Cross-eyed Cuteness

Written by Matt.

We've had lots of appointments this week.

Thursday:  Millie and Maggie went to the Primary Children's in Riverton for an ultrasound on the kidneys and brain for Maggie.  Everything looked good. 

Friday:  Maggie's first follow up since her shunt surgery.  To us, she seems to be doing quite well except for her eyes crossing.  But as soon as the neurosurgeons saw Maggie, they said she needed to get an MRI.  He felt that it was urgent enough to do the scan that same day, but Millie was too sick to stay at the hospital and was lucky to drive home without crashing.  If you’ve never heard Millie crow up,  you’re missing out (it’s a mix between coughing and throwing up).  And we did an ultrasound on Davey's kidneys that day.  

Saturday:  The MRI.  Millie was still too sick to go to the hospital, so just Maggie and I went.  Maggie was charming as usual even on the required empty stomach and made instant friends with all the nurses and technicians.  I stayed with her for several hours afterward until we were cleared to go home.  Since the neuro radiologist was not available over the weekend, we had to wait until Monday for the results.

Monday:  Maggie was diagnosed with RSV.  No big deal, right?  Went to the American Fork hospital for a respiratory treatment.  Millie also spoke with the neurosurgeon to get the interpretation of Maggie’s MRI.  It appears that Maggie’s brain and ventricles are stable.  The one abnormality is a pocket of fluid that is present near her cerebellum.  This pocket was seen during ultrasounds before Maggie was born.  It is unusual but may not have any bearing on her development.  The neurosurgeons are supposed to call us soon and let us know what needs to be done, if anything.  We cancelled the appointment at Shriners on Monday for Davey.  There are only so many appointments Millie can handle.

Wednesday:  Millie and Maggie went to the ophthalmologist at Primary’s.  After his evaluation we were told that Maggie’s nerves look healthy, which is another indication that she is not experiencing pressure in her brain and that her shunt is working.  But she will need glasses.  The glasses should correct her cross-eyed issues and will bump her up on the cute scale from the “Fluffy Bunnies” to the “Helpless Kittens” level.  The following pictures are a subjective representation of Maggie’s cuteness before and after glasses:

The next step, of course, will be a baby toupee to help with Maggie's baldness which will look something like this:

Thursday (today):  Maggie's regular 6 month check-up.  These uneventful visits show charts, percentages and development.  It confirms what we already know...Maggie's huge, her belly button is bluish, and her head size has gotten much smaller since the shunt.  It's sobering to fill out the forms with questions such as, "does your baby roll over, or does your baby lift her legs high enough to see her feet."  Millie reads the choices--"always...sometimes...not yet", and usually checks the latter.  Not YET.