All,Just a quick note to say that Lacy had her VCUG on Tuesday and she passed with flying colors! She was a champ and did better than her own mother. Seeing her in a hospital gown was cute, but heart wrenching at the same time.
The process was quick and seemed pretty painless from Lacy's end. It started with them ushering us into a scary room with lots of crazy equipment that I had never seen before. They told us that only one of us could be by her side during the procedure, so Ryan took over that duty as I was not sure I could be the 'strong' one for her. Luckily, they allowed me to watch from behind a partition and I could also see what they were seeing internally from a screen.
The nurses (there were 3 of them!) had to restrain Lacy (not due to her squirming) but as a preventative measure so that she would not knock the catheter out once it was inserted. Seeing my little girl being strapped to a table was really hard for me and I had to really strain to keep those tears back. Lacy, on the other hand, was smiling away and flirting with the nurses. They even had a Sesame Street video to distract her if necessary. Once she was strapped in, the head nurse, inserted the catheter and Lacy barely let out a squawk. She didn't seem to be upset at all and continued to smile and jabber nonsense.
The doctor then came in and inserted the dye into her bladder. We asked ahead of time what the chances of her being allergic to the dye were and how they would know. They assured us that there was no iodine in the dye and it was the most sensitive out there. Once the dye was inserted I could view her bladder on the screen behind the partition and could watch it fill up. Lacy and Ryan were doing great...I was in turmoil wishing I was the one next to her. After her bladder was completely full it was time to get her to release it. This actually turned out to be more difficult then you would imagine. The dr. informed us that it would sting a little when she first started to release. They started to pour warm water on her lower half in order to make her 'go.' That did the trick and Lacy let loose, although she started to cry then as she seemed a bit uncomfortable and a little freaked out with all the people now surrounding her and the equipment around her. She cried until she was done, but she never cried with the velocity that she does when getting shots. As soon as she was done, they put her in my arms and she was fine....no severe trauma!
The dr. came back a few minutes later and told us: "NO BLOCKAGE and NO REFLUX!" Wonderful news as these were the two issues that they wanted to clear out as those can cause a kidney infection down the road. Since Lacy has no side affects of an enlarged kidney/ureter they can assume that this is just how she was built and that either one of her parents might have the same internal build. OR, there could be a kink in the ureter, but the only thing they would do for that is just monitor. We will see what our pediatrician thinks in the next few days, but my guess is that he will suggest just monitoring her for the next couple of months to see if the problem corrects itself or worsens. Monitoring would just require ultrasounds and those I can handle. Lacy coos and relaxes during them and seems to enjoy the dark warm room! Nothing invasive, nothing painful, no stress!
Thanks for all the kind words and wishes! She was a champ and Ryan and I are so glad we have that past us! Lacy seems no worse for the wear and our smiley, happy baby is still smiley and happy.
