It goes without saying November had not been a good blogging month. I have felt really busy but looking back I do not understand why. If I felt that busy in November I am really beginning to dread December. For those of you who are counting there are only 24 days left until Christmas (according to the Facebook Christmas countdown). YIKES!

So were did I leave off in the story of our lives… Oh yes I told you all about our little adventure with the pressure sore and emergency surgery. Well after taking off the bandage from that surgery I didn’t really like the looks of the wound so, knowing that our surgeon was leaving town for three weeks very shortly I called and let him know. Of course being the awesome Dr that he is insisted that I bring her in to see him before he left. So I carted little Lena back to the ER once again so that he could have a look at it. This was the 12th. All was good but he was a little concerned that she may develop some skin breakdown and asked me to be extra careful. The following morning, minutes before getting on a plane he called to let me know he had made arraignments for her to see a plastic surgeon "just in case". So off we went again, back to the hospital to see another Dr. in the clinic. The good news - he said the wound looked good and that he thought it would heal fine on its own, to be safe he asked our OT to create a donut to keep her off of it for awhile. Yeah!

Thursday came and we spent just about our entire PT and OT session creating a "just for Lena" donut type pressure cushion for her head. I love all of the staff at the Kinsmen Children’s Center in Saskatoon they are so great with the girls. They go out of their way to help us all the time. they truly LOVE my little angels.

So we were all set to heal beautifully and life was grand for a few days. Then Sunday night came and Little Lena had a very restless sleep. Therefore, so did Mommy. Monday morning came and she seemed okay. As the day progressed she got more and more miserable. After all the trouble we had had I decided it was best to take her back the the hospital. Of course she was relatively happy with a little grumpy on the side when we got there, not miserable like she was at home. The ER Dr. was one we had seen before and was therefore aware of Lena’s history (in fact he was the one that was there when we came in in the ambulance). She got a good once over and we decided that was probably uncomfortable because she hadn’t had a poop in a day or so. So he gave her a suppository, she did her thing and he sent us home (she was now smiling and playing). He said he would have been grumpy too and to come back if she got worse or I became worried again. Relieved but still uneasy we went home.

Tuesday she was grumpy ALL DAY LONG. My dad came over to help me with the girls, boy was I glad he was there. I was anxious all day. I called every Dr’s office I could think off. Then I finally got a little gutsy and called the hospital and asked them to page the neurosurgery resident that I knew from our marathon stay. I told him what was going on and we agreed that if she remained irritable for more than two days or if she began vomiting I should bring her back. No less than an hour later she vomited all over me. (My dad was just about to go home too). I have never changed a baby and packed so fast in my life. Dad, Lena, Kassie and I were on our way to the hospital again (I am so sick of that place it is not even funny).

Once we were there I insisted on seeing a neurosurgeon. The pediatrician was different, we had never seen her before, but I liked her. She told me she would assess her first. I frankly told her, okay but I’m not leaving before I see one. She smiled and agreed. After examining her, I didn’t need to argue, she thought there was definitely a problem with her shunt.   In the the CT scanner, an abdominal x-ray and way too many hours later we were admitted as a "shunt malfunction". The only good news was that they did not think she had an infection "just" a blockage. (This was Tuesday)

Wednesday came around after a very long night with a very uncomfortable baby, and everyone assumed we would be having surgery that day. Wednesday was not a good day. I had a very large fight with a neurosurgery resident that did not believe her case was urgent enough to slip her in as an emergency operation, instead she could wait until the Dr. covering for ours had OR time Thursday. However, she wanted to keep her NPO (nothing to eat or drink) just in case. Therefore she would need an IV for fluids. Another big fight ensued, my daughter was not going to get poked repeatedly so that this lady could find out what the rest of her medical team (and all the nurse on the ward) already know, she has no IV access any more. The anesthesiologist has a hard enough time when she is knocked out in the OR never mind when she is awake. After many tears and some firm words, an anesthesiologist call to the attending physician, I won the battle. No IV I could feed her and she would have a scheduled surgery in the morning. I was okay with that… until the evening when she began vomiting again from all the pressure in her head. Again we called the resident and again she some how determined that she was not emergent enough. At this point I asked her what was, her response… loss of consciousness. Great. We had more than 12 hours to wait for surgery and the only was we would get rushed in is if she lost consciousness and was near death. Very comforting. Needless to say I did not sleep much Wednesday night.

Thursday came and as promised we were the first surgical case of the day. I made sure my new favorite resident was not scrubbing in and resumed my position in the waiting area. All went well and just as suspected, the shunt valve (yes our brand new valve) was blocked. So she got some replacement parts, and was as good as new by 3pm. My Little Lena is such a trooper. The nurses and Drs can’t believe how fast she bounces back from surgery.

Friday we went home. Ah what a good place to be. Saturday all was well then Sunday both girls woke up with a low grade fever. PANIC. I can’t help it. Every time Lena has been ill we have been in hospital for one shut thing or another. The only thing keeping me together was that Kassie was warm too. Sunday night Lena vomited all over her bed. PANIC again. Then she got really happy, something she doesn’t do when she is shunt vomiting. So I calmed down, I calmed Wayne down and we decided to see what would happen. Any more vomit and we were off to the ER. Monday morning came and there was more vomit, but this time it was from Kassie. A mother has never been happier to see a baby vomit. Yeah, we had a real illness, not a shunt thing. Though having two babies with the flu sucks it is far better than having one in the hospital. So we have just finished getting the entire family over the flu bug that had been invading our stomachs. What a great feeling. We have finally over come a real childhood illness without the help of the hospital. YEAH! (I know sounds pathetic but if you have preemies or special needs kids you will understand completely).

It is now the last day in November and I guess I have really been dealing with one type of health problem or another almost all month. Very draining. On the bright side, because of Lena’s heath problems this year and her need for oxygen post-op, we were approved for RSV shots this year. Here’s hoping December is a better month.