Sage and Selah

Thursday, December 22, 2011

What a week!

It has been great at times and then rough at times. Well, it all started last week. On both Monday and Wednesday, I was able to share my testimony at my church with a group of wonderful moms. It was such an emotional time for me but a great time of honoring and praising God for all He has done in Selah's life so far. Then, on Thursday morning, when I got Selah out of her crib in the morning, I noticed a huge swelling on the side of her head where her shunt is. I couldn't even see or palpate her shunt, so I made a call to the Neurosurgery office, and they said to bring her to All Children's ER. One of the neurosurgeons met us in the ER, and they did a CAT scan and a shunt series (x-rays of all her tubing). They were preparing us for possible shunt surgery, but the great news was that the tests showed no signs of blockage or malfunction, and Selah's ventricles also had decrease in size since her last MRI just before Thanksgiving. The frustrating news was that the doctor wasn't sure why Selah had that pocket of fluid around her shunt. He said that they have seen it happen before but are not sure why. They sent us home to carefully watch her and were told the fluid should resorb within 3-5 days. Well, the fluid did resorb with 2 days, but on Saturday night, Selah spiked a fever of 103, so back to the ER we went, and again, we were thinking shunt surgery. The doctors immediately did a urinalysis because Selah is prone to getting UTI's, and they found that sure enough she has a UTI. Well, now it is Thursday, again. Selah is still running a fever, off and on. We saw the Urologist yesterday, and he switched her antibiotics. He also did an ultrasound of her kidneys and bladder and said that they looked great. No over-retained urine in the bladder and no reflux in the kidneys!! However, I think Selah is so tired of taking the antibiotics and tylenol that she in now gagging on the meds (she normally is so good at taking medicine). We were told that if her fever is not resolved within 48 hours, then she will have to go back in and possibly re-evaluate her shunt. We are definitely praying and trusting God for healing of Selah, but I am definitely getting to the point of frustration and just want my baby back to her healthy self! She continues to smile and laugh through it all, though! I have definitely been tested this past week. Am I really putting my trust and hope in our sovereign God and resting in His peace? It is one thing to say that you are trusting in God, and it's another thing when your faith and trust are tested, again! Though this week has been difficult, God is still faithful and continues to prove Himself real in my life. Well, prayerfully this second antibiotic will hit this UTI and her fever will be gone, and I am praying that the diagnosis is correct and there isn't an infection somewhere else, like her shunt!

Selah's beautiful blue eyes.

Selah blowing raspberries.

All Smiles!

Selah laughing

Sage at Sea World

Boat ride in the Keys at Thanksgiving.

Playing at the beach, while daddy kite-surfed in the keys.

Feeding the Tarpon.

Selah's first time swimming.

Well, Merry Christmas. Fortunately, I am all done Christmas shopping, but I still have quite a few presents to wrap. Prayerfully, our weekend will be uneventful, and we will be able to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ at home and not in the ER of All Children's Hospital!

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.