Surgery

 As most of you may know, we have been extremely busy since we came home.  Most of our time has been filled with doctor appointments.  We have been on a roller coaster of ups and downs.  We have seen doctors of almost every specialty.  Some of them have given us good news and a clear report, others have not.

Here is where we stand right now.  Valerie will be undergoing surgery this Wednesday, February 5th.  I do not know exactly what time, we will find out tomorrow.  Tomorrow we go for Pre-op which will be MORE blood work, a CT scan, and repeat MRI of the head, neck and spine.   Valerie was born with a malformation of the base of her brain which makes her brain dip down into her spinal chord.  There are already some medical problems resulting from her not having this repair done sooner.  This is why she developed hydrocephalus as a baby.  This is also the reason that she has scoliosis.  The neurosurgeon said that her spinal chord is severely blocked and will only continue to get worse.  The neurosurgeon said that the operation will take 4 to 5 hours.  We will be in the pediatric Intensive care unit for 2 to 3 days.  If all goes as planned we will be moved to a room where we will stay for an additional 3 to 4 days.  Please pray for us this week.  Valerie is not wanting to spend the night at the hospital and she wants Elise and Rachel to be there with her.  I will be staying with her, but the girls will not be allowed in the ICU area as they are under the age of 12.

I will keep everyone updated as we know more,