Time Flies

You know the saying... "Time flies when you are having fun." While this is certainly true, I have found that being the parent of two small boys, time flies in general. The boys are growing up so fast. I find myself making a conscious effort to slow down and enjoy each moment. I've decided that part of keeping these early memories alive involves doing a better job of keeping up with this blog.

Last week marked an anniversary for Owen that I will never forget. Wednesday the 18th marked two years since Owen's VCUR was resolved. He was scheduled for the first surgery that morning, during which Dr. G was to be removing the stent that had been placed in his ureter during his bladder reconstruction that was done in October. He had surgery on November 20 to remove both stents, at which time we were told that the reconstruction surgery did not repair the reflux as it was intended to do. He had to put one of the stents back in until he had a plan in place as to how the problem would be dealt with in the end. During a post-op appointment after the November surgery, Dr. G told us to get through the holidays and they the second stent would have to be removed. It was a terrible time for us, waiting and not knowing what to expect long-term.

On January 18, 2010 we headed to the hospital feeling very sad, worried, overwhelmed and defeated. Our hopes for a cure for Owen's VCUR had been dashed. We were in contact with two other pediatric urologist who were the best in the country. It was time figure out the best thing to do to allow him to reflux and at the same time allow his body to accommodate the amount of urine that was going to have to be held in his urinary tract. Dr. G came out into the waiting room instead of meeting us in a conference room as was customary. He was holding the x-ray from Owen's post-op VCUG and exclaimed with extreme excitement and disbelief, "It is fixed!" What?! What is fixed? The VCUR can't be fixed, that was not even mentioned as possibility. It was true, after a 1cc shot of Deflux, he was no longer refluxing! It was the best news we had ever received and the most difficult case of bladder reflux that Dr. G had ever been able to fix. When I asked how it had happened, Dr. G said there was really no medical explanation. It was partially a case of his body having more time to heal, but mostly we had received a miracle.

Of all of the dates etched in my memory in relation to Owen's health journey and his 8 surgeries, this is the date that I will forever remember as the day that our prayers were answered.