Surgery, Recovery, etc

Shelby was sleepy and subdued all day yesterday, but her sassiness came out anytime a nurse had to mess with her. She actually won the catheter battle with two nurses--shocking them (but not me) with her strength. We waited a long time for an available OR yesterday, and they finally got Shelby in around 3:50 in the afternoon. The surgery went well. The catheter part of the valve in Shelby's old shunt was completely blocked and there was fluid back-up in other parts of the shunt so they decided to replace the whole thing to be safe. The new shunt is similar to the old one, but it has a non-syphoning valve that is better for standing upright since Shelby is moving in that direction developmentally.

Shelby is a bit sleepy, and obviously in some pain but has managed to sleep most of the night. She has been drinking water and eating bites of applesauce. We'll try something more filling later today. She keeps pulling at her bandages, and I think that might continue as she regains strength. Also, she has a new haircut, where they shaved around the incision that I am trying to not get too sad about. She needed this surgery and everything went well, that is the important thing--hair grows.

Trip just left to go back to Asheville. He is out of vacation time (thanks to three days of jury duty last week) and we didn't want another day without pay. Plus Harding will probably appreciate him being home tonight. My cousin Katy, who lives here in Durham is coming to keep me company (and help occupy Shelby) today. If Shelby continues to do well, she will be discharged tomorrow and we can go home. I am looking forward to a return to normalcy, although Shelby can't go back to school for 2 weeks. Thanks to everyone for the prayers, thoughts, phone calls, texts, and emails. They help so much!