9/19/2011 - Birthday, 2 week followup, and a great picture!

Sam celebrated his 11th birthday this past Sunday.  While it was definitely slower paced than we are used to, it was a good day.  He received lots of Legos, saw Kungfu Panda 2 a second time, went back to church for the first time since we left for Chicago, and had Speatzel (his favorite -a German noodle/dumpling) for dinner.  We of course were very thankful indeed to be celebrating Sam's birthday with him on the mend.

Today we traveled back up to Chicago for Sam's 2 week follow-up appointment.  First stop was x-rays, then on to see the doctor.  Dr. Alden thought Sam's surgical site was healing beautifully.  He removed the stitches today, which Sam did not particularly enjoy, but I am sure he is glad they are gone now that it is done.  So far there has been no evidence if any leakage of spinal fluid, or infection.  Praise God.  We then went to another room to look at the x-rays.  They are looking great.  The x-rays are taken from the side and everything appears to have the correct alignment still.  I wasn't sure after the surgery how Sam would feel about Dr. Alden at this point, but it looks like Sam and the Doctor will be able to stay friends.

I have been trying to figure out how to share this picture.  Dr. Alden had the idea that I could just take a picture of his side by side view, so I hope this will come across OK.  This is the shot that is priceless to me.

The first picture is the before, and the one next to it is post surgery.  The red circle shows the top of the spine that is poking in to the brain stem  Notice how much straighter it is in the second picture.  Also you can tell that the indent into the brain stem is no longer present.

The black circle shows where the Chiari malformation is.  In the first picture you can see, if you look closely, how the brain tonsils (bottom material of the brain) descends down and is pressed between the spinal cord and the cervical plates.  In the second picture the tonsils have risen back up and is no longer compressed or pressing against the spinal cord.

The blue circle is around a small triangular area that Dr. Alden used to show us some distance markers. I know it has more significance than what I can explain, but this is as far as my understanding could go.  In the first picture the top of the spine presses right up against the triangular space.  The second picture shows that the triangular area is now a full centimeter away from the spine.

 Here is the side by side without marks so you can see it a little clearer.

On a funny side note, the medical records show that in about a 3 week period from before to after surgery, Sam gained just over a 1/2 inch of height.  They definitely accomplished stretching things out!

Last, I am happy to share that we have no explanation, but Sam's apnea numbers that have not been good since arriving home, have continued to lower slowly.  The last two nights have been low enough that they are considered to be within acceptable limits.  We don't know why they went up, and we don't know why they are going down, but I am choosing to simply thank God that He has continued to keep His mighty hand on us.  Sam's spirits are continuing to improve as well.  He is choosing to pursue interests a little more readily, and is starting to look forward to getting re-involved in regular activities at home and with friends.  Thank you again for your prayers on these issues.  At this point we will continue to pray for good solid bone growth and that in the meantime his alignment stays looking good.  We return to Chicago for his next followup in three weeks.  I will look forward to updating you on his progress at that time, unless anything comes up to share beforehand.  Thanks again everyone.