Successful Shunt Placement

I apologize for not posting sooner about Brooklyn's shunt placement.  This is a busy week as it is finals week on top of all that is going on with our little one and I have been trying to get some grading done while balancing attention on Brooklyn and Jenny.

We were excited to have Brooklyn's surgery take place in the early afternoon.  We waited with our wonderful nurse for the phone call to bring Brooklyn down.  Fortunately the nurse gave our little girl a bath before surgery and it was fun to see the baby look so clean.  With her rush to the NICU at birth she did not receive the thorough bath that many newborns receive and so it was nice to get her cleaned up for surgery.  Here is a post-bath, pre-surgery pic that might be my favorite of Brooklyn so far:

As for the surgery, we transported her down to the 2nd floor and had a brief discussion with the surgeon and anesthesiologist.  We then took care of some other business and eventually made it to the surgical waiting room.  As a side note, Jenny had a spinal headache that was causing some discomfort and we were fortunate to have the anesthesiologists come by to do a procedure to address her pain.  Barbie was with us and did a great job "mothering" Jenny to make sure Jenny was eating enough to take care of this issue while we waited to hear about the surgery.  Steve eventually joined us in the waiting room and we had a great talk with another couple who was there for their son.

Ironically Jenny and I were wishing to see the surgeon sooner than we did, but now, looking back on it, I'm glad he took his time!  It's funny how we can become impatient even when longer waits can increase the likelihood of the desired result...

The surgeon said everything went well and I am once again grateful for his dedication to his craft.  It is amazing that people are selfless enough to put in the time necessary to prepare to do such difficult work and I hope our surgeon could sense our gratitude for him.  He has been so kind to us and has taken the necessary time to answer our questions and I'll forever be impressed with him.

Brooklyn looks great.  Below are a couple of pictures, including a close up that can help you see the shunt that has been placed.  She is so peaceful and will need to be on a ventilator for at least a short time while she gains back her strength and the effects of the medication fully wear off.  Tomorrow she'll have a "quick" MRI to provide a look at the shunt post-surgery and then she'll have some recovery time in the hospital, which could last a week or a bit more.


While I've been grading Jenny has spent time next to Brooklyn and I got to see her for a few minutes before we retired back to our room.  Brooklyn appears to be doing well.  She is sleeping peacefully and is joyful to be close to.  She has a good spirit and seems, understandably, quite exhausted.  We hope for more cheerful days ahead, but it is interesting that this was still a day that ended peacefully, despite all that she went through.  And that's a miracle.