Little Sleep, Surgery, and Swollen Feet, OH MY!

So, if you follow my short blogging history, you will notice that I did not post yesterday. It was an early day, a long day, and all I could do when I got home was to heat up some left over pizza and go to bed. We all felt that way when we finally made it home.

Yesterday Genevieve had her second round of Defulx surgery. For those of you who don't know, she has bladder refulx. It is caused when the valves in the bladder that keep the urine from going back up into the kidneys do not work. She had a grade 5 (the worst) reflux when we saw the specialist over a year and a half ago. She was then put on antibiotics for a year to see if that would allow those valves to rest enough to start working on their own. When the year didn't do anything, they gave us 3 choices. We could keep her on antibiotics until age 5 (with yearly tests to see what is going on), deflux surgery, or another surgery. The other surgery was not an option for us because it was so abrasive. They would cut her open, cut open her bladder, and then pull the tubes down into her bladder further. It came with a 98% success rate, but the recovery time was 4 days at least in the hospital and a long road of bladder spasms and pain. The deflux surgery is done with one scope and needles. Therefore there would be no cutting, and no recovery time. It only came with about an 82% success rate (and 95% if repeated), but a lot less traumatic. After looking at all the options, we chose the deflux.

She had her first surgery about 4 months ago. When we went back for her follow up and tests, it did not take care of the problem fully. She still has reflux but only when her bladder was totally full. I think they downgraded her to a grade 3. After that, we were advised and agreed to repeat the surgery. We had that surgery done yesterday.

We were very lucky that they worked with us enough so we didn't have to leave here real early. The hospital is over an hour away, and you have to check in 2 hours before the surgery. We were up around 6:30, and left the house by 7:30. We got checked in and went back to pre-op. Everyone came by to do the normal things (vitals, make sure we understood what was about to happen, etc). The anesthesiologist came by to explain what he would be doing. He then asked about her mouth, throat, and teeth. I let him know that she was teething, but seemed to be doing fine with it. He ordered Tylenol and Versed for her. He said the Versed would help calm her down, and make the process a lot easier....and then it started.

The first 10 mins or so, everything was great. She was being goofy and we were having a good time. After that, you could tell she was getting tired. Then it started. She was throwing a HUGE temper tantrum. I have never seen her do anything like this. She was like a caged monkey in her crib. It was a big mess. When the doctor came in, he asked about what was going on. He said that it can be a common reaction to the Versed (lesson learned). We were able to walk her back all the way until she got ready to go to surgery. She was screaming and holding her hands out for us saying, "Momma!" I have to admit it really got to me. I was crying, and I thought everyone was looking at me.

The surgery went well, and her recovery went fine as well. She slept most of it away. When she did wake up, she drank a lot of juice, and we were able to leave. We went and got some dinner, and she loved taking a cheese bath with her Mac and Cheese. We got home, and she did more damage in the hour she was playing than she usually does all day. Needless to say, she got a bath, and we put her to bed. I don't think it took much for any of us to go to sleep last night.

Today has been fine. You can't even tell that she had surgery yesterday. She's the same 'ol Genevieve she always is. Mom on the other hand is still very tired. I didn't get to sleep during the whole surgery :) Because of all the time at the hospital yesterday, my feet are swollen, and I hate it. Not only do they look bad, but they just hurt. We will head back at the end of Nov to do the first test to see how things are looking. She will then have one more appointment after that to see if everything worked this time.

I know that there are a lot of people out there that have really sent out prayers and their love during all of this. We really appreciate everything that everyone has done for us. We pray that this has taken care of the problem, and that she will not have to stay on the antibiotics. Thank you all!