More News

I have had to learn to share my toys...err I mean computer...with Mike as he has needed it for resume and job hunting purposes. :o) In the small window of opportunities that I have access to it I have tried to keep up with my other blog buddies and keep our blog updated as well. I have not been very successful. I have left out some very HUGE news that we received from the Cardiologist on Friday. I feel so silly for forgetting to share something that was completely breath-taking awesome news to hear!!

The Cardiologist said that True Vascular Ring (that's what Cayman has) is a condition that he does see occur regularly but rarely by itself. He said normally there will be other heart defects along with it. In a perinatal ultrasound at 28 weeks, Cayman had an enlarged heart ventricle. The doctor said, "The MRI after she was born showed the ventricle was no longer enlarged and somehow seemed to clear up on its own."

All those times when I was pregnant and kept praying, "Please help my baby, God." He did...

has...

and is!

Thank You God!!

There's another piece of BIG news that we were excited about that I forgot to add in about her Vision Screening report. Here's what the report said:

Cayman was seen for vision screening...There were concerns about how Cayman is using her eyes and how well she is seeing. Cayman has irregular pupil/iris effecting both eyes...however is unaware the extent of effects on the retina and other eye structures...Cayman was alert and active for the vision screening with Teller Acuity Cards. She scored below age level however it was noted she began to anticipate the presentation of the cards. She tracked each card vertically & horizontally when presented slowly. She has voluntary side-to-side eye movements. The rate of movement was faster with left eye versus right eye...Due to results of Teller Acuity Cards, it is advised to contact the Ophthalmologist office for an earlier appointment to evaluate her current visual status. This information will be helpful with her development and expectations. A consultation with a teacher for students with visual impairments...is advised to assist with providing family with appropriate visual skills development.

From this vision test we learned that Cayman has healthy cognitive thinking. We saw this in the report 'it was noted she began to anticipate the presentation of the cards'.

Those Teller Acuity Cards are fun! They are a large rectangular board/card. The background is a light gray with a black and white stripped box. With each card the black and white stripes get thinner making it tougher for the eyes to track. The Vision Therapist held up each card, then put it down, turned the card around, and held it up again so that the black and white stripped box was now on the opposite side. After about the 3rd card Cayman started to look at the opposite side anticipating the box's change of location. The Vision Therapist had to start alternating where she moved the box around to "trick" her.

Cognitive thinking...

Thank You God!!

When Cayman was just a few days old her Neurosurgeon came by my hospital room and had a meeting with Mike and I. He very tenderly but honestly gave us the report from her brain MRI. It was officially documented that her Corpus Callosum and Septum Pellucidum were absent from her brain, which they were suspicious of during the fetal ultrasounds. Then we learned the news did not stop there. The two halves of Cayman's brain were completely split apart, possibly separated from the extreme amount of fluid accumulated. This diagnosis is called Schizencephaly.

These MRI scans were done at birth. The darkened areas is all the fluid, and the lighter gray is the brain matter.

I remembered the word "Schizencephaly" from my internet research on Hydrocephalus when I was still pregnant with Cayman. It is a very rare condition with a horrible report. I skipped over it and thought "I'm not even going to bother reading that because that's not what my baby has."

Mike asked the Neurosurgeon that day, "What does this mean for Cayman...where will we see this affect her?" Dr. Maher continued to remain very gentle in his tone and expressions as he answered our questions. He told us, "The part of her brain that is injured controls a lot...personality, cognitive thinking, language skills...all very huge things." I remember when he had said that I wanted them to take Cayman and stuff her back inside of me because somehow she felt safer there than on the other side of the hospital in the NICU so far away.

Over the last 6 months Cayman has definitely shown a strong personality and normal baby babbling language skills, and from this current vision screening she showed cognitive thinking.

It's been humbling looking back and recalling the details from those weeks in the NICU. Mike and I don't look back very often. Those are some painful scary memories, especially looking at those first brain scans. All these memories though are tucked away in a very dear place for they are still Cayman's first days of life...the days when Mike and I first became parents...that was exciting! Those long 3 weeks of continuous reports and tests have brought Mike and I to a blessed place...a place where we do not take any of Cayman's progress for granted...each accomplishment...each milestone is a miracle and a gift...and while we can remember every sad tear during those NICU weeks we are reminded at how far Cayman has come and how faithful God has been.