. We were at the eye doctor by 11AM. I scheduled this appointment three months ago expecting it to be a normal checkup. PP has been wearing glasses for a long time now, and I have a hard time being able to tell if they are helping her or not. I can still see crossing, and of course the eye doctor could see this as well. The doctor had a surprise for me and I was told to put an eye patch over PP's left eye for two hours every day starting immediately.

Yeah...the doctor ordered PP to wear an eye patch and glasses at the same time. It can be difficult to get her to wear her glasses, and she HATES stickers. She hates stickers. The type of eye patch that PP is to wear has a sticky surface that is supposed to be put directly onto her eye area. So, I am supposed to put a sticker on her eye every day for two hours. Sounds fun, huh? I have a few tactics in mind, and I will share them when I find one that works. This will be a huge challenge, but I can remember when PP had to wear a helmet in the hottest summer months when she was younger. She hated it, but I made her do it. She only needed the helmet for 2 months and not the expected 4 months, so I think it was a good effort on both sides.

On to the pre-pre-op. Oh wait, that went fine. PP is as healthy as a horse despite her health problems. We were OK'ed for surgery the next day and we sprinted home to relax for the night.

Friday was surgery day. I was just about to lose my mind. I was forced to absorb some hard, weird truths about PP in the past few days, and now we had reached the top of the mountain. I knew what to expect, but I had no idea what to expect. The doctor told us on Wednesday he can see no reason that PP would need any more work done than what was planned, but he said that if he saw things weren't the way they were supposed to be he would have to do some reconstruction on PP's urinary system. It's good to know every possibility, but sometimes it's the worst thing anyone can do to your mind. Hence, the fuzzy-haired, coffee soaked Momma Lace. We got her pre-op done, and it was time.

I went with PP to her operating room. She liked my mask and one of the male nurses. She had him carry her into the operating room. She sat on the table while the anesthetist prepared her anesthesia mask with some bubble gum scent. He had me smell, then PP's new nurse friend smell, then he smelled it, by then PP was grabbing for it to put it on her own face. The mask was put on. She fussed, and then she was asleep. I left and it felt weird. I kept it together and went back to her room where Chris was waiting. He grabbed some lunch for us and I crocheted.

PP was put into the recovery unit after surgery. Everything went fine, but she was crying hysterically and screaming the only word she knows... "MOMMA!!!" A nurse came to get me and she seemed frazzled. I came to PP's bedside and she was belligerent. It was cute...in a scared to death for no reason kind of way. Eventually, we got back to the room where Chris was waiting and she calmed down. We signed some papers and it was done. We jumped in the car, it was hot outside. I was so glad it was over.

Sadly, we will still be giving PP her antibiotic every day. To make sure the procedure was a success it is important to not have any infections afterwards. We will see the urologist again in 6 weeks, and we will see what surprises are in store for us then. Hopefully we will be told to stop giving the antibiotic, closing a chapter of PP's baby-hood and putting the whole ordeal behind us.

The eye patch will be a different story, but we will just take that one day at a time. This week we haven't got much more planned than the usual therapy sessions and some play dates with our favorite people.

I am ECSTATIC to say the least.

Well, nap time is over. I think a trip to the beach or the park is in order on this gorgeous day. I hope everyone's Monday is going as splendidly as ours!

lemonade and sunny days
XoX