Shunt surgery

Erica's CT scan on Thursday showed that the ventricles in her head were enlarged, meaning that her shunt wasn't working properly. So the doctor scheduled surgery for Tuesday the 28th. We told Erica about the surgery and she took it in stride, but was apprehensive about getting an IV. So she came up with a plan. Erica said that she would tell the nurses to do a headstand. When they did, they would drop all their needles, and she would take them and shoot them away. When we told her she would be asleep when they gave her the IV, she said even though she'd be asleep, she would put her hands up to stop them.

When it was time to go, Erica was very resistant. She kicked and hit me all the way to the car, but finally acquiesced when we got to the car. We got the hospital and when to pre-op. She was very cooperative and got to watch a Tigger movie while she waited, which made the wait not so bad.

The doctor came to me to talk about the procedure. Of course, we'd talked before, but there were many questions still left to be resolved. Erica could have a shunt revision, which means that she could have the parts of her shunt not working replaced, or she could have an ETV (endoscopic third ventriculostomy). A friend of mine chose the ETV for her daughter and was very happy with the results. But every time I thought of it, I just felt sick. After discussing it further with the doctor, I still didn't feel good about it, so I decided on a shunt revision.

I went with her to the operating room for sedation. They put the mask on her (covered in chocolate chapstick - per her request). She was unhappy about it, but complied. I was then ushered out of the room.

The surgery from start to finish took about 2 hours. The doctor told me all went well. None of the shunt was working, so they had to replace all of it, which meant she had three incisions, 2 in her head and 1 in her belly. It's always been hard to get a vein in Erica, so I usually let the anesthesiologist know this. The past few times, it's only taken one poke, so I didn't mention it this time. When she came out of the OR, I counted 13 holes in her arms. It's a new record (it used to be 11). Guess I'll be mentioning it next time so they're aware!

She woke up in post-op, very unhappy. She downed a popsicle and got transferred to her room. She was upset at having an IV in her hand. She kept saying, "My hand looks terrible!" But she got to watch a lot of Dora movies and she loved picking food from the menu and getting food delivered to her to eat in bed. She always has a hardy appetite after sedation.

She recovered quickly and we were able to home the next day, which she was very happy about. She seems fine. I've noticed a big difference in her eyes. I had noticed her eyes becoming more crossed, and they look so much better now. She wants to go to school, but we haven't been able to wash her hair yet (tomorrow we can), so she's home for now.

Erica was with me as I was writing part of this blog, and she wanted to include her side of the story: "They cut me open and when I was asleep I forgot to put my hands up. I was unhappy about the surgery. I wanted to make a plan. Next time I saw Dan, which was the doctor who put the IV in me (note: really the nurse), his punishment is next time I see him I am going to lock him in the hospital room and leave him there forever. And that is how I am going to be mean to him. I was going to lock the door and run out of the hospital fast and my mom would come with me. We were going to run in our car and go home fast."

We got checkups for Zachary and Eldon today. Zachary is now 16# and 26" long, growing 3 inches and gaining 3 lbs in the past 2 months. Eldon is now 44# and 48", growing 3 inches and gaining 3 lbs in the past year. Hmmm, what's wrong with this picture? Eldon miserably failed on the eye test, so it's off to the eye doctor for us. Oh boy!