Wednesday, December 2, 2009

My Brave, Little Soldier

Now that we've had time to take a breath, I thought I'd provide a better update. When I woke M up Monday morning, I noticed a large swelling at the back of her head. It wasn't there at 2 a.m. and was quite big at 6 a.m. Knowing that she had been having some fluid accumulation in her fourth ventricle I pretty much figured surgery was going to be our course. I was able to see our neurosurgeon at 10:00 a.m. and after an MRI to confirm the shunt failure, we were admitted to the hospital by about 12:30 p.m. Surgery was scheduled for 3:00. After an hour and half of nurses and the venous access people trying to start an IV, the OR decided they couldn't wait any longer and we were taken to pre-op. M was taken into surgery around 3:30. At 5:00 a nurse came in to give me an update. I assumed she was coming to tell me surgery was finished (it was supposed to take about an hour and a half). She was coming to tell me that they were just now getting started. It took 1 1/2 hours for the anesthesiologists to get her IV started. She ended up with a femoral line. The actual surgery took a little longer than originally thought, but our doc was extremely pleased with the outcome. He decided to remove M's original shunt and replace it with a different type. He also changed the position a bit. Hopefully this will be her last surgery for a long while. Four brain surgeries in four months is just too much for anyone! We stayed in the hospital overnight and after M recovered from her respiratory problems, she rested comfortably. We were discharged late yesterday afternoon and she continues to do well at home. We'll be hiding out for the next week or so letting her rest and heal. Risk of infection is of course our biggest concern at this time. Thanks again for the prayers and well wishes - it means a lot to us!


4 comments:

Betsy said...

I'm glad you are such an observant and fast-acting Mommy! Little M has such a beautiful face - I love her cheeks and her eyes! Thanks for the update and I hope she has a speedy recovery!

Suzanne said...

Shannon:

I haven't been checking blogs as much lately but I was SOOOO excited to hear about baby M. I am just tickled for you and your family. She is one lucky little girl and I glad to hear that her recent shunt revision went so well.

Congratulations!

Suzanne (in FL)

Kimberly said...

So glad to hear that the surgery was a success! How stressful that must have been. She looks so peaceful! Probably because she has such a wonderful family that loves her!

Monica said...

Omgoodness! Wow and I'm so sorry that I have not check your blog in so long. Your new little one is precious and I will certainly keep her and your whole fam in my prayers. At Michelle B.'s suggestion I just requested to be your FB friend and I forgot to add a message with it so I hope that you will know who I am. I'm much better at staying in day to day touch via FB and I certainly want to continue to read of the blessings in your family.