Thursday, November 24, 2011

Neurosurgery appointment update

Yesterday, Carey, Selah and I headed to All Children's Hospital for Selah's MRI and checkup with Dr. Carey, Selah's neurosurgeon. The appointments went well and Selah cooperated well for the MRI. Fortunately, she doesn't have to be sedated because they do a rapid MRI, which takes about 5 minutes. Dr. Carey reviewed with us Selah's scan from yesterday and compared it to her scan from birth. Dr. Carey was very pleased with how much her brain has expanded over the last three months. She still has a good amount of fluid in her ventricles that needs to be slowly drained. Her brain also has a good amount of growing/expanding still to do. Dr Carey said that her shunt is working well and all of her scars from her surgeries looked really good. Dr. Carey was also pleased with Selah meeting all of her developmental milestones for 3 months. Selah's head circumference is 45 cm, and her body is finally starting to catch up with her head size. Selah's head is unsymmetrical, and Dr. Carey discussed the option of a helmet to help even out her head. We are going to try and help even it out with positioning for now and we re-evaluate for a helmet in three months at her next appointment. Dr. Carey said that there is no possible way to determine if Selah will have any cognitive delays or disabilities mentally. She has seen children with severe hydrocephalus with no cognitive delay or learning disabilities, and she has seen children with mild cases who end up in special Ed. Therefore, it is totally inGod's hands. Just another step of faith, trusting our sovereign God that He will work out His special purpose in Selah's life. Today, we are rejoicing in this day that He has given us and praising Him for all the miracles He has worked in Selah's life so far.
But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the Lord, I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me. (Micah 7:7)
Our next appointment is with the Urologist on Dec. 15th.

Friday, November 4, 2011

3 Months Old!

Tonight I write a bitter-sweet blog. Last evening, my Nana went to be with the Lord at 94 years old. She was such a beautiful and godly women and will definitely be missed. However, it is reassuring knowing that she is in the presence of the Lord, and one day we will see her again. On another note, our sweet Selah Grace is three months old today. We saw the orthopedic doctor two weeks ago, and Selah finally got her cast off. She had an ultrasound of her hip and x-rays of her foot, and the doctor said that they both looked really good. He was surprised at how well her hip has healed, due to the fact that he thought she might not have the nerve innervation to the muscles that hold her hip in the socket. We are now praying that the hip dysplasia does not relapse and that she would have the muscle control to keep her hip in the socket. She is still in a harness while sleeping for her hip, and she now has Mitchell shoes with a Ponseti bar that she wears to keep her foot in the correct position.
Selah's next appointment is with her neurosurgeon, the day before thanksgiving. She will have rapid MRI done before the appointment. We are praying for complete healing of her brain and perfect function of her shunt! I will add pictures tomorrow!