Coming home???

Brooklyn had her MRI today.  It sounds as though it went well.  We have not discussed it much, but, given her progress with the first shunt and external drains, we had been told there could be the possibility of her receiving the newer hydrocephalus treatment known as ETV and cauterization of the source of the brain fluid (see the bottom two sections discussed here: Alternative Treatment).  This is the same option we had hoped she would be a candidate for but she was not when she was first born.  We will be deciding between this treatment and a new shunt over the next little bit.

That said, Brooklyn's remaining external drain started leaking yesterday around the time Jenny arrived and I was leaving.  They stitched it up today but decided to remove it after the MRI today.  They basically want to give Brooklyn's brain a chance to heal over the coming days (one to two weeks) before performing her next surgery.  So, we are hoping Brooklyn and Jenny get to come home for her to recover.  The determining factor will be how she does over the next day; if all goes well they will release her and if not I'm guessing they'll just keep her there.

All in all, if it turns out this new treatment is the best option, we will feel very fortunate for this miracle.  The opportunity to have her avoid a shunt for the rest of her life would be amazing, but if she ends up with another shunt we'll be grateful for that too.

I'll post again if there is more news.  For now, she is tubeless for the first time since her first week of life!