A belated Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays and a very happy New Year to all!
We have intended to write for a while now, sorry to disappoint if anyone has been longing for a post :) The past 2 months have been a blur with lots of Grenolds' family activity and, we're happy to report, no medical drama! Georgia has been doing very, very well and has pretty much settled back into her busy schedule of preschool and therapies. When we left you, it was day 2 after her shunt placement. To be honest, we had hoped for an instant return of Georgia's clarity and development following the shunt. That didn't happen, but we remained patient and were assured by her docs that it can take some time for her head to re-adjust.
She had a follow-up MRI before Thanksgiving and while there was no drastic improvement in the amount of fluid, it was no worse and overall her behavior seemed a bit better. Then, by the beginning of December, something re-clicked and Georgia was taking off again. She began to have more words, was making many more observations, spoke in longer sentences, was following directions and just seemed much more focused. It was a glorious end to a pretty darn stressful year indeed.
We have a big appointment this Thursday with all her specialists so it will be great to see what they think about how Georgia is doing. Only concerning part of her follow-up is her eye exam. As you may recall, it was the opthamologist that pushed for the MRI back in October. At our last appointment with him 6 weeks ago, he still saw some scarring on her left optic disk which may mean her vision could have been permanently affected by the pressure of the fluid. We'll know more Thursday.
We have intended to write for a while now, sorry to disappoint if anyone has been longing for a post :) The past 2 months have been a blur with lots of Grenolds' family activity and, we're happy to report, no medical drama! Georgia has been doing very, very well and has pretty much settled back into her busy schedule of preschool and therapies. When we left you, it was day 2 after her shunt placement. To be honest, we had hoped for an instant return of Georgia's clarity and development following the shunt. That didn't happen, but we remained patient and were assured by her docs that it can take some time for her head to re-adjust.
She had a follow-up MRI before Thanksgiving and while there was no drastic improvement in the amount of fluid, it was no worse and overall her behavior seemed a bit better. Then, by the beginning of December, something re-clicked and Georgia was taking off again. She began to have more words, was making many more observations, spoke in longer sentences, was following directions and just seemed much more focused. It was a glorious end to a pretty darn stressful year indeed.
We have a big appointment this Thursday with all her specialists so it will be great to see what they think about how Georgia is doing. Only concerning part of her follow-up is her eye exam. As you may recall, it was the opthamologist that pushed for the MRI back in October. At our last appointment with him 6 weeks ago, he still saw some scarring on her left optic disk which may mean her vision could have been permanently affected by the pressure of the fluid. We'll know more Thursday.
The holidays were celebrated in Rochester with the extended Grenolds' family. It was so wonderful to see everyone...though admittedly one thing was missing during the trip: the sun. Man, we've gotten used to the Colorado sunshine and had forgotten how grey winter can be back east. Daily stops at Dunkin Donuts made a bit up for it we suppose. As for how Georgia did, she still has a way to go before "getting" Christmas and it was clear when she was feeling overwhelmed, which admittedly made us a bit sad. But all in due time - frankly, sometimes it would be nice as an adult to shut down and wander around the room when you feel over-stimulated. Georgia enjoyed playing with her cousins and all the new toys but really wanted nothing to do with the whole gift opening process. To her the best part of Christmas was sledding and playing in the snow at her cousins' house. Thanks CLEC for the winter playground and all the gear! See video below, complete with joyful giggles.
So thinking back over the year - one could easily say "see ya 2010, you sucked!" And certainly many parts of it did: months of uncontrolled seizures, looking at a cabinet full of seizure drugs, seeing your baby fall over repeatedly from jolts of spasms and then recalling the anxiety of a 7+ hour surgery and having the surgeon break scrub to come out and tell you that your baby needs to have half of her brain disconnected. Sometimes these thoughts stop us in our tracks - did all of this really happen?? But setting aside those very, very tearful, fearful times, and having the clarity of being on the other side of stress and pain, we can honestly say that we are so very thankful that there was an answer to Georgia's seizures and that we found what appears to be a successful fix. Let alone, of course, to remember the joy of new life with Lillian's birth which was truly a sign of hope during such a somber time.
