Pre-Op

Surgery is scheduled for Tuesday, April 19 at Joe DiMaggio’s Children’s Hospital, 4 days after Alexa’s second birthday.  The surgery is expected to take 2 hours with a 2-3 night hospital stay and a total of a three week recovery.  Doc believes Alexa will be ready to run around and play again less than a week after coming home from the hospital, but I am advised to try to keep her resting for another week to two weeks.

The surgery is a c-section cut across her lower abdomen.  Doc will perform a ureteral reimplantation on both ureters.  The surgery changes the position of the tubes at the point where they join the bladder to stop urine from backing up into the kidneys.  After surgery, she will have drainage tubes and a catheter for 2-3 days and could most likely experience painful bladder spasms.  She will be given morphine and other drugs through IV tubes which can make her nauseous and vomit.  Heart and respiratory monitor lines will add to the chaos.

I’ve been staying up late at night reading other mothers’ blogs about their little girls who recently had the same surgery.  Some stories are what I expect based off of the Doc’s description and other written material on the surgery.  Other mother’s speak of uncontrollable pain, irregular heartbeats, their toddlers ripping their drainage tubes and catheters out, and pain when urinating for 4 weeks after surgery.  Ugh.  So not looking forward to this!

Here’s more info about the surgery… http://www.ucsfbenioffchildrens.org/education/ureteral_reimplant_surgery/index.html

Since my mind is consumed with this while Alexa sleeps at night, while Alexa is awake, I want to forget about it and do whatever it takes to give Alexa the time of her life every day.  Soooo Saturday, I took her to Gumbo Limbo Nature Center and Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Center and Alexa LOVED it.  She was so excited when the Sting Rays jumped up to try “give her a kiss”, the Green Moray Eel swam around the tank showing off her mammoth body, all the sea turtles, Nemo, blowfish, sharks, lionfish… Alexa was more than excited.  Her reactions were so cute I just wish her Daddy or Grandma or even a friend were around to see how these rescued sea life light her up.  Sunday, we spent the morning at the beach collecting seashells, making “shakers”, swimming in the ocean waves and making sand forts with long motes.  Oh and we watched “Finding Nemo” about 4 or 5 times this weekend too.  Really, Finding Nemo again?!?!  Okay Sweetie, whatever makes you happy…