She's Back

It took several days, but she's definitely back. After 4 days of rest and recovery, she's turned a corner, and is now more happy, spunky, fun girl than sleepy, clingy, whiney girl. It's been exhausting for both of us, but today, for the first time, she actually said that her incision didn't hurt her. Still, she doesn't have as much energy as she thinks. By noon today, she looked like this:



Tomorrow, Orlando takes her to spring break camp, and we'll see how she does.

The Night Night Game

After she was sedated, Anastasia was a little loopy, and started playing games with Daddy.



We told her that she wouldn't be allowed off the bed until she'd woken up after her surgery. She's a smart girl, so she decided that if she pretended to sleep, then woke up, she'd be allowed to get off the bed.



When that didn't work, she settled down and asked to play with some of the dinosaur toys that she got at the hospital.



I couldn't be happier with the way the surgery went. She was so brave, and did amazing. Now we're just trying to keep her well rested and happy.

Surgery

Anastasia was scheduled yesterday for surgery to repair the urinary tract that's been causing so many problems for her recently. We knew it was going to be a long day, so before we left Annie packed her own bag, which included sturred animals, books and a change of clothes. Orlando and I also packed a backpack to keep us occupied during the long wait.

Annie's doctor had a surgery before Annie's which took a little longer than expected, so we were a little late getting started. Still, Annie was very happy to play with Mommy and Daddy. She really didn't understand what was going to happen. Once we got called back, Annie was in her element and was quick to start playing with all the medical equipment.

We got into the pre-op room and almost immediately a "child life specialist" visited us. (Not for nothing, this is the world's greatest job!) She brought a medical kit, a doll for Annie to draw on and a bag full of dinosaurs to play with. The serious part of her job was to get Anastasia comfortable with the mask that would be used to put her to sleep. Didn't really take more than a few stickers and a little strawberry scented oil.



They played on the floor for quite a while, then the hospital gave her the giant bag of dinosaur toys. So, why we don't eat dinosaurs for dinner?



After a while playing on the floor, the nurse came with the sedative and then Annie got a little rocky. The sedative made it possible for them to take her back to the operating room without any drama, and we were sent out to wait for a few hours.

We had time to go get a snack, then watch a movie (The Blindside, very enjoyable), and about 3 hours after they started, it was all over. Surgery went very well, no damage to her bladder, and she was able to come home with us as soon as she'd met her three milestones (drinking 4 oz of juice, walking, and going to the bathroom.) As you'd guess, she looked like this for most of the recovery period.



Finally, at about 9:00, she'd met the milestones and felt well enough for us to leave. We got home, got the jammies on and promptly crashed on the sofa.

Playing Doctor

This has been a rough week for Anastasia. We found out earlier this month that she was going to need surgery to repair the urinary reflux that has been creating problems for her for the last 2 years. After 5 UTIs in 7 months, the doctors decided that we couldn't wait for it to fix itself any longer.

We had a consultation on Tuesday, where we learned that we'd need to have a VCUG scan (an X-ray of her urinary tract) on Wednesday morning, and a follow-up consult with the surgeon on Thursday. Since it required a catheter, the X-ray was less than fun, but Anastasia did great and earned herself a lunch of ice cream and a visit to Mommy's office.

By the time Thursday rolled around, Anastasia was very comfortable with what goes on in a doctor's office. While we were waiting in the exam room, she started to play doctor on Orlando, complete with blood pressure and stethescope.



The outcome: Anastasia will have surgery on Wednesday, which should end the reflux once and for all. Doctor says we can expect a fairly quick recovery and we should be home either Wednesday evening or Thursday morning. The post-operative instructions include no running, jumping or climbing for 2 weeks. Hah, have these doc's ever actually been in a room with a 3 year old?

Slippers

Early in Anastasia's life, her love of books was clearly evident. While most kids would cuddle with a teddy bear or blanket, she snuggled with books.



Now, Anastasia has evolved a bit, but she still insists on holding the book that we read to her each night. Last night, though, she got out of bed before finally falling asleep. When we went to check on her, she looked like this:



She's hugging a book, underneath the dozen or so stuffed animals, but the most important thing we noticed was the addition of her Fancy Nancy slippers (purchased in December for a "Night Before Christmas" pajama party at school). She must have had cold feet, to put the slippers on top of the footy pajamas.



She's starting to take control of her bedtime, even if it is after Orlando or I leave the room.

The Sickness Saga Continues

Anastasia has a talent for getting sick only on the weekends, but I was hoping that my birthday weekend would be full of playing for both of us. Sadly, on Saturday morning, she woke up with a fever so it was off to the ER with us for a urine test hoping against hope that it was just a cold. Four hours later, we learned that she had yet another urinary tract infection.



So this week we spent a lot of time consulting with the urologist to figure out what we need to do to resolve this issue. He consulted with all the doctors in the urology department at Children's Hospital, and they agreed that, since she's averaging 6 weeks between infections, we'll need to do something. The consensus was that she should have surgery soon to repair the valves at the top of her bladder, which are causing her urinary reflux, the ultimate cause of the infections.

It looks like she'll be having surgery on March 24th. It seems to be going very fast. On Tuesday, we're meeting with the surgeon who will explain to us exactly how they'll do the repairs. Orlando and I both have a lot of questions, but I'm sure Anastasia will come through this with flying colors.

Hiding Place

We got a new ottoman for the living room, with a hinged top so we can store things inside (like the blankets that have just been hanging out in the living room for months.)



As soon as we brought it inside, Anastasia opened it and jumped inside. Within seconds, the lid was down and she announced to the world that she was hiding.



Hiding, or pretending to sleep in there, is now a daily occurance. Guess I'll have to find another place to store the blankets.