Well, I got the BIG phone call today that no one wants to get. Grant will need shunt surgery. Yesterday was his spina bifida clinic appointment and he had a kidney/bladder ultrasound and saw uro and neuro. His neuro has just been measuring his head and feeling his fontanel every 2 to 4 weeks and occasionally getting a CT of his head. Yesterday was a day he wanted a CT. So we go the scan after his clinic appointment and went home, expecting to get a phone call today with the results. But somehow messages got crossed and I simply got a call from the nurse saying Grant had surgery scheduled. That totally felt like a punch in the stomach from out of no where. She apologized for the missed communication, but I was still unprepared to get that phone call. Now my little boy will have to have major surgery again.
At least we had good news in the uro department. His kidneys were growing normally and showed no signs of dilation/reflux. His bladder had only slight thickening of the walls and since he has plenty of wet diapers and can make a good stream of urine (about half the time), and has not had any infections Dr. C said we can wait 6 months before further tests. At that time we will have the VCUG, ultrasound and urodynamics.
Please say a prayer for Grant that his surgery will go smoothly on Monday and this will be the only shunt surgery he ever needs. No revisions or complications!!
Jet had his shunt placement at 6 months and I was still unprepared. You just really hope it's not gonna be necessary -and then it is - and I cried. But in truth it's a life saver - my Jet wouldn't be here without it - so when I remind myself of that I am thankful. It's been almost 10 months now and we've had no problems! We are very happy to celebrate his 1 year shunt-anniversary Nov 31st! The worst part besides hearing the news was the first 24hrs - Jet was groggy, cried alot the first night, and vomited a few times (from the change in pressure we were told). It was a long night. But once we were home in a familiar environment we all felt MUCH better. He slept alot and healed nicely - within a few days he was smiling again and eating great - within 2 weeks he was getting back to his normal activities. Hang in there! We will pray for a successful surgery and speedy recovery! Let me know if you have any questions. :)
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