Another visit to Motts

Well today we had our OB appt, ultrasound and met with the neurosurgeon.  The pediatric neurosurgeon that we met with, actually has spinal bifida herself, how cool is that. She is someone who knows first hand what we can expect with little Avery. She talked to us about what to expect after delivery, with the different surgeries that Avery may need. She also answered some question that I had about delivery. I will be able to deliver naturally as long as the hydrocephalus isn't so bad that she won't fit through the birth canal. They will allow me to labor on my own, if I go into labor early they will be ready for that as well. This was good news as I didn't really know if they would induce or only do a c-section.
During the ultrasound we found that the hydrocephalus has got a little worse, but nothing the doctors are concerned about. We got a good picture of baby's spine today and could see where it actually splits. It starts at lumbar 2 and goes all the way down to sacral 5. This basically means that  the vertabrae from L2 never went back together. The spine is like a zipper, so its zipped from the top of the spine to L2 and unzipped the rest of the way down the spine. Avery is still moving both of her legs, which is fantastic. Her left foot is clubbed, which we knew from the last ultrasound, but they could also see that the right foot is starting to turn in as well. We were at the hospital from 9:30am until 4pm. It was a long day. Our next appt is on March 24th for another OB appt and utrasound.

Doctors Appt Today At Motts Childrens Hospital.

Today we had our first doctors appointment at Motts Childrens Hospital. We met our general OB/GYN and a few other nurses. We then went and had our utrasound. They checked babys spine again and measured the ventricles in her brain. She is measuring 8.4mm which is normal. That was good news. They did say that the ventricles will fluctuate between now and delivery, so things can change. They couldn't get a good look at the spine, little Avery was hiding it. We had a lot of questions about delivery and what to expect the next few months, but we will have to wait to see the pediatric neurosurgeon.Our next appt is on February 17th for another OB appt and an utltrasound. We meet with the neurosurgeon on February 24th. Thanks for all your prayers and support.

Prayers

I have found, myself full of tears today. I feel like Jeremy and I were on vacation, these last 2 days and the child that we were hearing so much about wasn't our own. I felt so strong when they were explaining to me all the details, I never even cried. It feels so real now that I'm home. It makes me sad. I know God is in control and he loves us, but it doesn't make it any easier to go through it.

Tough Cookie

Oh one more thing, little Avery is quite the stinker already. The ultrasound took 2 hours because she wouldn't hold still, they actually tipped the bed so my feet were in the air to push her down, but it didn't work. Then when I went in to the MRI the same thing she wouldn't hold still. It took them 1 1/2 hours, which it usually only takes 20 minutes, so needless to say we have a fighter.

Big Day!

We had our Echocardiogram, which revealed baby's heart was good no problems, we also had our MRI. The Lesion is still at Lumbar 2, and is open all the way down to the sacrum. We did see baby's legs moving, that was great. They told us baby's left foot has no movement though. Baby's spinal cord did split and come back together, its still considered SB just a different kind. We are not canidates for the surgery, which we knew going down there, but we wanted to meet the team of doctors and confirm the severity. The hydrocephalus has got worse but not enough to concern the doctors. They did tell us that baby's movement in her legs could become less because of the spine being exposed in uturo.  Once we are back in Michigan we will meet the team of doctors at U of M and see where to go from there. Thank you for all your prayers.

Philadelphia

we are finally back at our hotel room. Long day, we had ultrasound done today it took 2 hours little Avery did not want to cooperate. The ultrasound revealed a split spinal cord, also called hemi myelomeningocele. The ultrasound tech and radiologist would not go into detail with us. They wanted to wait for us to see doctor tomorrow. Thanks for all your prayers, keep them coming.

Intra utero surgery is not for us

I recieved the phone call today that I have been waiting for. The intrautero surgery does not look like it will happen. They won't do the surgery if you have had a premature birth. We won't give up hope. We are still scheduled to fly to Philadelphia on the 16th, they will run tests and we will still meet with the team of doctors. I am greatful for all your prayers. I will keep you updated as I find out more.