Steri-strips are off!

We had a follow up appt. on Friday. Everything looks great, his scar is pretty gnarly.

Our very favorite neurosurgeon! Dr. Michael Muhonen. He is a hero in our book! Nicest guy you'll ever meet, and funny too.
He had me take this picture of him and Everett. He says they have matching heads!

1 week post-op. Kinda.

Everett is doing wonderful! He is totally off all medications! I don't think he has any idea his head was cut open one week ago! Here are some before and after shots. (And these pictures are not the greatest, sorry). The ski slope profile is gone and his forehead is much smaller. The results will continue to get better and better with time and especially after helmet therapy.

Arrrggg, these pictures are not lining up like I wanted them to, but you get the idea...




































He also went and got scanned for a helmet. It was so cool, they put him in this little machine and it took 1.5 (honestly) seconds for all these lasers to scan his head. His helmet will be made just for him based on the scan. We will get it on Monday. Can't wait!

Look Who's Home!

And you can see how he feels about that!

Everett was doing so well, they gave us the option of staying one more night or going home. After our "interesting" night Tuesday in a shared room, we were so ready to get out of the hospital. Everett is doing great with just Tylenol and probably won't even need that in a couple days. The doctor was amazed at how little swelling he had. Usually these babies swell so much they can't open their eyes. Thank you! We feel so blessed!

We are taking Everett to get fitted for a helmet today. Even though he had the open surgery and probably doesn't need it, we requested one, for safety reasons. And I already can't wait to get it, I'm having constant heart attacks!

After.

Not so fun. He was in so much pain, his heart was racing and the morphine did not seem to help at all. They started giving him Tylenol and Motrin and he settled down sometime last night. His head "turban" came off four times during the night, which made the drain in his head fall out. Rough night, but he is doing much better today.

This is how he looked right after surgery. Poor baby!

Getting his blood transfusion. One of our lovely donor's blood, we don't know who yet, thank you, thank you!

He likes to be held and rocked, and he is eating great today as well.

No words for THIS. Sorry to the weak of stomach.
I have to get back to the hospital and I can't get onto blogger, but I will try to update when I come home for breaks.

Before surgery.

Here is Everett before surgery. He was so happy and good, even smiling after 5 hours with no food. Handing him over to the O.R. nurse was the hardest thing I have ever done (so far). I kinda wanted to run the other way with him.

Oh, I'm sorry, but how cute are the little hospital gowns!

Surgery Day

It was a long day, but we are through the worst part! The doctor ended up having to do the open procedure because the bone was so thick, so we were a little sad about that, but we feel like he made the decision that would be best for Everett. Needless to say, he is a very sad baby and it has been hard seeing him in so much pain. He is getting a blood transfusion right now, and looks much better because of it. He will probably swell quite a bit in the next 24-48 hours, but should be able to come home by Thursday. I can barely keep my eyes open so I promise I will write more and post pictures tomorrow! Thank you all so much for the prayers, thoughts, emails, and support. We have felt so much love and I know it has made me stronger through all of this! We are so grateful everything went well and his head already looks so much rounder! I have a newfound respect for surgeons. Amazing!

Labwork and my meltdown.

Yesterday was hard. I feel like I have kept it together pretty well the last couple of weeks, but the last few days I have been on edge. Then Matt called me and told me he was feeling uneasy about everything, and that did it. The string that was holding me together snapped and I fell apart. Unfortunately for my sister, it happened right before I got on the phone with her. Thanks for bearing the brunt of my stress JJ, I know you have enough of your own. Thank goodness for prayer and love from family and friends. By the end of the night I felt calm and peaceful again.
We went and got Everett's pre-op labs done this morning at the children's hospital. When I got there I walked past the oncology and cancer clinic. All I had to do was read those words and I promised myself I would keep it together from now on. Because what WE are dealing with is easy, and we are so BLESSED.

Although I will definitely need a box of kleenex when I have to hand my baby over to the surgeon. But please don't judge me for that.

One more day!

Blood buddies.

Everett and I gave blood yesterday. Well, he only gave a teaspoon, but it was awful. They couldn't find a vein so they were digging around in his arm while he screamed. Finally the guy gave up and got enough with a heel prick. Matt and I have to give blood and hopefully one of our blood types will be compatible with Everett's in case he needs a transfusion. I like the thought of him having our blood in him over a stranger's, plus it's one more thing I can hang over his head when he's a disrespectful teenager.

We are going to do the surgery here at CHOC. Dr. Muhonen is the chief of pediatric neurosurgery there and he will be performing the surgery. I talked to two very sweet moms whose kids had the same surgery Everett will get. They had nothing but wonderful things to say about the doctor, hospital, and nurses. It made me feel so much better about everything!

So, surgery is set for Monday March 15th at 8:30am. Everett will not be able to eat for 6 hours beforehand, which I am not looking forward to. The surgery should last about 2 hours from start to finish. He will stay in the hospital for 2-3 nights depending on how he's doing.
I can't wait for all this to be over and to see Everett's new and improved head:)

Desicion.

Thank you, thank you for all your wonderful emails, phone calls, comments, prayers and thoughts! We feel so loved and supported! I can not tell you how much they have helped! I wish I could be more on top of things and respond to all of them!

After meeting with the neurosurgeon again today, we have decided to go with the endoscopic version (limited CVR) of the surgery. We feel very comfortable with our decision and are so grateful that our pediatrician caught it early enough that we are able to do it this way. The surgeon said he usually does not get these cases until the kids are 1, and then it's too late to do the endo version. Right now surgery is scheduled for Monday, March 15th with a doctor here in Orange County. That's the plan for now, unless we decide to go with a doctor in Texas (Dr. Jimenez, he is the dr. who pioneered this type of surgery and has done tons of them). The only problem with Texas is we could not get the surgery done until April 8th and we know that the earlier we can do it, the better.

Here is an animated video of how the surgery is done.

After watching it, you can see why I am actually really happy he will be in a helmet, since half his skull will be gone! Especially considering his older brother seems to think if he can pick it up, it should be thrown. (Preferably at something breakable).
SO, that's the plan. Yikes, I'm getting nervous just thinking about it. Thank you again for all your support!