Head Ultrasounds and Radiology Classes
We had a full day of appointments for Tripp today. He had a
head ultrasound to see how well his shunt is working and if his hydrocephalus
is under control. A renal ultrasound to check his kidneys and make sure we
don't have to start cathing him to empty his bladder. Then we met with Peter
(Dr. Nagib's right hand man) who is with neurosurgery to go over the results of
head ultrasound. Good news is his head is growing at a steady and normal rate
and is also a normal shape, which is not always the case when you have extra
fluid on your brain. His cognitive function is right on track for his age. Bad
news is that his ventricles are bigger than last night. But there are some
silver linings to that, too. We have been a cesspool of germs and seem to have
caught every bug we could this winter. Tripp is still getting over a double ear
infection and an RSV-like illness. Being sick can cause your ventricles to get
bigger. (Not sure if this is true in adults, too, or what causes it... Is it
something to do with your lymphatic system? I would be interested to find out.
Any of my nurse or PA friends know?) His ventricles are bigger, but maintaining
their shape, not ballooning out like they normally do if it's the hydrocephalus
causing it. And he's acting well, so they are not too concerned. But we were
reminded that 100% of VP shunts placed before the child is a year old will
fail. (Although, they said every now and again, a kid slips through, so we are
still crossing our fingers!) He will be rechecked in 4 weeks and if his ventricles
are still big, or if something happens that make us concerned between now and
then, he will have a shunt revision. We are praying that it's just the
infection causing this and everything will go back to normal by then!
Next, we went to see
Dr. Marker. He's pleased with Tripp's progress would also like to see him back
because of the extra fluid. Darn it! We had been doing so good with making it
to two month appointments.
Our last appointment
of the day was at Gillette's to check on Tripp's AFOs. Now he has not been in
any kind of bracing since he was hospitalized for cellulitis February 27th.
We had to wait for his wounds to completely heal before we could even think of
trying to put them back on. Well, Saturday, his feet were looking pretty darn
good and I knew that I needed to try before our appointment today. Three hours
in the AFOs on Saturday and his feet are still red today. Dr. Sundberg decided
to modify them and move where the straps go across his feet since that is where
the breakdown happens. We need to start
having him wear the braces again, starting in short intervals and working our
way up. I am skeptical that they will work for him. I want them to sooo bad! I
believe the Ponseti method works for club feet and I think this will give him
the best chance at permanent correction, but I’m filled with doubt that AFOs
are the right choice for him. At least these ones. His skin is so darn fragile
that I think he’s just going to break down in new areas. I’ll be keeping my
fingers and toes crossed, though.
Now I’m trying to study for two exams on radiology. I really
don’t know if I should have taken this course. I’m beyond lost. The amount of
science behind x-rays is staggering and I’m bored out of my mind reading about
it. I’m like most people out there, if I’m not interested in something, I have
the hardest time concentrating on it. As you can tell by me writing this, I’m
very good at procrastinating. I can’t put it off any longer. The exams are
going to close in a couple of hours and I need to finish them before that
happens. J
