That's right....Unremarkable is the word of the day hands down. Because THAT was the word that the pediatric neurosurgeon that we saw today said about Logan. The word has NEVER sounded so sweet!
To give you a little insight in to what Jason, Logan and I have been going through over the last few days, I need to take you back to last Friday. I made an appointment with Logan's pediatrician to have him checked out because he'd had a cold for a week and it didn't seem to be getting any better. The cold ended up being nothing and Logan was fine. But while we were in the office, Dr. Brown wanted to take a quick measurement of Logan's head. She has been concerned, as has every doctor that's seen him, that his head was a little too large (A little too cute is what she meant I think). She did the measurement, and sure enough, it had grown more than she would have liked since his 4 month appointment on October 22nd. So because of that, she decided to set up an appointment for Logan to have an ultrasound done on his head to make sure there wasn't any fluid on his brain. FLUID ON HIS BRAIN? Ummm....roller coaster of emotions, commence....NOW.
So Monday morning, Jason, Logan and I headed in to Redondo Beach to have his ultrasound done. They do it just like they do on a pregnant woman's belly...gel on babies head, wand over gel on babies head. Logan did pretty good considering the situation. Well, once we were done, the technician said she wanted to call the doctor in...our hearts sank...the doctor came in, looked around and said that she DID in fact see some fluid on his brain. She tried to comfort us by saying that the amount there is small enough that it usually resolves itself with age. Somehow, that didn't provide ANY comfort for Jason and me.
We get home, and I'm a bit upset. Jason did an amazing job of supporting me and telling me that everything was going to be fine...too bad he didn't listen to his own advice...apparently he was a wreck all day! When he got home that night, he confessed how concerned and upset he was, so then it was MY turn to support him and tell HIM that everything was going to be alright...this time I should have listened to my own advice because the next day I was a wreck!
So on Tuesday, we try to call Logan's pediatrician to figure out what our next step is...too bad she decided to leave on vacation until the following Tuesday...great timing. I explained to the nurse who answered the phone what the situation was, and she assured me she would get another pediatrician in touch me with before the end of the day.
Well, Jason and I couldn't wait until the end of the day so within an hour, we were in touch with my Uncle in Colorado who is a pediatrician, Jason's co-worker's friends who is a pediatrician in Arizona and Logan's former pediatrician here in Santa Monica begging for some advice. Even without seeing any report of the ultrasound images, ALL of the doctors told us this was normal and that as long as Logan was developing as he should be, that everything was going to be fine. We still weren't convinced.
Later that day, Dr. Malla from Dr. Brown's office called us and told us that she was going to show some neurologists Logan's report and images so that they could have a better idea of what we were dealing with (While I'm sure this was all supposed to make us feel better, the idea of a neurosurgeon looking at images of my son's brain was VERY unsettling). She didn't think that the fluid they saw was a big deal, and that since Logan was a happy child who was developing normally, that we would be fine. We felt better after speaking with Dr. Malla, but we still felt very RAW and unsure about what to do next.
On Wednesday, I received a call that Dr. McComb, a pediatric neuro surgeon wanted to see us on Thursday afternoon for a consultation...we were a bit relieved, excited and scared. A Neuro Surgeon? Wow. that's pretty scary stuff. When we finally met with Dr. McComb, he calmed our fears immediately. He told us that it's NORMAL to find fluid on the brain of a baby with a head as big as Logan's. He did a quick physical exam on Logan to make sure everything was functioning properly, which it was. Next, he measured Jason's head and sure enough...Jason's head circumference is ALSO in the 98th percentile, JUST like Logan's!
At the end of the consultation, Dr. McComb told us that Logan is a perfectly normal boy, he is unremarkable and he does not see the need for any further testing.
Jason and i could have KISSED Dr. McComb when he said all of that. I felt weightless as he left the room. I'd been SO stressed and SO upset all week, that it was surreal to know that I could finally relax and that Logan is going to be Ok. Even now, 6 hours after we left the Doctor's office, just thinking about it all could bring me to tears.
This week has been an emotional roller coaster. Not that I ever doubted my love for Logan, but this week really put it in to perspective and showed me how much I do love him and how i Just want the very best for him.
Now that all of this is behind us, I'm looking forward to celebrating Logan's first Christmas on Saturday morning and flying to Seattle for a week of family and fun Saturday evening.
Merry Christmas All! And to all a GOOD NIGHT!
Love,
Ash
