Urodynamics

Yesterday morning, Ethan and I made the drive over to Duke. It was rainy but, surprisingly, people actually drove like good drivers. Oh, except that one darn Toyota Camry who almost plowed into my right side while merging onto the highway full speed ahead. Jerk. Anyway...

We got to the hospital on time and even a little early, but you have to go down an elevator from the parking deck, walk a tunnel walkway that is so long that it has a "you are here" dot to mark your progress of how close you are to civilization again, then up an elevator to the first floor, walk through a walkway in order to get to the Children's Center, then go up the elevator to the third floor. So, we ended up being 5-10 minutes late.

First, I went over Ethan's history with the NP. She explained the test that was going to be done. They would be able to see how much urine his bladder holds and if his pressures are good. This would, of course, involve inserting a catheter.

Because they didn't know Ethan or how he would react during the test, they had Ninna- the Child Life Social Worker (AWESOME!!!), come in and play around so we could figure what would keep Ethan the most calm. I love this woman already. I think that I may send her a Christmas card. LOL!

Time for the test. Catheter-ugh. Ok, it really wasn't that bad. Yes, he yelled. Yes, it was uncomfortable for him. But, she was awesome and got it in without any trouble really. Plus, they had put lidocaine gel on him to in hopes of easing some of the discomfort. I thought that was nice. During this process, we noticed that Ethan has a mild "double barrell", or hypospadias. Again, it is mild and does not need surgical intervention.

Once the cath was in, they started filling his bladder while an x-ray was aimed at his bladder taking pictures. I thought that Ethan would be screaming the whole time. Nope. He watched tv and was overall a good (big) boy. Now, when the bladder was full, full, he cried in pain. That was tough. Then it took forever to actually empty his bladder.

Ok, so all of that to know what? He has a normal bladder. Pressures are good and he empties properly without any reflux back into the kidneys. What isn't so normal is the size of his bladder. It held over 10 ounces of fluid...about what an 8 year old would hold. Ok, so Ethan is 7 so that shouldn't be a big deal, right? Not if Ethan were the size of a typical 7 year old. He is only the size of a typical 4 year old, so his bladder is twice the size for his size. This too, is not a big deal as long as he continues to empty properly.

Lastly, the urologist ordered a renal ultrasound just to make sure that his kidneys are in good shape pre-surgery. This way we have a baseline study of what his kidneys are like before his release on Wednesday. Dr. Wiener (yes, still laughing about that one) was very nice and very efficient. And, he would say "a child with Down syndrome" versus what doctors normally say..."a Downs child". I appreciated that. See, little things like that go a long way with me.

I don't know the results of the u/s yet. I will probably be able to pick up a report on Tuesday.

In true Faulkner Fashion, someone dropped the ball on our Ronald McDonald House paperwork. RMcH has no idea that we are coming, we are not in the system, the paperwork is lost, and the house is full. Great. Ms. Ninna did NOT find this acceptable at all, so she contacted another social worker who is working on getting us a hospital rate at a local hotel. So we may be able to stay at the Hilton or Marriott for $20. Not too shabby. We may stay at Hotel 6 for $20. Either way, it will beat having to drive home on Tuesday after pre-op just to return Wednesday.

That's all folks. :)