Another day of tests

Maia had urology testing today. Because of her spinal cord damage, she has some bowel/bladder control problems. The orphanage also told us that she has had chronic kidney infections. She was not supposed to have anything to eat for 8 hours prior to the first test of the morning, but could have clear liquids until 2 hours before. I got Maia pottied and dressed, then sent her out to the living room while I finished getting ready. Things seemed awful quiet... I came out of the bathroom to find Maia and daddy sitting at the table eating breakfast!!!! Mark quickly took her food away which made for an unhappy little girl and we headed out the door.
First test was an ultrasound of the kidneys and bladder. As the technician was looking at images, she asked me if Maia had eaten anything. I admit... I played ignorant. I said, "Well - she has been very constipated lately and food has not been moving through her system." Fortunately, they were able to get the pictures they needed. Next was a urinary x-ray. Maia had to have a catheter put in and she had a really difficult time. Through all of her tests so far, I've been able to handle things pretty well. But, I lost it when she was crying "Mama." It makes me tear up even now just thinking about it. Anyway... the x-ray showed that there is reflux of urine from her bladder back up her ureters and into her kidney. While this isn't a surprise, I was hoping we wouldn't see this. This problem causes infections and can impair kidney function.
We had a break for lunch and went for Chinese. Maia was SOOO cute - she sure loves daddy. She and I were sitting at the table while Mark went up to the buffet. Maia was watching him and for a little while, there was a person who was standing next to Mark so Maia couldn't see where he was at. When that lady moved and Maia saw Mark again, her whole face lit up with a big smile and she pointed at him and yelled, "Daddy!" It was precious!
This afternoon, Maia had urodynamic studies which look at muscle tone in the pelvis and lower extremities while the bladder is full and emptying. It appears that there isn't much tone present and that the limited "control" that we have noticed when she urinates in the potty is probably more related to her movement or exertion and nothing intentional. That's just my take based on what the technician said. But, we won't receive the results from today until Monday so we don't know what recommendations/treatment will be at this time.
After we were done with appointments, I did a little shopping while Mark and Maia hung out at Nana and Papa's house. Came home, had dinner, and tried to get a few things done around the house. We're celebrating our belated Christmas with Mark's family tomorrow so it will be fun to see how Maia reacts. I'll post pictures!