Our Family...: New York update!

We have been in NYC since Tuesday. We met with Dr. Alam on Wednesday and actually spent all day at the hospital. We did her renal u/s first, then spoke with Alam, and then he did her urodynamics test. Although Hannah has been healthy (infection free) for the last 9 months, and growing strong, her bladder has worsened. Alam reviewed the u/s before talking to us, and the first thing he said when he saw me was, "we have some work to do." The urodynamics test confirmed what was seen in the u/s, her bladder is losing capacity. So, we added another procedure to our laundry list: Hannah will need a bladder augmentation on Monday as well. Everything else will continue as planned. Her ureterocele will be fixed and her duplicated ureter will be removed. The great news is that this should be it! This will be Hannah's last reconstructive surgery, assuming all goes as planned. :) On a happy note, her remaining kidney is healthy and strong. Her levels are also strong, so for that we are thankful! If we can get this bladder in shape, we will be in business. We had a little hiccup at the hospital. Hannah has a small heart condition and it is still unknown if it is serious or not... Well, it was enough to freak out the anesthesiologist, so at the last minute we had to get clearance from a cardiologist. That took up several hours in our day, but thankfully, all was well. Her heart looks good, and he said the same thing as the other 2 cardiologists: just watch it and consider genetics testing.

The first night here, some of my friends from the adoption community picked us up and took us to dinner in china town. It was fun! It was nice to eat with locals, who knew where to go and ordered all the food. Hannah, my mom, and I gobbled it all up. Delicious! It was also so fun to see sweet Josiah again. I last saw him 2 years ago. He was covered in chicken pox and couldn't go to school. So I played a game with him on his orphanage floor. His family is amazing. We had a great time together, and even got some Chinese ice cream afterwards. Yummy!!! Hannah, of course, was in heaven. They spoke to her in mandarin, and she would respond with head shakes. It appears that she still understands, which I find to be fascinating. I wish we were more aggressive in saving her language.

We spent the next few days playing around in the city. We went to Central Park and took a carriage ride, went to the children's zoo, had lunch at serendipity, then went to FA0 Schwartz to look around. On Friday, we went to ground zero and visited the World Trade Center memorials, and then walked battery park. We also practiced on the subway, and lets just say we aren't proficient New Yorkers. Good grief, what a complicated system... I am certain a man designed it. ;)

On Saturday, we had brunch and just hung around the room. We ate at EJ's which is a popular choice around here. We got called around 1:00 that our bed was ready, so Hannah and I headed out to the hospital around 3:00.

Our first night in the hospital was a doozy and I was starting to doubt our decision to come here. We do not have a private room, so we get to listen to other people moan and groan in pain. The bathrooms in the room are for patients only, so parents have to cross the building just to PEE!! Also, the shower is in a public waiting room area. I am not diggin that! Then, they wanted to place a picc line in the room. I knew it was a bad idea, but I let them try. They gave Hannah meds to "relax" her but it didn't work. It was a horrible experience, and after several jabs and what felt like forever, I finally asked them to stop. We had 2 failed IV attempts and by this point it was getting late. Hannah, through all of this, had lost her mind and was climbing all over the bed and could hardly walk she was so loopy. The meds caused her to get really hyper, like a bad drunk! One minute she would be crying, then grabbing things in front of her face that weren't there, and then climbing around the bed like a monkey. It was exhausting. I couldn't leave her to get food, so she missed dinner and the next day was liquids only. The hospital couldn't order food, because the order already said liquids only. It was just one bad thing after another, and this whole time our roommate was moaning in pain. A NICU nurse came in at 10:30, hannah was asleep, and said she would only try one time for a stick. I was crying at this point and told her she got ONE try and then we were done until morning. Thankfully, she got it. I went to bed that night reminding myself that we are here for Alam... The only one capable of performing these procedures. I told myself to let it go and toughen up!

Today has been great. I am rebelling and using the bathroom in my room. :) Hannah's IV didn't go bad, and her bowel prep was easy peasy. She was happy and content most of the day. My mom came and sat with her so I could venture back to the Ronald McDonald house and shower. Hannah is in great spirits. She had a shower and took a little walk and went to bed easily tonight. I am hoping we can both rest because tomorrow is a big day! Her surgery is at 8:00 am, so prep will start about 7. I am so nervous but trusting the ONE who made her and who has sustained her. She is with one of the most skilled surgeons in the world. It will just be a nail-biting kind of day as we wait for her to get out of this 12 hour surgery!

Here are a few pictures:

This was Hannah today... Very happy!

There is an ice cream shop across from the RMH. She enjoyed an ice cream cone before we left for the hospital. By the way: RMH is awesome! I will write more about that later.