four c's
10-09-2009, 01:22 AM
My name is Harry, I m 48 years old. I have gone back to school and I am writing a blog for my english class. I thought this would be a good place to do this since I have a daughter with spina bifida.
Hello all:
I am new to Spina Bifida connection. I have an eight year old daughter that has spina bifida. I would like to share her story.
My wife and I have three daughters and a son. Courtney is 14, Cindy is 9, Carrie is 8 and Caleb is 9 mouths. Carrie is the only one that was not born healthy. It is my wish that by telling her story, it might bring some hope to families dealing with spina bifida.
When my wife went to the doctor for a prenatal check up, they told her she needed to have some tests done because there might be a problem with the baby. We had to go to OSU Medical Center to have an alfa fetal protein test. The test results said the baby had spina bifida. They sent us to Children’s Hospital to have a level two ultrasound done. The ultrasound revealed that the baby had myelomeningocele at the L4 andL5 vertebra.
The doctors at Children’s Hospital set us down to discuss our options. They said that where the defect was located meant that the baby would be paralyzed from the waist down. She would also have learning disabilities and her bowls and bladder would not work. They recommended that we deliver the baby by c section and she would have to be operated on the day she was born.
On May 21, 2001 Carrie was born. When they delivered her, she was kicking her legs. Two hours later she was transported to Children’s Hospital by mobile intensive care unit. That night, while my wife was in recovery at one hospital, I was in the waiting room at Children’s Hospital. After three hours of surgery, the doctor came to see me. He said the operation was a success.
After a week in the hospital, I finally got the whole family home. We took her home, but that night we noticed her back was swelling up like a water balloon. We took her back to Children’s and they told us it was spinal fluid. This meant that she would have to have another surgery to correct the problem. The doctors repaired the problem, but wanted to observe her for a couple of days. The next day her head started to swell, she was getting hydrocephalus (water on the brain).
The doctor explained that he was going to have to put in a shunt. This is a valve that is placed in the brain to drain the fluid into her abdomen. They performed the surgery, and after another week in the hospital we finally got to take her home to stay.
This is one time I am glad the doctors were wrong. She was not paralyzed and her bowls worked fine. She had some bladder problems, so she had to cath her every three hours.
As she grew there were a lot of hurtles, she did not craw until she was a year old. She had to have physical therapy and braces to learn to walk.
At eight years old she has a weak right ankle, so she wears a brace on it. Her bladder problems have improved greatly, we cath her twice a day instead of every three hours. She has some attention problems but attends school and is doing well. She runs, she plays sports and keeps up with her sisters. A diagnoses of Spina Bifida, does not mean the child can not have a life.
Hello all:
I am new to Spina Bifida connection. I have an eight year old daughter that has spina bifida. I would like to share her story.
My wife and I have three daughters and a son. Courtney is 14, Cindy is 9, Carrie is 8 and Caleb is 9 mouths. Carrie is the only one that was not born healthy. It is my wish that by telling her story, it might bring some hope to families dealing with spina bifida.
When my wife went to the doctor for a prenatal check up, they told her she needed to have some tests done because there might be a problem with the baby. We had to go to OSU Medical Center to have an alfa fetal protein test. The test results said the baby had spina bifida. They sent us to Children’s Hospital to have a level two ultrasound done. The ultrasound revealed that the baby had myelomeningocele at the L4 andL5 vertebra.
The doctors at Children’s Hospital set us down to discuss our options. They said that where the defect was located meant that the baby would be paralyzed from the waist down. She would also have learning disabilities and her bowls and bladder would not work. They recommended that we deliver the baby by c section and she would have to be operated on the day she was born.
On May 21, 2001 Carrie was born. When they delivered her, she was kicking her legs. Two hours later she was transported to Children’s Hospital by mobile intensive care unit. That night, while my wife was in recovery at one hospital, I was in the waiting room at Children’s Hospital. After three hours of surgery, the doctor came to see me. He said the operation was a success.
After a week in the hospital, I finally got the whole family home. We took her home, but that night we noticed her back was swelling up like a water balloon. We took her back to Children’s and they told us it was spinal fluid. This meant that she would have to have another surgery to correct the problem. The doctors repaired the problem, but wanted to observe her for a couple of days. The next day her head started to swell, she was getting hydrocephalus (water on the brain).
The doctor explained that he was going to have to put in a shunt. This is a valve that is placed in the brain to drain the fluid into her abdomen. They performed the surgery, and after another week in the hospital we finally got to take her home to stay.
This is one time I am glad the doctors were wrong. She was not paralyzed and her bowls worked fine. She had some bladder problems, so she had to cath her every three hours.
As she grew there were a lot of hurtles, she did not craw until she was a year old. She had to have physical therapy and braces to learn to walk.
At eight years old she has a weak right ankle, so she wears a brace on it. Her bladder problems have improved greatly, we cath her twice a day instead of every three hours. She has some attention problems but attends school and is doing well. She runs, she plays sports and keeps up with her sisters. A diagnoses of Spina Bifida, does not mean the child can not have a life.