Surgery re-cap

Ato T's surgery for a PT shunt placement went extremely well. For those of you who don't know, I'll explain. The shunt is placed to help relieve some on the inter cranial pressure in his head. The half of his brain that is missing has filled win with cerebral spinal fluid (CSF), which is what our bodies are supposed to do. However, the fluid isn't draining properly, which caused too much CSF in his head, which then causes extreme pain and brain damage if left untreated.

For the procedure, they make a small incision in his abdomen and then run a tunneler up into his head. They then make an incision in his head and create 2 burr holes which they will then use to place the shunt inside of. Then they run the "tubing" through the tunneler, and finish by connecting the tubing to the shunt. He has a Hakim programmable shunt. In the next few weeks we will be working with his doctor and nurse to set the shunt at the correct pressure for him. They do this through a magnetic tool that reprograms the shunt.

As I said earlier, Ato T's procedure went extremely well! He only needed one full dost of morphine, and two minuscule doses while we were in the hospital. The surgery was done on Friday at 3:00, and we were expecting to be released Tuesday at the earliest. We ended up being released Sunday! He was a trooper the entire time, and his head circumference has already decreased by one inch.

Enough explanations - here are pictures from the hospital.

Daddy & Ato T in pre-op

In recovery



Out of ICU and on the floor, sisters and daddy came to visit!

Auntie Stef, Uncle Jose and Ray visit, too!

Grandma Lynn and Grandpa Bob also came to visit, but we were still in the ICU and I wasn't able to get any pictures. Pastor Tom also tried to visit, but missed us by about 20 minutes. :( Thank you to everyone who stopped for a visit and those who prayed for us! We really appreciate you!

Bandages come off! This photo does not show the entire incision. It's a horseshoe shape. He also has one small incision on the back of his head, and then one in his abdomen.

Ato T charmed the nurses! They even took him out of the room for mommy when he woke up ready to go at 4:00 am. Thank you Children's Minneapolis nursing staff! It was nice to get some sleep!

We will return to the neurosurgeon's office in two weeks to have the stitches removed and check how the pressure in his head is. Until then, we clean the sites with a diluted mixture of antibacterial soap and water, and pat each one dry with a separate sterile gauze pad. We are praying no infections develop, although we are told that is extremely rare. (Not much comfort to parents of 2 children with "extremely rare" congenital birth defects.)

And now, the world's longest blog spot is coming to a close. :) Sorry it's late. We were not able to access the blog site at the hospital, and I've been extremely busy since we came home.