Monday, March 21, 2011

No Surgery Tuesday

Selah did GREAT during her MRI this evening.  Matt (my hubby) treated me to a pedicure (heavenly!) while he stayed with Selah for her MRI.  Everyone reported that Selah smiled and laughed during the quick-image MRI, which only took about 10 minutes.  This happy experience for Selah was a direct answer to prayer, as she has had 3 of these quick-image MRI's before, and she's screamed and screamed and fought and kicked and squirmed and thrashed with each one, which causes them to have to re-do the MRI's each time she moves.  Apparently Selah held still and smiled and seemed to "enjoy" her MRI experience!

Unfortunately, the neurosurgeons had already gone home for the day by the time Selah was able to get her MRI done.  Selah didn't have a pre-scheduled MRI appointment, so she was at the end of the list, which put her in the machine around 5:30PM, too late for the specialists to meet, review, discuss, and make a plan.

This means Selah will NOT have surgery tomorrow (Tuesday).

Dr. Lee (the neurosurgeon who placed Selah's shunt when she was a week old) is booked until Thursday, so he said Thursday would be the soonest that he could do surgery, unless something turns out to be an emergency.

Dr. George (the neurosurgeon who did this current surgery) has been gone for Spring Break, and they're not sure yet what his week looks like.

Meanwhile, we are sitting in a hospital room being interrupted every 15 minutes by someone who doesn't understand how hard it is to get a baby back to sleep when woken every 15 minutes!!!!!!  AAGGHHHHH!!!

We don't even know the plan.  We don't know if Selah will have to have another catheter placed to drain the other hematoma (assuming she will), and we don't know if/when they'll be able to place a new VP shunt.  Dr. Lee said it doesn't matter how big Selah's ventricles are, that he can place the shunt in an area where it will work, but Dr. George disagreed and wants it in a ventricle (where it should be) so that Selah will have a better shot at long-term success with the new shunt. 

Dr. Lee said today that it really doesn't matter that much because Selah didn't really even have a brain when she was born, so he just placed the shunt into the massive amount of fluid (3 pounds) in her skull.  Once that fluid drained, the brain had space to grow around the shunt that was just floating in a sea of fluid, which then put the shunt in all kinds of crazy places within her brain, where it shouldn't be.  That's why Dr. George wants to do a total shunt replacement, and he really wants to get it inserted properly, not just as a make-shift shunt.

Meanwhile, we wait.  And wait.  And wait.  I so hope that tomorrow we'll have a plan.  I pray Dr. George will be back, and that he'll come by to visit.  (We haven't seen him since the surgery last Monday, March 14.)  I know God has a perfect plan in this, I just have to ask Him to help me wait as my patience wears thin due to my sleep-deprived state.  I am really missing my children at home, missing my real bed, missing my room where it's quiet and there are few interruptions and the lights go out at night and there are no alarms or cords or wires or middle of the night medicines or IV's or sterile cribs where a baby lies all day and night when she would be held and cuddled and played with for hours on end at home.  Missing just picking up my baby girl and loving on her.  Missing rocking her to sleep.  Missing everything about my "normal" life, as crazy and busy as it usually is, it's what I LOVE.

Longing to be home.

Waiting as patiently as possible for God's perfect plan.

Trusting in His sovereignty, His goodness, His faithfulness.

Thank you for praying.

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