2 Days in Cincinnati - More Answers

We spent two more days in Cincinnati last week for Taylor. First of all, the test at the Bladder Clinic showed that her bladder still isn't completely emptying. Her urologist decided a stronger dose was in order. We will report back in two weeks and give them an update if we see any change.

Secondly, she underwent a test for the Colorectal Center and a follow-up x-ray the next day. The test was NO fun at all and landed Taylor in the bathroom for the remainder of the day Thursday. The x-ray Friday determined how "cleaned out" she was. The specialist determined she has Idiopathic Constipation (which is a fancy term for chronic constipation with no known reason). The contrast imaging was quite alarming. Her bowel/colon is VERY distended and proves that she never completely passes all of her stool and it continues to back up. As it backs up the stool continues to stretch her bowels causing a very serious situation. She is now involved in their bowel management program. This involves the use of laxatives, pectin and enemas if she doesn't have a movement each 24 hour period. We are looking for anything with fiber to add to her diet (easier said than done). She will also have x-rays 2-3 times a week to send to Cincy for review to make sure the stool is moving. The goal is to get her bowels under control on our own - if we can't accomplish this we will need to spend about a week in Cincy for their supervision.

On a positive note: The Colorectal Specialist is hopeful that we can "fix" her urological problems if we get her bowels working correctly. The hope is her bowel/colon will return to a fairly normal size once stool is moving as it should. They don't believe at this time she will need surgery to correct the distention.

A huge thank you to my parents for traveling with us to help care for Bryce while we were at the hospital. We managed a little fun in those two days. Taylor's highlight was swimming at the hotel swimming pool. I'll post those pics later.

A lot to take in....a lot on my plate to keep her "managed" correctly. I am still trying to come to terms with it all...

More later...