To spend a moment on sweet Lil. What a joy she is! It's been amazing to watch her grow and develop. From our prior experience, meeting motor and developmental milestones meant a ton of practice and a team of therapists, so to see Lillian master crawling, pulling up, clapping and other skills with minimal intervention and guidance is amazing. You can just see the wheels turning in her pretty little head as she sizes up a new task, though we will say she has developed a touch of a stubborn side (lots of grunting and squirming these days!). Big sister Georgia is very good with her little "sissy" too. She gives her lots of head kisses, is beginning to help fetch things to help with diaper changes and feeds, helps swing her little sis during our family blanket swinging events and usually takes turns while playing. We have seen some very typical 3 year old behaviors surfacing though, such as unwillingness to share, pulling toys out of little hands and telling us to "put Lillian down." Frankly though, we're happy as can be to see these very normal toddler behaviors emerging. Sorry Lil!
Christmas morning in Rochester
Check out the cycling...watch out Lance Armstrong!
So thinking back over the year - one could easily say "see ya 2010, you sucked!" And certainly many parts of it did: months of uncontrolled seizures, looking at a cabinet full of seizure drugs, seeing your baby fall over repeatedly from jolts of spasms and then recalling the anxiety of a 7+ hour surgery and having the surgeon break scrub to come out and tell you that your baby needs to have half of her brain disconnected. Sometimes these thoughts stop us in our tracks - did all of this really happen?? But setting aside those very, very tearful, fearful times, and having the clarity of being on the other side of stress and pain, we can honestly say that we are so very thankful that there was an answer to Georgia's seizures and that we found what appears to be a successful fix. Let alone, of course, to remember the joy of new life with Lillian's birth which was truly a sign of hope during such a somber time.
To spend a moment on sweet Lil. What a joy she is! It's been amazing to watch her grow and develop. From our prior experience, meeting motor and developmental milestones meant a ton of practice and a team of therapists, so to see Lillian master crawling, pulling up, clapping and other skills with minimal intervention and guidance is amazing. You can just see the wheels turning in her pretty little head as she sizes up a new task, though we will say she has developed a touch of a stubborn side (lots of grunting and squirming these days!). Big sister Georgia is very good with her little "sissy" too. She gives her lots of head kisses, is beginning to help fetch things to help with diaper changes and feeds, helps swing her little sis during our family blanket swinging events and usually takes turns while playing. We have seen some very typical 3 year old behaviors surfacing though, such as unwillingness to share, pulling toys out of little hands and telling us to "put Lillian down." Frankly though, we're happy as can be to see these very normal toddler behaviors emerging. Sorry Lil!
Of course we leave you with a few photos and videos to summarize the past few months...and many wishes for a happy and HEALTHY 2011!
Georgia's sassy new 'do and her very fashionable Christmas dress (thanks Gram and Pops!)
Sharing a laugh and a drink with Lillian at her baptism brunch
Snuggling with Daddy in Genesse
Lillian's big day
Christmas morning in Rochester
Check out the cycling...watch out Lance Armstrong!
Giggles and sledding
Peace, Love, Joy! Wonderful! ...the recap of 2010, the strides forward; the blessing and wonder of Lillian's safe arrival. Gram and Pops again raise a toast to 2011, Georgia, Lillian and their wonderful parents. God, continue to bless the Grenolds West family. ...and Happy Birthday, Alicia! Love, XXs & OOs from Cincy
ReplyDeleteHere's to a happy, healthy 2011 my dear friend.
ReplyDeleteLove, Andie
Bob & Gloria...
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful way to start 2011! The girls are beautiful - love Georgia's new hair cut. Lillian is adorable. We love the videos and pictures - next best thing to being there! Please know you all are always in our prayers! Give them little ones a big hug - and happy belated birthday Alicia!!! Much love, Bob & Gloria
Hi Folks,
ReplyDeleteThanks for a beautiful and inspiring post. What a year, indeed. The love in the family is so palpable. Great to see you a little around Christmas too. Wishing you the best for 2011!!!
Love times 1,000,000!
Ben and Lilly