On Again, Off Again

No surgery today. Same old story. I cancelled Maggie's appt. with the neurosurgeon yesterday. Instead, we visited on the phone and decided postponing the surgery would be a good thing. Nothing has changed with Maggie's head size, eyes, and other clinical signs of hydrocephalus. Next week we will get a head ultrasound and take it from there. I hope we are making the right decision, but it's sure nice not to be in the hospital this weekend. Matt is sick, and I can feel it creeping in on me.

A friend sent me this video. I concur with it all, except for the sign that says, "Praying to the same God/Savior who put you in this position is kind of futile, no?" False. Praying to my Heavenly Father is the most important and meaningful part of my life. I don't know how anybody can make it through their day without the eternal perspective and peace that prayer provides. Anyway, enjoy the video. Love you all!

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Curve Ball

Maggie is out of surgery. Things did not go as planned. As the doctor put it, "she threw us for several curve balls." We could not do the ETV. Once in her brain, he discovered that it would be too risky to proceed because of her anatomy. From what we remember, her pituitary was too close to an artery. As they were pulling out, a blood vessel burst. They had to get that bleeding under control before sewing up that side of her head and cutting open the opposite side for a shunt. That's when the neurosurgeon called us to tell us the disappointing news that the ETV wouldn't work. He said he'd come back to visit us in 45 minutes once the shunt was placed. We always knew this was a possibility, but were told her anatomy was "perfect" for the ETV. Guess you can't judge a book by its cover, even with an MRI. Shunt surgeries are common, and it is rare to have serious complications. But two agonizing hours later, we were told what happened. Duri

She's Here!

The c-section went beautifully, Maggie was delivered at 10:17. She's 6 lbs 13 oz and has a smattering of Davey's hair, my chin, Millie's voice, Kate's ears, and Josie's temperament. Her lungs seem pretty immature so she's in the Newborn ICU for now. Millie is back in her pre-op room and has not yet been able to really see Maggie. Immediately after delivering her the doctors whisked Maggie into the NICU in the adjoining room. I've been able to see her in there and have shown Millie the pictures. The lesion on her back looks good--it looks like a patch of skin covering what used to be the hole that was there. Her feet don't have any noticeable clubbing and she definitely has more sensation there than Davey did. We are so grateful that she is here. Posted with Blogsy

Shunt Happens

On Thursday night, I couldn't get rid of a nagging concern. Maggie's eyes were sunsetting. This is where the eyes turn downward with the white showing above. It wasn't constant, and she wasn't showing the typical signs associated with brain swelling. But the Spirit just kept working at me, and I decided to call the neurosurgeon at Primary Childrens. He wasn't too concerned and told me to come on Friday for spina bifida clinic. Once there, the doctor thought it was nothing because Maggie's fontanelle (soft spot) was still soft and of course Maggie wasn't sunsetting for him. But I didn't want to go to Houston next week until I knew for sure she was okay. So he ordered a head ultrasound. Sure enough, the ultrasound showed significant swelling in the ventricles of her brain. A shunt is needed. Poor Maggie. I hate to see her go through another surgery. When I'm at the docs office and get bad news, I try to act brave and wait until the car r

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