Medical update ...

Lydia's MRI was scheduled for the end of August, but she was placed on a wait-list in the event of a cancellation.  We got a call last Thursday evening telling us there was a cancellation for Friday morning and asking if we could have her there by 8:15 a.m.  We were able to make that work, so Lydia's MRI is completed.  Now we are waiting for her neurosurgeon to read the MRI to determine whether or not she has a tethered spinal cord or any other issues related to her spina bifida.

Regarding Rachel's scoliosis, because skeletal back surgery (or lack thereof) at such a young age can have profound future implications, and because every scoliosis case is unique, we would like to have another pediatric orthopedic specialist review her case before we decide for sure what to do.  We are strongly leaning toward the surgery that her primary ortho doctor recommended (removing a hemivertebra and fusing two vertebrae), but it's a bit scarey to think about her having rods and screws or what-not attached to her spine at such a young age.  So we want to gather as much info as we can before proceeding.  We are currently trying to get her in to see a specialist at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children.  They are exclusively a pediatric orthopedic hospital in Dallas.

Also, Rachel's neurosurgeon is concerned that her increased spinal curvature could be an indication that her spinal cord has retethered.  As such, he has ordered an MRI so we can be certain.  We are awaiting the scheduled date for that, but are hoping that she will be able to get in early via a cancellation.

Disappointing report from Rachel's orthopedic surgeon ...

Rachel saw the pediatric orthopedic surgeon today.  The curvature in her back has increased from 43-degrees to 53-degrees in the past six months.  As a result, he is recommending surgery.  He would prefer to hold off on surgery until she has grown more; however, given the fact that her scoliosis is congenital, he is concerned that the curvature will just continue to worsen as she grows.  If we do wait, she will need external bracing in the meantime to try to physically restrain the curvature from worsening.

Please pray for wisdom as we determine what to do next.

Good initial report for Lydia from the neurosurgeon ...

First, we need to rewind a couple weeks.  On June 7, Lydia fell off some playground equipment, hitting the back of her head on a metal bar on the way down.  She immediately developed a large bump on the back of her head.  As a precaution, Sarah took her to the emergency room.

The ER doctor ordered a CT scan to make sure there was no damage from the impact/fall.  The CT scan confirmed that there was no damage.  The radiologist that read the CT did say that she has "mild hydrocephalus".

On June 16, Lydia had her first visit with the neurosurgeon (Dr. Mapstone).  He read the CT scan and said that Lydia has "enlarged ventricles" (Dr. Mapstone reserves the diagnosis of "hydrocephalus" for conditions that actually require treatment via a shunt).  At this point, there is no evidence to suggest that she needs a shunt.  He was very pleased with all that he observed, even to the point of questioning whether she ever had a myelomeningocele (the diagnosis included in her medical report from China).  He said we really cannot tell anything for certain without an MRI (he ordered a complete MRI--we are on waiting list to hopefully get that done within the next month or two).