Surgery Update

Hi there everyone!

Just a real quick update to let you know that Brooklyn's surgery was a total success, and she is doing great! The neurosurgeon said she lost very little blood and that the surgery went about as smoothly as it could go. Praise God!

She slept peacefully last night, and today they will finally get to feed her some of my milk. Because she was having surgery, they were only able to give her sugar water and IVs. Now comes the good stuff!!! I'm not sure when I'll be able to nurse her myself, but I am pumping as much as I can in the meantime. Of course, the most important thing is that she is getting my milk, but I do pray that I get to nurse her soon. My heart is aching for that bond so very much.

My OB is supposed to come in first thing this morning to authroize discharge, and I CAN'T WAIT!!! I am so excited to get to Children's and see my little trooper. God (and your prayers!) got me through yesterday's separation, but I am MORE than ready to move on from that and get to lovin' on my girl!

I do have to say it's been really cool to see Jeff form such a strong bond with Brooklyn. I can hear it in his voice...he is totally and completely in love and is just soaking in all this Daddy time. He told me yesterday how she likes to be soothed, and I could just feel the pride oozing through the phone. Boy do I love that man...

Our next milestone is seeing how Brooklyn's body responds to the surgery. There was a small tear in the membrane surroudning her defect, which means fluid had been leaking out when she was in my womb. Now that we've closed that tear, as well as the open defect itself, there is nowhere for the fluid to escape. It will build up as her body tries to find a way to absorb it, and depending on how that goes, a shunt may or may not be needed.

However, because Brooklyn's ventricles were already measuring big (which means she already had fluid build-up in her head before the surgery), a shunt is looking like a very real possibility. This is not shocking news, but we are still hopeful God will find a way to absorb the fluid. Pray, pray, pray!

Jeff did meet with an orthopedic surgeron for a little while yesterday, and we got some AWESOME news that I just have to share. When Brooklyn was born, one of her legs was completely straight with no bend at the knee. This wasn't a total surprise since several of our ultrasound photos showed this; however, inititally they thought that this meant her bones were actually fused together, which would mean she would never have bending in her one leg. Of course, this was hard to hear and challenged the possibility of her walking successfully in the future.

BUT...after the orthopedic surgeon evaluated her yesterday, he was able to reposition her legs and massage the area and HER KNEE BENT! Testing also showed that she has "good muscle tone" and strong blood flow in BOTH of her legs. Can I get an AMEN?!!!! :) Needless to say, we are all elated and beyond thankful. God is so awesome!

She will still need xrays of her legs to give us more information, but right now, the focus is on her back and her head. Any casting or orthopedic surgery will most likley happen after she is home with us. They think she'll be able to come home in 2-3 weeks -- which is way too long for this mama -- but is what we had expected all along. Just pray that she heals quickly so that we don't have to add to that timeframe!

So that's it for now. So much for my "quick" update. ;) I'll post some more photos soon, but if you can excuse me...I AM GOING TO SEE MY GIRL!!!!