This Is Her Brain on Nitrous

Yesterday was the VCUG to determine if our daughter's second STING procedure worked to correct her kidney reflux.

There are at least two yucky aspects of the VCUG, according to my daughter: "Tube in My Bum" and "Peeing on the Bed."

She, not unlike myself, has an uncanny ability to overly anxiously anticipate events, so that when they turn out to be only slightly less awful than imagined, a giddy celebration is in order. I guess that's an upside of being Really Worried About Everything, All the Time.

But the VCUG on Nitrous Oxide was better than without, though it took more time.

Nitrous oxide. That's the same as a "whip-it," right? Like the whipped-cream can thing? That's what, a 30-second high, max? And we talk kids out of it by telling them it kills brain cells?

Well, my daughter was on a non-stop whip-it for 30 minutes. They told me that they would give it to her for 5-10 minutes and then take her off...and put her back on if necessary.

Ha! Umm, NECESSARY.

My daughter can worry right through the 100% nitrous dose, apparently. She did get a little silly at some points, singing Little Mermaid songs and offering lopsided smiles. And then pointing out, definitively, "I AM NOT PEEING ON THE BED."

Nature took over, alas, as they pumped her bladder beyond believable proportions, and she Let Go, at which point I looked at the screen and saw the tell-tale dark line of urine heading right back up to her kidney. Which means, STING? No dice. Not on the right side.

We will learn more at her "Talking Only, Right, Mommy?" consultation appointment tomorrow.

Meanwhile, she is busy giddily celebrating that peeing, on a bed or elsewhere, is not as bad as it seemed YESTERDAY.