November 21st..........

Well, we had the amnio this afternoon at 2 pm at Sentara Norfolk General. For some reason, I always thought that they put the needle through the belly button.. OUCH! They don't. They do an ultrasound and find a free area to place the needle. The fluid was clear and without blood. Good signs.



We were able to see the Dr again and I asked him a few more questions.



1. Lillians head size is still with on normal limits but the actual brain ventricles are enlarged. I have read that in many cases of hydrocephalus the head will enlarge to be able to accommodate the fluid. So, that got me thinking if her head is not enlarging could that be a bad sign? He said that it is not a bad sign the thing that they do not like to see is where the head is smaller than it should be.

2. How do we know if the fluid in her head is CSF and not blood? If it were blood then there would have to have been an injury with in the last day or so and then it would dissolve.



While speaking to him he asked if we had enough time to return to the office for more scans. He wanted to take several more 3D scans. They save them in slices almost like a MRI.

They then did a "fetal stress test" all this is a fetal monitor strapped to your belly to check heart rate and if the uterus in contracting. There was some but nothing to be overly concerned about.

We went back to the office and they took us right back... They did several more scans, checked blood flow through the brain, it's good sign that there is blood flow. They checked her heart again and blood flow. Her heart is completely normal. So, they are still trying to figure out what is causing the hydrocephalus.

Dr. Warsof then said that it could be a Arachnoid cyst ( http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/arachnoid_cysts/arachnoid_cysts.htm ) and out of all the possibilities that is the best scenario. They are going to review the scans and most likely send them to the Pediatric Neurologists to review.

Our primary OB transfered our care over to EVMS and they will now be our primary care givers. We return on Dec. 4th for a follow up ultra-sound and appt. We should have some of the tests back from the amnio in 1-2 (business) days and the rest back in about 5 days. I'm sure that once they have time to review all of the scans from today and have the Peds review them we will hear more then.

We are staying optimistic and full of prayers. I'd like to Thank EVERYONE for being so supportive during this time. We can not begin to thank you all enough!

I want to take a minute and Thank my dear friends Dawn and Jackie.. Dinner was awesome! Thank you SO much!

I am also in the process of setting up another blog at Caring Bridge. That is the blog that I orignally wanted but couldn't remember the name. (Thanks Sara!)
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/lilliangracebarnette

God Bless!