Shunt Surgery - July 19, 2011

Emma's shunt surgery went really well. The hardest part for Shawn and I was as she was comming out of surgery, She was really disoriented still from the anesthesia. She looked so confused and when she started to cry her voice was really hoarse from the breathing tube that had made her throat raw. Hardly any sound came out at all and it was heart wrenching. She had a brief allergic reaction to either the Betadine or Lortab, but the recovery went well otherwise. I was able to stay in her room overnight and we were home by 12:30 the next afternoon. The only pain medication she had been on was Tylenol and she was doing great... Until about an hour after we got home. Then the crying (screaming) began. We finally were able to get her some Percocet at 11:00pm and she was finally able to get some rest. The surgery involved two incisions on her head and one on her tummy (the fluid drains down a tube into her abdomen where it is absorbed). She will need the shunt for the rest of her life. Unfortunately they tend to plug up and malfunction and she may need to have it replaced anywhere from 5 times in the first year to once in 5 years, we'll hope for the latter. She is doing great now, almost two weeks later. We have noticed a big improvement in her hand/eye coordination and overall development, she smiles a lot more and has even started to laugh! :)

Ok, It's just sad that they have hospital gowns that small.

With G-ma and G-pa Vernon post surgery.

Emma and Grandpa are now "shunt buddies". You can see the drainage tube under her skin running down the right side of her head.

Luckily they only needed to shave a small section of hair.

Daddy is funny!