Phew!

It's 5:45 on Sat morning. I got about 4 hours of light sleep, enough to push the migraine to the back.

We've had a lousy feeling Tyler for the last week. Hindsight really is clear and a bitch sometimes. Monday afternoon was like a switch to grumpy child who did not want to eat. We honestly thought he had just a tummy ache. By Wednesday he was still punky and had vomited in the morning. We saw the pediatrician that day and still came away thinking a virus. We discussed possible shunt related issues at the visit but decided his neuro check just wasn't giving us any evidence that his shunt was the problem. We did decide that if he wasn't better by Friday, we'd look into getting a CT scan. For a while on Thursday, I thought he looked pretty good again, eating and climbing up the playground and going down the slide all by himself. But in the afternoon that switch flicked again and he was right back to miserable. He wasn't able to sleep Thursday night. He just didn't look like he could find a comfortable place. Like he had a headache (hindsight again). So on Friday morning after some discussion with the pedi and neurosurgery it was decide he should keep his cardiologist appointment in Manchester and then determined if he should get fluids to treat dehydration at Sounthern or if we should go to Lebanon. (Cardiologist appointment was to follow up on his PDA from when he was a tiny baby. His heart is "beautiful" and we don't have to follow up with them again.) We happened to see on of Tyler's neonatalogist there by chance. She took on look at him and said Lebanon. This is also the time when I noticed his shunt bump to be filling with fluid again. This bump has been fluid free for the better part of a year. Which ceremented my concerns of shunt related issues.

So, in my infamous way, a call to Ben say, "Pack it up, we are heading to Lebanon!"

After a quick brain MRI and some x-rays, it was obvious that his ventricles are larger again. Also, he has grown so much the catheter in his head was 1 was too small now and 2 floated out of place. Cath's will float around in big ventricles especially if the hole used for the cath is too big because of the previous cyst fenestration surgery. Not much of a big deal. They replaced the programmable valve and the catheter for a static valve and a longer catheter. He's had a programmable valve in which could be changed using magnets to allow more fluid to drain if needed. He hasn't needed a change since 2 weeks after the install of the shunt so they decided to ditch the programmable one and use a simpler one. We can now play with magnets a little more casanovaly.

Surgery took about an hour last night. I was able to pull on a jump suit and walk him right into the OR. Let me tell you, OR wasn't as grandiose as I imagine it from like on TV. It was a small room with a big light and lots of people in "fashionable" jumpsuits. I was able to stay in with him until he was asleep. He fought so hard against the meds, but in the end it only took about a minute for him to be asleep. When he came up after the surgery he really did look like a drunken dog. Poor boy kept trying to sit up but he would fall over because the anesthesia was making him so groggy. It took only about an hour to get him settle to try to sleep everything off. Didn't seem like he had any seizures or major problems coming out this time. He recognized me and Ben and asked for Binky and Lizzy by name within a few minutes of being back in the room.

Today is all about recovery. He will be on IV antibiotics until tonight at 9pm. Post surgery procedure. If he looks good and will eat, drink, and poop, Sunday we may be home.