Colten had another cranial ultrasound Monday. It showed an increase in the ventricles of the brain, which means an increase in cerebral spinal fluid. His head also measured an increase, at 39cm (and this morning it measured 39.5cm). He was born at 36cm and normal rate of increase is no more than about 1cm per week. He is less than two weeks old and has increased 3.5cm. So we are heading back to Mott Children’s Hospital this morning for Colten’s 1:00 PM shunt placement surgery with Dr. Maher (he did Colten’s spinal cord surgery as well).

The surgery itself is pretty common and while we have a normal amount of anxiety that comes with putting your infant child through another surgery, especially one where they have to drill through the skull and get into the brain, the hard thing to swallow with this is that a shunt isn’t a grand “fix it” solution. So while we will avoid brain damage due to hydrocephalus (so far as we can tell), shunts themselves require monitoring and revisions over time. It will be another lifelong piece of the puzzle, another part of our new normal.

Today’s post is short… Life is a little more crazy and busy now that everyone is home and daily doctor appointments have been our week so far. We will post again after the shunt placement. Recovery is minimal, so they say. Colten and I will stay overnight for about 24 hours if all goes well. Longer if there are any complications in surgery. We hope to join the mass of people descending upon the Okemos Applebee’s on Saturday for a special pancake breakfast to support Colten! Thank you to everyone who has reached out in one way or another to help us – we appreciate your concern, generosity and love!