Shunt Update

The surgery went well! Grace went in around 12:30pm and by 3pm Dr. Ibrahim came to the waiting room to give us the update that the actual surgery went very smoothly and that Grace did well in all aspects.

Holding Appa's hand

It took about another hour for one of us to go and see her in the recovery room as they had to get her stable, extubate her, and get her to start waking up from the anesthesia. This all had to be done before they could send us back up to the Neuro wing. If she hadn't been able to extubated we would have been sent back to the NICU. Praise God that it went so well!

She is now resting up in the observation room for the night and remains NPO as she needs to go for an X-ray and CT scan overnight. This is because a bulge has appeared on the right side of her neck where the shunt tube runs and they want to make sure it is not a malfunction. As of now they think it is most likely swelling or pooling CSF/blood and the body should reabsorb it as she heals. However, they need to be overly cautious and double check. Hopefully she will get a few feeds after that before she goes NPO again at 6am for her follow up MRI tomorrow.

Grace is also getting a few doses of antibiotics as the next few days there is a higher risk of infection. The doctor said 10 days is the time it will take to really heal up and see how the shunt works, this will also be the time that they can adjust the pressures if needed. The nurses know what to look out for and will be keeping a close watch!

Tucked in all cozy

Sam and I will be staying by her bedside overnight and take turns switching out to get some rest. Tomorrow my mom will come to sit with her so we can take a break. We are so incredibly thankful for our parents support as well as my sister. She spends all of her days off coming to Toronto and loving on her niece and us and we are so blessed to have her! This week she came Tuesday afternoon and stayed till tonight so that she could sit with Grace and give Sam and I a break and help out anyway that we needed her too 🥰

Finished an entire bottle orally! Big milestone 😊

Snuggle with Ammama

Prayer Requests:

• That Grace continues to heal

• That the shunt works properly and that the bulge is not a problem

• Infection to stay away!

• Continued strength and peace for Sam and I.

• Mental and physical rest