Schulte Sightings: Home Again, Home Again

During the next 1 1/2 weeks, we experienced somewhat normal life with a newborn and a 2 year old. Halle was still extremely lethargic and hard to feed, which caused Mama to be very concerned about her. Every feeding felt like a battle to help her gain weight! We had our 2 week pediatrician visit, a series of more test to check for blood disorders, another pediatrician visit for reflux (oh yeah-she started spitting up a lot too!), and jaundice checks. In between all the appointments, we tried to figure out what life at home looked like.

All the while, Mama and Daddy were looking for the warning signs they listed if her hydrocephalus reached the dangerous state. Although her symptoms never grew extreme, we were concerned because we could see a visible change in her head circumference, her veins were becoming more prominent, and there was no improvement in the eating department. Waiting for two weeks to see the neurosurgeon seemed like an eternity and we were so nervous that we would wait too long. Mama felt constantly attacked with temptations of worry and was really struggling to give it over to God. The whole time Mama felt a peace about surgery and felt it was going to happen eventually, but the in between period was killing her. Daddy had been very hopeful that the situation would resolve itself, but also quickly saw that things did not seem to be getting better. If hydrocephalus goes untreated it can lead to brain damage and other problems; the waiting game is such a tough place to be. We talked with neurosurgeon on call one night and he reassured us that if her symptoms were not extreme, she was ok. However, during a pediatrician visit just four days after the prior one, our doctor also expressed concern over the rate her head was growing. She put in a call to the neurosurgeon too and they moved up our appointment.

The neurosurgeon that we originally met with was out of town, so we met with a different doctor that we really liked. He actually performed the exact same surgery on another baby we know! We went in that morning and had a CT scan done to compare with her previous MRI and then had a follow up to go over the results. Although we were happy to hear that the original blood clot had been absorbed, he quickly agreed that her body was not draining the fluid as it should and that things were not improving. He went on the recommend putting in a shunt the following day. Although this was not the news we hoped for, Mama felt a huge relief. The waiting was over, a plan was established that would resolve the issue, and then we could move on. Hearing that your 2 1/2 week old was about to have brain surgery was not fun, but the Lord immediately granted peace. We went over all the specifics with the surgeon and felt good about the life that Halle will lead. The great news is that everything else looks perfect in her brain and that there appears to be no other concerns. Shunts are put in with the goal to last a whole lifetime and there will be no limits to what she can do. Yes, she can play basketball like her Mama if she wants to! The first couple of years will bring more doctor visits and scans than the normal child and the shunt will be visible for a while, but eventually life should be pretty normal for Halle. What a blessing that the Lord has granted medical know how to correct this problem and that we live in a place where the treatment is readily available! My heart immediately hurt for children in other countries who reach the brain damage state because they cannot have this problem corrected.

The rest of the day was quite the whirlwind getting prepared for surgery...a physical, paperwork, pre-op evaluation and more torturous blood draws (don't worry, it didn't take 2.5 hours this time, only 1.5). Poor girl is a tough stick! We were very thankful that we got to spend the night before her surgery at home. This gave us time to pack our bags (something which our friends and family had to do before), enjoy time with Camden, sleep in our own bed, and experience corporate prayer over Halle. That night we both felt a peace about the surgery the next day...