Shunt Surgery

WARNING: This post has surgery photos.

WE survived the surgery. (I say "we" since I felt I had a big part in this too)

After 3 attempts to draw blood on Wednesday. She was not happy about it.

The neurosurgeon came out about an hour and half after she went back to tell us that the surgery went well and she was being brought out of anesthesia. We were able to see her in the recovery room as soon as she was awake and determined stable.

Coming out of anesthesia

That was rough.  She looked so drugged and had such a raspy voice from the breathing tube she had down her throat during surgery. She had x-rays to check the shunt and she cried such a sad cry. But we survived.

She was transferred to a room on the on the neurosurgery recovery floor where we would spend the night together. It was a room very similar to her NICU room from a few months ago when we spent a whole month there.

It gave me a little anxiety to be there, again. Those were rough days, I tell ya.

She was very sleepy all day and night but of course no one gets to sleep at a hospital. She (we) was woken up every couple of hours for meds, cathing, and vitals.

Her IV arm.

The hard part about this surgery is figuring out how to hold her. Since she can't lift her head it needs to be supported but the slightest bump of her incision/shunt valve and she is sent into pain. She also has an incision on her tummy which needs to be avoided too. This has proven to be really tricky.

Her incision and shunt valve (the bump under her skin)

Smiles the morning after surgery.

The ride home was tricky and we had to pull over twice. As Piper get tired, she likes to turn her head to her right side, which would cause her to scream with pain when she felt pressure on her incision. It was a long ride home.

So happy to be going home.

Although she is in pain and we struggle with things like holding, feeding and diaper changes, we can already tell a difference in our little Piper. Her head as shrunken noticeably in size, she stares at objects for long periods of time now and can track objects with her eyes upward. Just yesterday we read a book and she stared at the pictures for almost 15 minutes. Her soft spot, which used to be "full" is now sunken in and we can feel her skull again. We feel like this was the best thing for Piper.

I promise, her head is smaller.

We really are so touched by all the kind words and love we have been given through this. It is humbling to know how much support we have behind our little family.

Just for kicks, her spinal repair. This girl has some serious battle wounds.