Lady Bug Hugs: Progress

Emma is making so much progress it amazes me! Emma had an MRI on Friday and then we had a follow up with her neurosurgeon. We waited quite a while but Dr. Stevenson is SOOOOOOOOOOOOO worth the wait! He said everything was looking amazing. He was actually able to turn her shunt down a notch. So she went from a 3 to a 4. This means that her shunt will actually drain less fluid. This is why I am so glad she has a programmable shunt. If she had a regular one and he wanted it to drain less it would require another surgery. He said he'd like another MRI in 3 weeks to make sure that everything is still going well.

We had our first MM (spina bifida) clinic on Monday! That was pretty neat. Emma had a renal ultrasound before we went to clinic. Then we grabbed a bite of lunch then headed to clinic. They took Emma's vitals then put us in our room. First came the rehabilitation doctor. She was very sweet. She looked Emma over and said that everything was looking good. She did notice a few things that were a bit baffling to her. We have noticed that Emma's right leg is weaker with less muscle tone then her left. The doctor agreed, but then she also noticed that her right leg is longer then her left, she said its typically the other way around that the stronger leg is the longer one.

Next up was the Urology fella... he was also very nice said everything looked good on her ultrasound. That was good news! He also told us that we don't have to cath her at night. That means that mommy and daddy get a full night of sleep as long as Emma feels the same.

Next we saw the developmental pediatrician, this was Dr. Oppenheimer (Dr. O for short). She also said everything was looking good and that we should come back to clinic in 3 months!

So all in all Monday was a good day. We have much to be thankful for!

On Wednesday we met with her plastic surgeon, Dr. Pan, he said her back was looking great. He told us that he was comfortable not seeing her anymore and that he can just be updated through email with pictures! This is bittersweet, we've grown to really like Dr. Pan, he is an awesome doctor who has provided such great care to Emma, but she's healing so well that we don't need to be under his care anymore. The only time he'll get re involved in her case is if they have to operate on her spine again.

All in all we've had a great few days of appointments. We continue to ask for prayers for our sweet baby girl, as she continues to heal and her shunt continues to function properly and that she doesn't have symptoms from her Chiari. Also please continue to pray that Peter and I remain vigilant to her needs health related and otherwise! Thank you so much for your continued support to our family!

Here is what you all have been waiting for... PICTURES!!!!!