Molly Surgery Update: Short version: Molly had surgery on her urinary tract. She is having uncharacteristically intense , painful, and frequent bladder spasms. She has been re-admitted to Primary Children’s to try to figure it out. Nic and I have been trading off staying with her. Our friends, family, and neighbors are a wonderful support. Ill keep you posted. Long version: Molly’s ureters (the tubes that go between the kidneys and the bladder) entered into her bladder at an angle that let urine reflux back into her kidneys, causing a lot of infections and damage. She had surgery at Primary Children’s on Friday Jan 10th to fix the problem. The surgery took just over 2 hours and went well. She was confused as she was coming out of anesthesia, and tried pulling her IV and other cords out. As soon as she calmed down, we took her up to her room to recover overnight. Nic stayed with her and I came home with our other kiddos. The next day, the doctor said she could have her catheter and stint removed (a small tube for her urine to exit since she couldn’t use the bathroom normally yet, and another tube to allow extra fluids caused by surgery to drain out). She came home later that day with a plan to alternate tylenol, ibuprofen, oxycodone (for pain), and oxybytynin (for bladder spasms). Her bother and sisters had made her welcome home signs when she got home. We were happy to have her back. While at home, though, she did start having episodes of bladder spasming. Some spasms are normal after such a surgery. She was even took her prescription every 8 hours to try to help with it. The problem was, she started having them every 2-3 hours, day and night. They also started growing more intense. She would throw her head back in pain, yell, scream, cry, and not be able to sit still. (We got in the habit of covering her biggest cries with a blankie to muffle the sound in the night when everyone was trying to sleep. Brooklyn shares a room with her and opted just to sleep on the couch.) Most of the spasms lasted for about an hour each, though they ranged from 30 min to 1 1/2 hrs. The hardest part for me and the family was not being able to do anything for her to help. We tried distracting her, holding her, giving her treats, Brooklyn even tried to hypnotize her ;) etc. but nothing helped. Ever since she came home, I had spent time on the phone with the urology clinic nurse trying to see if there was anything else I could do - she thought an over-the-counter medicine called AZO might help since it specifically targets urinary tract pain during an infection. (This medicine turns urine and tears orange! You can’t even wear contacts while on it because it will stain them.) This didn’t help Molly either. I also spent time after business hours on the phone with the urology resident on-call at the hospital. Nothing helped, but they finally said to bring her back into the office. Nic and I took her back to Salt Lake on Wednesday, my birthday. (Nic lucked out that I had so much on my mind - I didnt even get mad about the speeding ticket he got on the way there!) I had made a video the day before of Molly having a spasm to show the doctor. Turns out we didn’t need it, though, because she had one right there in the office. They wanted to admit her so they could help her with the pain better and do some tests. She even got put in the same room she had been in a few days earlier. Yes, it might sound like a lousy way to spend my birthday, but I tell you…Going from spending so much time and worry not being able to help my baby in pain, to having her in a place where people with more knowledge on the subject than me and more means to help her be comfortable was the best birthday present ever! Nic and the kids visited that night. The nurses brought them all slushies. We had dinner in the cafeteria. I came home and Nic stayed there that night. My other birthday gift was a full night sleep. I went to bed at 10pm and didn’t move until 7am. So, that is where we are at right now. Nic and I are trading off staying with Molly at the hospital and being home with our other kiddies. We pray that the doctors can find a cause and something long-term to help Molly. And also that she can be comfortable while they figure it out. We have been so blessed with all of the help, offers of help, phone calls, texts, and prayers that we have received! I didn’t mention, but we decided a week earlier to put our house on the market, not knowing how extensive Molly’s recovery would be. We were in the process of boxing things up, deep cleaning, and doing home repairs. Everything that wasn’t being packed up was piled in the living room from having to get cleared out of the other rooms to get new carpet put in the day before her surgery.. On top of that, I also got a chest cold on the day of her surgery - I was feeling fevered, achy, and overwhelmed (and that was before Molly’s spasms even set in!). In short, I was overwhelmed and very thankful: Debra sewed her a blanket before her surgery. On the morning of Molly’s surgery, Aubrey Anderson came over at 5 am to be with my other kids, get them breakfast, and drive them to their babysitters. CoriAnn’s watched Talmage and Clara all day. Claire watched Jovie all day. Ali watched Brooklyn all day. Kimberly made us dinner. Desiree and Leslie made us dinner. Ali brought us chocolate pie. Aubrey helped me move boxes and clean up our living room. She also brought me pull-ups and puppy pads (to put on the couch or Molly’s bed) because she was not able to make it to the bathroom on time - this was such a lifesaver because the messes were very hard to clean up because her pee was red with blood.) Kim helped clean my kitchen and move boxes. Katie ran to the pharmacy to get medication. Thaleana babysat Jovie while we took Molly in for the second time. Aubrey drove my kids around for me. Jen Carnesecca is going to cut Nic and Talmage’s hair for me. Robyn is our realtor and has been helpful and patent as I keep pushing back the day that we get the house listed. Jennifer is my visiting teacher and called to check up on me and offer to help. Megan is Molly’s primary teacher - she brought her a little toy and brightened her day. My mom Patricia, dad, step-mom, brother, and sisters have called and supported me from afar. The ladies in my exercise classes have been understanding, as I’ve had to cancel classes. Sharon Gadner is my visiting teaching partner - She went visiting teaching on her own this month so I could stay home with Molly. Nic is my love, my support, our provider, and (litterally) my shoulder to cry on when I melt down (only once, so far, by the way). Nic has also had calls and support from friends and family that I don’t even know enough about to list. The list goes on and on…and I’m sure I missed some…and I’m sure there will be more…I am feeling blessed - and am feeling hopeful for Molly. Ill keep you posted. (Many of you have asked if you can help. I never know what to say! If Molly ends up staying for a while and Nic is home with the other kids during dinner-time, Im sure he would appreciate someone else cooking for him! I may need people to stay with my kids if they are not in school while Nic and I drive to and from Salt Lake to trade off. As for myself, I am just trying to keep up with chores and kids along with getting the house ready to show. Its okay with me if doesnt happen as quickly as I wanted it to, but if you really want to come help me scrub my bathrooms and baseboards, I wont tell you no ;).)
Posted on: Thu, 16 Jan 2014 21:54:46 +0000
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