HOME ----ABOUT----AWARDS----CONTACT

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

You're putting that tube where?!

My daughter is very bouncy today.

Hannah, that is. It reminds me of a line from one of the girls' favorite board books, Tumble Bumble, where it says, "So the crocodile sang him a song, and as she sang they bounced along...". I've had the lines from that book in my head all day anyway since it's currently one of Becca's favorites and I've read it to her 4,567 times over the past 2 days. Yes, I have the darn thing memorized!

But back to Hannah. I picked her up at daycare after lunch to take her in for the tests which we'd set up to see if there's a physical reason that she's never been able to stay dry for more than a week or two at a time. She was very excited that Mommy came and got her from daycare early and to be heading out just alone with me.

I'm now wondering if there's something wrong that my daughter is excited to go have medical tests done because it means more 'Mommy' time?

Anyway, we drove and sang along to the CD from their Vacation Bible School this summer. When we got to the parking garage, Hannah didn't just walk alongside me into the hospital.

No, she bounced. Through the parking garage, down the stairs, through the skywalk bridge over the street to the hospital, down the elevator and to the information booth. Then she bounced through hallways, another elevator and all the way to Pediatric Radiology.

I do have to say that I am extremely impressed with our children's hospital. It's part of the campus of one of the larger hospitals in town, but the Pediatric Radiology department at least was very, very well done for kids. The waiting room had toys built into the walls, a huge aquarium in the room divider and of course, a tv with small chairs. We hardly had time to watch the movie though (Barnyard) because after only about 5 minutes we got called back for Hannah's ultrasound.

Yes, my 4-year-old has now had an ultrasound. Specifically, a renal ultrasound, of her kidneys. But it works exactly like the kind I'm more familiar with except that they're looking at the kidneys and bladder instead of the uterus. Hannah thought it was very cool to have goop put on her belly and to see inside of it. Then they had her lie on her stomach and looked at her kidneys from the back while I read her a book.

And then she bounced some more as we went from the ultrasound room over to the x-ray room. Where she got a test called a Voiding Cystourethrogram (VCUG). I'd had no idea what this test involved (other than x-rays) so hadn't been able to explain it to Hannah beforehand. Considering what the test turned out to be, I can see where many kids would freak out or get upset.

Not Hannah though. She was smiling and bouncy through the whole thing - well not bouncy while she was lying still. And again, I was so impressed with how the staff handled it - you could tell they were extremely used to dealing with kids and making them comfortable. Someone came in first and showed Hannah step-by-step what they were going to do, using a doll, and having Hannah actually perform the test on the doll herself. I changed Hannah into what I think was basically scrubs - the shirt anyway, in a grown-up size - that was like a gown on Hannah. She thought that was very cool. And they had a portable DVD player set up so Hannah was able to watch Dora throughout the whole thing. The technician explained everything she was going to do and let Hannah watch, to make sure she was ok with it and comfortable (or at least as much as possible).

You see, this test basically looks at how the bladder does when it fills and empties. So they have the child lie down, they clean 'down there' and then put in a tiny catheter tube, which they tape to their leg to keep it from accidentally coming out. Then they connect it to a bag of sterile water and let her bladder fill. When it's full, they put a basin underneath her and she pees it all back out, including the catheter tube. The whole time, there's an x-ray camera above her taking photos of her bladder.

It really didn't take very long and Hannah did amazingly well. The technician was impressed - and surprised. She said that Hannah did perfectly and she couldn't have asked for a better patient. in fact, the only time that Hannah got upset, the entire time we were there, was when I told her it was time to leave. But she got to pick out a prize (a rubber ducky - sorry, a baby rubber duckie, according to Hannah) and she bounced all the way back to the van.

So, her favorite part of this whole thing? The paper hospital bracelet they gave her, which she refuses to take off. It's got foam cushy stuff under it and has her name on it and she thinks it's very, very cool.

I wish I could've just taken her home and spent the rest of the afternoon with her, but I'd already missed 2 hours of work so back to daycare she went. I think the worst part of the whole experience was Becca seeing me bring Hannah inside at daycare and assuming I was there to pick them up. She got all excited like she usually does but then turned into one angry little toddler when I told her I had to leave and go back to work. This is why I don't visit them at daycare very often. I'm sure she was fine after I left, but it's so incredibly hard to leave a screaming, crying, reaching little girl behind.

And now we wait, for the test results. We have an appointment with a pediatric urologist on October 17th so I'm assuming we'll find out then. The x-ray technician did say that she didn't see anything abnormal on the VCUG, but the urologist will be able to tell us more. I'm not sure what I'm hoping for - a physical cause might at least explain why she keeps wetting her pants after 2 years of potty training. If there's nothing physically wrong, then I have no idea what to try next.

And oh yes, Hannah had an accident today at lunch, before I came to get her. She wet her pants right at the lunch table at daycare. She'd done really well since school started until Friday when she had an accident, and then again on Sunday. And now this one today.

Sigh.


Powered by ScribeFire.

Vote for my post on Mom Blog Network add to sk*rt

6 wonderful people said...:

~Amber~ said...

What a big girl Hannah is. I am glad she did so well and really hope this test gives you some answers. Hugs to you both!

Jean said...

I know all about the Mommy time, and return to work time. I hope they find out something.
I went to rad tech school, I had 2 semesters left and got preg with Gameboy. You described the procedure well. I miss it :(

Anonymous said...

I love that Hannah loves her hospital bracelet so much!
I really hope you get some answers soon.

Corey~living and loving said...

WOW! I am so impressed with your girl. My Sugar Bear had a VCUG done about a year ago. It didn't go so easily. Her's was fine, and I hope your Hannah's is too. but...I do hope they can figure out what is causing all her trouble.

Lisa (the girls' moma) said...

My older daughter Coley has had 2 VCUGs, one at 11 months and then again a year later. The first one was wonderful, just like you described, minus the Dora. (Which would have been so cool!)

The second time they had her straddle a tub on a chair and it was AWFUL. Uncomfortable, awkward, and just horrendous.

She's 4 now, and I have no idea how she'd react to the test at this age. It can go either way, I guess, and I'm SO glad yours went well.

Christine said...

Hi there, I have 3 boys and 2 of them have kidney reflux. That's one of the possible things they would have been checking for with the vcug. Well actually, my 4 year old's reflux is gone now but my 13 month old is still in the middle of it. He is going for another vcug on the 9th. As far as results go, they really would have been able to tell you a lot right after the test if they'd seen any. Even in low grade reflux it shows up right away. It's actually so visible, even I can read the results pretty well from watching the screen. If you have any questions I'd be happy to help you out. I mean, I'm certainly no doctor but from a mom's perspective I can help. We've been through lots of these tests and urologist and nephrologist appointments.