Life can change so suddenly.... I probably won't proofread this, so please forgive me if it's typo-filled and scatterbrained.
At Avery's routine check-up today, her measurements raised some red flags with her pediatrician. For those of you who understand the percentile structure, Avery was 50% on length which was fine, 10% on weight which was odd, and OVER 95th percentile on head circumference which is alarming with such a low weight. Up until now, it had been a little bit of a joke that her head was large since Collin and I both had bigger heads as babies. But with head-growth spiking as weight plummets, her doctor expressed concern that there may be an issue.
Avery will need to have an MRI to receive a diagnosis, and the earliest we could get her scheduled for an MRI was Wednesday, May 9th. There are a number of things that could be occurring here, but the doctor speculates it's Hydrocephalus, or "water on the brain." We have a sonogram scheduled for Monday morning, April 30th. The sonogram could possibly show confirmation of Hydrocephalus, but the MRI will give the doctors a clearer picture of exactly what's going on. An MRI is inevitable. If the sono shows nothing, they'll do it as a precautionary measure. If the sono shows "something" they'll do it to see exactly what we're dealing with.
They will put Avery under anesthesia for the MRI, which will be difficult to watch as her parents. If she does have Hydrocephalus, there is treatment. They will go into her skull and put in a shunt/tube which will remain in her body to redirect the collecting fluid and drain it out through her natural waste. (Frightening to think of this surgery, but we are so thankful to at least know that there is treatment!)
This is all very unexpected/shocking/hard to absorb at this moment, but Collin and I are resting in God's peace and we know that all of this has passed through His hands. This surprised us today-- but it didn't surprise God. There's PEACE in knowing that. It's the kind of peace that allows me to type this with tears running down my cheeks/chin/neck when all I really want to do is go peer into Avery's crib as she sleeps... I may be there all night. I hurt. I'm scared. I'm sad. I don't want anything to be wrong with my precious, seemingly-healthy daughter's brain. Nevertheless-- I have peace.
What keeps coming to mind as all of this sets in is something that was laid on my heart weeks, maybe months ago... That God brought Avery through us, not to us. Avery is not ours-- She is God's child. We are praying (and we ask you to pray with us) that the MRI shows a completely healthy baby girl, and that all this worry is for nothing. But even if it does show something is wrong, our position is..... Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Our sincere appreciation for your prayer,
Stephanie, Collin and Avery
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6 comments:
We're praying for you guys! Let us know if there's anything else we can do. Love, Ashley
We love you Poages and are praying continuously!
You don't know me, but I am a friend of Andrea Mitchell's, and she had petitioned prayer for you on her blog. I wanted to tell you that we are INDEED praying, even if we are "strangers"! Also, I wanted to give you my email address in case you want some reassurance about Avery's MRI. My daughter, Ellie, has CP (which is how I "met" Andrea: on a "Mothers with CP kids" board), and she had her MRI at Plano Medical Center when she was eleven months old (so, very close in age to Avery). If you'd like a run-down of what happened, I'd be happy to "talk" further! I will encourage you that, at least in our case, the MRI was much less invasive than I thought it would be. Anyway, just wanted you to know that you have prayers coming from all over the place!
My email address is: chrystiekroekerboggs@yahoo.com
Lots of prayers headed your way!
Yall are in our thoughts and prayers continuously right now! You were completely right when you said that although this was a surprise to you, it was not a surprise to God and He has a perfect solution planned for your family. Avery is a beautiful, healthy girl and I know she will continue to be just that! We love yall!
Thank you for being a continuous witness to faith and trust in the Lord. Your reminder that Avery is God's child is so comforting. He wants the best for all of His children....and that's exactly what we're praying he'll do. Give you the best! Love you!!
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