Sunday, August 15, 2010

Juliette’s Tapered Ureteral Reimplantation

I can’t believe that this all began 10 months ago when Juliette was just about 3 months old and was running a high fever.  She ended up being hospitalized for 6 days for hydronephrosis.  We thought everything was fine after a VCUG showed that she did not have reflux in the kidneys.  However, a month later we were back in the ER and Juliette had another UTI.  This time we were referred to a Urologist and after a bunch of ultrasounds and 2 renal scans they found out that Juliette had an obstruction in her Ureter and would need surgery to have it corrected.

On August 11th we took Juliette to Cohen Children’s Hospital for a Tapered Ureteral Reimplantation.  We had to be at the hospital at 10:30 in the morning, and Juliette was not allowed to eat anything after midnight the night before.  I was amazed at how well she did.  We made sure that Emily ate breakfast at my sisters house and Michael and I didn’t eat (because we were both so worried), so that Juliette would not have to watch any of us eating.  Once we were at the hospital Juliette was entertained by all the pictures and people.  In the surgical waiting room there were toys for her to play with and the time passed pretty quickly.  They gave Juliette a gown and I had to wear a coverup so that I could take her in to the operating room.IMG_4762When I brought her into the operating room I laid her down on the table and the anesthesiologist put a mask on her face to put her to sleep.  It was so hard to watch, but I knew that I had to do it, I had to be with her and comfort her.  I couldn’t stand the though of passing her to my husband and having her cry for me the whole way to the operating room.  Once she was asleep a nurse took me back to the waiting room.  I had held it together up until I walked out of the doors, I could not believe that we were going to have to wait more than 3 hours for them to finish the surgery. 

First they did a scope to see if they would even be able to progress with the surgery.  After about 20 minutes we were informed that everything looked good and that they were going to begin the ureteral reimplantation.

Our Dr. came out to tell us that everything went really well and that we could go in to see her in the recovery room as soon as she woke up.  Almost an hour and a half later we got to see our baby girl.

IMG_4764   

It was like seeing her for the first time, I was so happy to see her out of surgery and sleeping peacefully with one eye partially open, which they told me was perfectly normal! 

Before we could leave the recovery room she had make a certain amount of urine.  So for 2 hours we waited, she was so sleepy but still actually tried to sit up to get to us.  Once she was in my arms she fell asleep again.  I thought it was amazing that even when she was totally out of it she still found her way into my arms, my cute little koala baby!

We spent the next 3 days in the hospital.  The first day was great they had given her a caudal block, so she didn’t feel much pain for the first 24 hours and looked like thisIMG_4766or this

 IMG_4767 most of the time.

After that wore off we both had a very sleepless night.  She was up and uncomfortable no matter what medicine she was given.  We were told that one of the side effects of the surgery are bladder spasms which are very painful and she was definitely having them.  She also kicked out one of the 2 IV lines that were in her feet as well as tried to rip out the catheter multiple times.    Thank goodness by the  morning when Michael was able to get to the hospital she had exhausted herself and we both got some sleep.

IMG_4769

We stayed in our room most of the time just snuggling with toys or talking.  The hospital had a playroom which Juliette enjoyed playing in especially on the last day when the catheter was removed.  I was most thankful for the stroller they had so that I was able to walk Juliette around the halls of the ward we were in.  

We came home on Saturday afternoon and Juliette is doing really well.  She has not needed any of the pain medications and is walking and climbing around.  No one would ever know that she just had a major surgery, unless they saw the dressing covering the incision under her diaper.

I am so thankful for all the people who helped us during this time, whether it be watching Emily, visiting, answering questions, sharing experiences or thinking and praying for Juliette and our family.

20 comments:

April said...

I am so so happy to hear that everything went well. My daughter had to be hospitalized for a UTI when she was 2 months old and it was so hard to see her with the ivs and everything. I know it had to be so hard for you to see her go through with that. Thank God that this surgery could happen to make her all better. I think she looks like a little angel in the one sleepy pic with her arms above her head. She is a darling.

An Almost Unschooling Mom said...

Praise the Lord! Nice to hear the good news :)

Katie said...

I'm so glad her surgery went well. I've been praying for you all.

Stephanie said...

So glad surgery went well! It is neat that they allowed to you go in with her until she was asleep. My son has had two open heart surgeries - the first at 3 months. That was the hardest thing I ever did was handing him over. I am crying now just thinking about it.

Prayers for a continued recovery!

Hugs!

Steph and Christopher

Anonymous said...

This is wonderful news! I'm so glad it all went well.

Christy Killoran said...

Thank you for the update. I'm so glad it went well.

Mama to 5 said...

Praise God! As I read your post I cried because I couldn't imagine handing your baby over and waiting. Bless your heart. I am so glad that all is well! Your a good mom :)
Thank you for letting us know & keeping us posted!
Hugs mama,
Nicole

Elise said...

What a brave little girl Juliette is. I am so happy to hear that she is now doing well.

Amanda said...

I am so happy everything went well for Juliette. I hope her recovery goes smoothly! What a brave little girl you have!

nmaha said...

What a brave little girl.

Unknown said...

Oh, you look so small in that hospital dressing cap!

I am grateful to our Father for taking such good care of your baby girl and providing you with the strength you needed to get through this ordeal...

Now, you BETTER get some rest- I DEMAND y'all have a pajama WEEK!!!

Anonymous said...

oo so glad the surgery went well! I hope she is healing up quickly! You look so tired in the last picture glad you got some sleep!

Donette said...

I am so glad it all went well.
It sounds like quite an experience. One i never want to think about!

God Bless

Jada Rocks said...

Such a strong little lady....So happy to here all went well. Blessings!

Musical Mama said...

Glad to hear the update that everything went according to plan. :) In a year you will hardly be able to see the scar. The hardest part definitely is handing them off. I hope she has no more problems!

Anonymous said...

I am so glad to hear that she did so well. And you too! I would have been a big ball of tears. Hope she won't have to go through anything like that again.

Christianne @ Little Page Turners said...

How scary and stressful for you guys! So glad everything went well and she's on the mend.

Miller Moments said...

So glad things went well and that she's recovering so well. I think these moments are sometimes harder on mom than they are on the child.

Kim @ Life of a Modern Mom said...

I am so happy things went good and you are all back home. We were praying for you guys. It is SO hard watching them get put under and waiting for surgery to be done. And being in the hospital for so long is so hard. I am glad you are all home and made it through such a hard time.

Anonymous said...

last few days our group held a similar talk on this subject and you illustrate something we haven't covered yet, thanks.

- Kris

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