This was a day we both looked forward to and dreaded--we needed to find out as much as possible about how both kids are functioning, but the testing is very, ahem, personal, and not very comfortable. In a nutshell, the testing involved putting little electrodes on them, and inserting catheters into both the rectum and urinary tract. The bladder is emptied, and then filled with a solution that shows up on x-ray. This way we could learn all sorts of things about sphincter tone, how much their bladders can store, and how well they empty. This is very important for kids with spina bifida because many of them have reflux of urine back into the kidneys which eventually causes the kidneys to fail. Now all of you probably want to sign up for this testing now that I've told you how fun it is, because you have always wondered how much your bladder can hold before it overflows. I don't know if you can talk your doctors into a referral if you don't have a medical reason like spina bifida, but you will learn a lot of interesting things if you can. You might even get candy and a stuffed animal if you are good.
We had to get the kids up very early. Therese isn't the quickest kid to wake up in the morning, as you can see here, in this picture of her reaction to being awakened and brought to the table for breakfast while it is still dark outside:
John perked up pretty fast once he heard that food was being offered.
Little princess slowly manages to get a spoonful of rice cereal to her mouth.
Big brother steps in to help, speeding the process up a little.
After her test, Therese got a little pink pig and some candy, which she happily chomped down:
We got very good news from the testing, that Therese isn't refluxing into her kidneys at this time, and that John had normal bladder results. The specialist who did the test said that he sees normal results in only about 5 to 7 percent of children with spina bifida. I'm sure that none of the readers of this blog want to hear every detail about their urine, but I found it quite fascinating. Anyone who wants more poop and pee stories just let me know.
