Staying Positive

Love this kid!

A nervous wait

Well, tomorrow is the big day. Felix has to see the Paediatrician to discuss the results of his MRI scan and what is going to be done, if anything, about the excess fluid in the ventricles of his brain. If I said I wasn't feeling nervous or apprehensive I would be lying, but I am trying really hard to push away any negative thoughts.

Just a recap for those new to our story:

Felix had an ultrasound of his brain every 2 weeks from when I was 25 weeks pregnant until he was born at 36 weeks. He also had a foetal MRI scan when he was still in my tummy. All of the scans came back showing high levels of fluid on his brain (hydrocephalus). The day after he was born an ultrasound, through the fontanelle (the gap in the skull on a baby's head) miraculously showed that his ventricles were fine and there was nothing wrong. We went into celebration mode after being told to expect the worst.

Our beach baby

A few weeks ago, Felix had to have an MRI scan for something totally unrelated. The Opthamologist (Eye Doctor) ordered the scan to check the size of his Optic Nerves as she thought one appeared larger than it should be. During the scan, they also measured the ventricles in Felix's brain. The results, unfortunately, showed excess fluid like when I was pregnant with him. Not the result we expected or wanted.

Best case scenario

Singing with his teddy

Felix has been progressing unbelievably well. He is learning and he is growing. He is healthy and strong. What we are hoping is that maybe the fluid on his brain was missed at the scan he had when he was a day old? Maybe he has had the same amount of fluid this whole time and we just didn't know? Maybe his brain is still developing well despite the fluid and it hasn't affected him in any way and won't affect him in the future?

We haven't seen a copy of the report from the MRI yet so we are unsure of what the measurements of his ventricles are. We are really hoping they are at a level which will be able to be monitored and he won't have to have anything invasive done. It's comforting to be living in a day and age where placing shunts to drain fluid from the brain is a relatively straightforward surgery, but it's still not something I want to think about right now.

How could you not smile at that face?

Happy boy

Felix is oblivious to all the fuss and worry. He's just woken up from a long sleep, eaten a big lunch and is in a fantastic mood! He is making all his crazy faces to get us to laugh at him and clapping his hands, loving the attention. I'm going to spend the afternoon enjoying the happiness and joy coming from my precious little man. His life has already been such an inspiration to me. How can I be sad when I look in those beautiful blue eyes?