[WendyG]

Hello everyone,
I'm new, I'm Wendy, mom to Allie who has spina bifida L4, she is also mentally retarded (I know that's not a PC term but "developmentally or cognitively delayed" gives one the impression that there will be "catching up"). Currently we do nightly bowel management with 10cc rectal glycerin, which we (hubby or me) hold in then whip her up onto the toilet for evacuation. She can't follow directions, can't hold it in or help in any way. She is getting heavy and we are thinking of options for the future. She begins evacuation as soon as we let go of her butt cheeks so using a lift to get her onto the toilet would not be an option, and if we place her on the toilet first, the glycerin or any enema we use just falls right out. We do not want to go back to having her have BMs in a diaper. We are considering the MACE surgery but have read on our spina bifida forums that the recovery can be difficult. I know for some of the children we have read about it is because kids are having Mitrofanoff or bladder augmentation at the same time but others have had trouble with stoma closure or narrowing.
Does anyone have any suggestions for us to help us avoid surgery?

Thanks,
Wendy