Surgery Update

Hannah's surgery went really well! We were told 12 hours, but then he added the bladder augmentation, so it was scheduled for 14.5 hours. He finished in 11 hours! Things were better than expected and we are thankful for that! He said we got "lucky" with a few things, but I think it was the answer to many, many prayers said for our girl! Hannah had a ureterocele. This is where the ureter comes into the bladder and forms a bubble. Well, Hannah's was horrible. He said it was so big, it was actually falling down into her urethra (which is where you pee). Hannah also had a duplicated ureter, where most people just have one ureter. It turns out that this giant ureterocele was attached to the bad ureter. So, once it was removed, he found that her good ureter was indeed good!!! He did not have to reimplant it! He was excited by this surprise! After seeing her bladder without the ureterocele, he doubted the need for a bladder augmentation. But, based on his experience, he thought it would be safest if he did it. So, her augmentation was small and went well. He did say that if we had not followed his plan and been so aggressive in treating her over the last year, that she would have lost her kidney by now. That means had she not been adopted, she would not have survived. Everything about Hannah has been complicated and specialized. There is no way this could have been treated in China. Hannah had a great night in ICU with a wonderful nurse. She has gotten so much special attention and is resting comfortably. PT was in early this morning and made Hannah sit up for a few minutes. She didn't like it, but she did it. We are well on our way to recovery. Let the countdown begin until we get to go home!

This is a picture of what Hannah had that was causing her body and kidney so much grief. Her ureterocele was HUGE. Dr. Alam said his residents really enjoyed seeing it. Ha! Dr. Alam also said he was excited he got to do this case because it was so different. We were excited he got to do it, too!

This was Hannah before surgery. She was in a great mood!

Tis is Hannah after her 11 hour surgery. We thought she looked pretty good!

Here she is this morning trying to sit up. 

I was reminded of this Bible verse today when I thought about Hannah and her miraculous journey to healing:

He continues to perform miracle after miracle in Hannah. We are so thankful!