She Has a Cyst?

Trials are hard. I'm so grateful for family and friends who have been there to support us through this trial. Having a sick baby is heartbreaking. On Sunday, April 6th we took Vera to Urgent Care because she wasn't feeling well. She had a fever and was crying over every little thing. I initially thought she must be fussy from teething or getting a cold. Then I thought she might be having some stomach cramps due to being constipated. We really didn't know what to think, we just knew she wasn't acting like her normal self. We had some friends over for brunch on Sunday and were just getting ready to settle down and relax between conference sessions. As I was changing Vera's diaper I got this feeling that something was terribly wrong and we needed to act right away. I had been trying to wait until Monday to take her into the pediatrician's office, but I knew it couldn't wait. 

Vera was inconsolable once we got to Urgent Care. The doctor kept looking at us asking, "how long has she been like this? This isn't normal." She wouldn't stop crying the 2 hours we were there. They took an x-ray of her abdomen and said her bowels looked healthy. I kept thinking "how could that be? She is obviously in a lot of pain. Something has to be wrong!" The doctor could tell something was wrong but was confused with the results from the x-ray. He was hoping to find anything that would explain why Vera was crying uncontrollably. He could sense something was not right so he sent us over to Cardon Children's Emergency Room.

Vera had several tests done once we got to the hospital. She got an ultrasound that showed she had a cyst in her abdomen. They wanted further testing to see if she had a UTI so they stuck a catheter in to get a urine sample. The test came back that she didn't have one. The doctor wanted more tests done to see the cyst more clearly, so they sent her in for a catscan. Luckily Josh stayed in the room with Vera because I would have had a break down. They strapped Vera to the machine and she kept looking at us thinking "why are you doing this to me?" I could tell she was frightened and I felt so helpless standing outside the room hearing her scream at the top of her lungs. 

The catscan confirmed that she had a urachal cyst and needed to be prepped for surgery. A urachal cyst is a sinus remaining from the allantois during embryogenesis. It occurs in the remnants between the umbilicus and bladder. This type of cyst is characterized by abdominal pain and fever if infected. It all made sense now. I sensed that Vera was having abdominal pain but didn't know why. She also had a fever on Saturday but I thought it was from teething or she was coming down with a cold. It was shocking to us that she actually had something terribly wrong that required surgery. 

They put an IV in her hand to get her fluids started. They had told us once we got to the Emergency Room that we couldn't feed Vera anything in case she needed to go in for surgery. Once they confirmed that she'd be going in for surgery in the morning they gave us the go ahead to give her some food. She just couldn't eat past 3 a.m. Poor Vera was starving all day while being poked and prodded at. 

After getting the IV. She wasn't too happy.

Vera's last meal before surgery. She could eat cheese every meal and be happy.

Sleeping in the hospital crib.

We didn't get much sleep at the hospital. The nurses took Vera's vitals every 4 hours so we were constantly waking up throughout the night. 

Vera loved this little car she got to ride around in before surgery. It was the only thing that made her happy since we got to the hospital.

Always holding her baby.

While Vera was in surgery we didn't know what was going on. It was only supposed to take 45 minutes and she was in there for almost 2 hours. The surgeon came out and talked with us afterwards explaining that he found TWO cysts in her abdomen. Both were removed with no complications. They had only seen one cyst on the catscan. We felt so blessed that they were able to find the second cyst while they were in surgery. Both cysts were tested as urachal cysts.

Coming out of the anesthesia was the worst. I could hear Vera screaming down the hallway as we walked towards her recovery room. A male nurse stood there holding Vera while she screamed at the top of her lungs. She was so scared and didn't know what was going on. The nurse gave her some pain medicine and she slept for most the day.

The next day Vera was feeling a little better so the nurse let Josh take her for a stroll in the wagon. She was still hooked up to the machines but loved going outside the hospital room.

The wagon stroll became a daily activity. She finally got the IV taken out and was able to go outside the hospital for some fresh air.

She loved playing with the toys in the playroom.

I finally got the snuggly baby I had always dreamed of having. Vera has never been a snuggler but this operation changed that. 

We were thrilled when they told us we could go home on Thursday. After spending 4 days and 4 nights at the hospital, we were ready to sleep in our own bed again. The nurse let Vera take a stethoscope home as a souvenir.