Our neurosurgeon drives a mini cooper...

Andy says that he just earned mad points in the "coolness" department. I should also mention that he IS NOT a small man. Anyway, back to the point of this post...Grey's MRI results...they were pretty much what we thought that they would be. The Dr. started by saying that Grey's ACM II (malformation of the cerebellum) was present, but that it had good flow, and since he is showing no signs of it being symptomatic, it most likely never will be...very good news! He also said that Grey's spinal cord is tethered (100% of people with SB have a tethered cord) but that doesn't necessarily mean that it will cause problems. He said that the most common times when tethered cord issues arise are during growth spurts, so around the ages of 3-4 and 10-11, but like I said, it may never cause a problem, it's just another wait and see. He also mentioned that Grey has a small syrinx very low near where the cord is tethered. This is another thing that could cause problems at some point, but again, may not. One last thing that the Dr. mention was that Grey has something called corpus collosum dysplasia. I am NOT going to google this as I'm a bit terrified of what I will discover. I am going to take the Dr. at this word and consider this "no biggie." This is something that could effect coordination. These are all "normal" in the world of spina bifida and the Dr. was in NO way concerned about anything at this time.



So, overall, we have a positive outlook and a good feeling after that appointment. We know what to look for should any of these "maybes" come up. In the meantime, we will keep lovin' our boy! I should also mention that the Dr. was VERY impressed with Grey's sitting, rolling over, and crawling. Sure, he REFUSED to crawl on cue, but we threatened to pull out the videos and the Dr. believed us. :) Have a great weekend!!

Love,
Leigh, Andy and the G-man

Long Day...

As with all things Greyson...What were we so worried about? Grey did amazing!! I fed him last night around 9:30pm and the MRI didn't start until 11am and we barely even heard a peep! He was his laughing, smiling self all morning long. He got a bit antsy around 10ish but fell asleep. The MRI lasted about 2.5 hours and we were able to see him before he even woke up. I went in and said something to him and got a smile right away. We stayed in recovery for about 20 minutes and then went into our holding room (or whatever it's called) fed him, and 20 minutes later we were on our way home! We were at the hospital for about 7 hours total, so it was a pretty long day and we are VERY happy to have this first MRI behind us. His shunt was checked as soon as the MRI was finished and he hasn't shown any signs of something being off with that. He is such a little trooper and of course, all of the nurses just loved him! We are yet again, reminded how lucky we are to have been chosen to be his parents!!

Now the waiting for Friday begins, to be perfectly honest, we really aren't too worried about it. Grey is just doing so well, that we know whatever we are told, we can handle. Thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers today! We will update again this weekend and let you know what we find out on Friday!

Love to all,
Leigh, Andy, and Grey

Big Day Tomorrow...

Tomorrow, Grey is having his first MRI. I know that he will breeze through the day like a champ, but Andy and I...not so much. :) Grey's neurosurgeon just wants to get a baseline MRI while Grey is happy, meaning when his shunt is working and he is showing no symptoms of something being wrong. This will be a full brain and spine MRI and will last approximately 2.5-3 hours. Because of the length of the test, Grey will need to go under general anesthesia. One of our major concerns is Grey's shunt. His shunt is programmable by a magnet, so as you can understand, the idea of Grey being surrounded by a HUGE magnet for 3 hours is not something we are looking forward to. His shunt will be programed back to to right setting as soon as the test is done, but we just worry what the change in pressure for 3 hours could do. So if you could just keep little Grey (and his mom and dad) in your prayers tomorrow we would be very grateful. We won't have the results of the MRI until Friday, but we will update once we get them. As far as the results go, Dr. Foody is looking specifically at the severity of tethered cord, Arnold Chiari malformation, and any possibly syrinxs. (I wouldn't recommend googling ANY of these things as Google has a unique way of scaring the pants off of anyone looking up info on any sort of ailment.) But really all these things are actually quite common in kids with SB.) :) Grey is doing GREAT so even if something pops up, we won't let ourselves get too concerned. Thank you to all who continue to go on this journey with us, we love you all!

Leigh, Andy, Grey.

It's Official...

HE'S MOBILE!!!!!!! :) We are SO proud of our Grey and couldn't wait to share it with all of you! He started scooting on Thurs. and today (Saturday) he is just going all over the place! YAY Grey!! :)




Oh...AND he has his first two teeth!! Grey has been very busy this week! :)




Love to all,
Leigh, Andy and Grey

Back to "School"

I'll always remember that feeling i would get around mid-to-late August every year. The Back-to-school ads would pop up more and more and I would become heartbroken...because summer was coming to an end, and school was around the corner. I remember the first time post-school, when i had graduated and somehow found a job soon after and that summer turned to fall... I had to convince myself that "hey wait, im done with school, no more of this, I can enjoy this time of year" And that's what I've been doing every since.

So wait where was I going with this...Oh yeah, School. Thankfully I'm done and there's been several occasions I've turned to Leigh and have mentioned how glad I am to be out of school. haha (sorry to rub it in for those still studying, keep up the hard work :) hehehe. Anyway, what i was getting at is that our little Grey starts his version of School next week. After having the summer "off" (not really, Leigh pushes him hard during the day) Grey will resume his Physical therapy. Tuesdays he'll be at the conductive Learning Center, Wednesdays he'll start a new class for babies, Fridays PT comes to the house. And Leigh just informed me that she will be signing Grey up for a swimming class!!! Wow, this kids gonna be busy! But this busy is a "good busy." We've already have seen results of working hard with him. It's truly amazing to see Grey hit these milestones as any other "typical" baby would. We're just really proud of him!!!

Remember how I said I've been enjoying the fall...we'll here's a few pictures of us doing just that!




Grey just being cute.



Love you Mommy!


Kisses for mommy.


Love you daddy


"Here Dad, let me fix your hair"


love you all,

Andy, Leigh, Grey

Our Vacation...

Grey is on his first summer vacation! This past Friday we came up north to Mitchell lake (or Lake Mitchell, we're not quite sure) with my family to get some much needed R and R. We have been having a great time and Grey has been enjoying many firsts...

His first ride on (and steering of) a paddle boat...


His first time tubing (with mommy holding on VERY tightly!)


His first time on a water slide (he LOVED it!)


His first time being SO exhausted at the end of the day that he can't even make it to his bath and pjs before falling asleep!

Overall, we are having a great time and Grey is loving the water as much as his daddy! We Just LOVE experiencing all of these "first" with Grey and hope that he is having as much fun as we are! We hope that you all are enjoying your summer as much as we are!


Love to you all,
Leigh, Andy, and Grey

Six Months...

Then:



Now:



Today our Grey is SIX MONTHS OLD!! I can't even believe it. It feels like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital after 12 long days in the NICU. Days filled with uncertainty and worry. We had so many questions before he was born...Would he need a shunt? Would there be many shunt revisions? Would we have to start cathing right away? Would we be able to come up with a bladder/bowel program so he could be like all of his friends? And the ever pressing...Will he walk? We certainly don't have all of those answers, but what we do have is an amazing son, who is smiling, laughing, rolling, sitting, and a faithful God who has shown Himself to us over and over and over again in these past 6 months. We have faith that whatever challenges come up, we will get through. I no longer fear the future, but look forward to it. I can't wait to hear him say "mama" for the first time, to get a hug, and to hear his first joke. These past 6 months have been nothing short of amazing and I can't wait to see what else God has in store for us!