Trip to Vanderbilt

Well, we went to Vanderbilt yesterday. Unfortunately, our news was not any better than what we were told at UAB.

The new doctor was pretty nice. He actually had a much better personality and a lot more patience with us than the other doctor did. That was a good thing. I had two pages of questions to ask, and he sat through and answered all of them.

He reviewed Emalinn's CT scans and was optimistic about them until he compared them and realized that even though the fluid in her ventricles is in excess, it is only in the mild to moderate range. The problem is that the fluid has increased quite a bit in the three months since she was born. He, Dr. Tulipan, also said that he would not wait the three months that Dr. Oakes in Birmingham was willing to wait. He did tell us that the surgery (shunt placement) will "fix the problem." We found out that, while it is a good sign that she is meeting all of her developmental milestones, we will not be able to see what disabilities she may or may not have until she's around a year old. Our pediatrician (whom we love, by the way!) said she was extremely optimistic about how she is developing right now. (She had her four month well-baby check-up on Friday and is doing all that she should be and some. She's been rolling over since she was a little over three months old, and it's not a milestone until their six month check-ups).

So, we got a phone call from Dr. Tulipan's surgery scheduler while we were on our way home from Vanderbilt and she gave us a date to be thinking about for surgery. Hunter and I talked for a long time on Monday evening. We feel that it is going to be in her best interest, before she does start to develop significant side effects from this abnormality, to have the surgery. It is so unimaginable to have your tiny little baby to have surgery, but I want her to live as normal a life as possible. It seems that surgery is the only way for her to do this. She will actually be able to do all of the things that her little body will allow her to do when she gets older, after having the shunt placed (i.e. cheerleading or softball - bet you can't tell which parent asked about which "sport).
I say all of this to tell everyone...Emalinn, unfortunately, is having surgery at Vanderbilt on October 7. We have to be there at 6:30 that morning and the surgery will be at 8:30. It's a 30 minute procedure (so routine to everyone except those of us who are enduring that 30 minutes). We will be in the hospital overnight and as long as there are no complications, we will go home on the 8th. Thankfully, she will only be put to sleep for a very short period of time. That's about all I can say about that. I don't want her to have to be put to sleep at all!
Our pediatrician explained to us that the first 6 months are the most crucial when a baby has a shunt. The risk for infection is extremely high. She will likely have to have scheduled revisions approximately twice in her childhood. That is as long as there are no problems with the shunt. She explained that we will have a very low threshold for any problems.
It's going to be a really long road. I just ask that everyone will pray for Emalinn. She has so many people praying for her now, and every single person that is praying matters. We truly appreciate everyone's thoughtfulness and prayers during this really hard time in our family's lives.