I think I'm officially responsible now that I'm 30! Some people greive and mourn with age, but I was sick of my 20s. Yes there were some amzing things that happened in my 20's most notably, I met my beautiful Bride, Leah. Now I'm excited about starting the family that I've always dreamed of, building the legacy that any Dad wants to put in place, and meet as many wonderful people as I can along the way.
Leah and I both turned 30 this month and it's been an awesome month of celebration! We topped it off with a fabulous weekend on lake conroe with great music, relaxing on the boat, wonderful food, and most importantly great people.
The right people are always in the right place at the right time. Most of you may not know what impact you have, but it is evident to us that every little thing happens for a reason. This ranges from little conversations that are perfectly timed, to meeting new people that have a ton of information, to normal daily conversations where people have the perfect thing to say, to gestures that are so enormous in thought and magnitude that I'm blown away. All it boils down to is we are much more cognizant of how this puzzle is coming together and who is putting everything in place. Before the update, we both thank all of you for the support and prayers!
Updates:
Monday was tough for both of us as we dove into the MRI findings, but to stick with the theme, we were with the right folks. Dr. Francis, our general OB in the Woodlands had a very difficult, but perfectly delivered conversation with us about planning. Planning beyond what we imagined.....planning for decisions that we may have to make in difficult situations. It is important to plan before emotions are at a peak, doctors are scrambling around, Leah undergoes surgery, and I watch doctors perform surgery on my wife and son. Based on how the doctors have described the injury to the brain, all ranges of possibility are fully in play. This means that we have to decide how we will handle each scenario. In most pregnancies it isn't much fun trying to imagine......what if we have to have a c-section? what if our doctor isn't delivering the baby? what if I go into labor early? what if.....
Our conversations are more along the lines of, what are your thoughts on life support? what type of brain surgery should we chose? should we get Parker circumsized? (ok, we've got that one figured out but you get my drift). The planning conversation is so important and I wish you could have seen the compassion and sincerity that Dr. Francis has for Leah! We are definitely with the right doctor and she handled the conversation and situation wonderfully. The icing on the cake was having Leah's friend Michele with us. Her support was yet another instance of the right person in the right place at the right time to help us both reflect on what we're experiencing.
Tuesday Leah and I headed down to the Medical Center to meet Dr. Ivey who will be taking over care at 36 weeks and performing the c-section. He is wonderful! Dr. Ivey was very comforting, let us know we are working with the best people and gave us comfort in knowing that we can call him or his team at any hour of the day with questions, concerns, curiosities, ect. He gave us a good idea of what timeline to expect and if everything stays on track (which all of you that have had kids know this is a coin toss) we will be having a c-section around Oct. 5th.
I knew that we'd be in for a roller coaster of emotion, but I wasn't expecting a free fall to start the week. That's the excitement of the ride, you never know what to expect. We had a great evening on Monday hanging out on the couch talking to the rambunctious little kiddo in Leah's belly. I got to clean the kitchen and do laundary last night, and I'm about to go hangout with Leah when I get done with this tonight.
My thought of the evening is this, some people are praying for a miracle that God will give us a flawless, perfectly healthy baby. That would be awesome, but there are a range of miracles that God may have in store for us that may not encompass the traditional picture of health.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
No appointments this week!
We get a break from doctors this week so we thought we would share some photos.
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Thursday, June 16, 2011
Excited Parents!
The title of this first post could have been anything from scared, to nervous, to trusting, to excited.... the list goes on but excited is the first thing that pops into my head when I think about the life that Leah and I are bringing into this world.
Naturally, we will undergo the full spectrum of emotions throughout the pregnancy, as will any expectant parent. We are preparing for a range of possibilities that are extremely broad and we are faithful that God will work his master plan. Whatever that plan may be, he will prepare us.
For those of you that we haven't had a chance to talk to, my beautiful bride and I are expecting our first child on October 11th 2011. Parker Mason Brown is the new beginning to our unbelievable family of 3! Last week (week 22 in our pregnancy) Parker was officially diagnosed with a birth defect called Hydrocephalus, this is an excessive build up of fluid in the brain. The root cause is called aqueductal stenosis, a blockage or absense of the path where fluid naturally flows from one part of the brain to the next.
What does this mean? Fluid is building up in Parker's head that would normally circulate through the body and be absorbed. The fluid is competing for space where his brain is trying to form. Yes, this means brain damage is a distinct possibility. Based on the MRI and conversation today, it looks as if all facets of the brain are forming, but the fluid is cramming the brain matter to the edges of the skull. The pediatric neurosurgeon we met at Texas Children's said that it looks like the center of the brain is showing early signs of damage, this is the part of the brain that controls your vision.
Good News, Leah and I are doing extremely well! First and foremost, this news means God has blessed Leah and I with the ability to have a family of our own and we are both thrilled! Secondly, it means we will have to deal with some challenges throughout the pregnancy and throughout Parker's life that may not be normal to most parents and children, but it will be absolutely normal for us. God will not give us anything that we can't handle and we are in a great position to handle any scenorio that comes our way.
Family and friends are extreme important in our lives and we want to keep everyone informed, educated and comfortable with everything that is and will take place. We've decided this blog is the best way to do that.
Here are a few of the key things that you may want to know:
This is considered a high risk pregnancy, so Leah will have a c-section.
The day to day managment of the pregnancy will be normal.
The pregnancy is expected to be full term.
Parker will have brain surgery after birth to release the fluid from his head and this will be an attempt to correct the issue that causes the build-up and damage in the brain. We won't know the extent of the damage until he begins to form his cognitive and motor skills.
60% of children with shunts inserted into their brain will need a subsequent procedure by age 2.
Leah and I are in great hands. We have a team of 5 doctors that are monitoring Mom and baby closely.
Leah will be delivering at St. Lukes in the Medical Center
Parker will then be transferred to Texas Children's for the brain surgery immediately thereafter.
I love my wife and she is awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We love all of you and we apologize that we cannot inform everyone individually, but we would love to hear from all of you. Our goal is to keep everyone informed, interested and praying! We can't wait to see our little boy, and we can't wait to introduce him to all of you!!!!
Love Leah and Dave
P.S. I will be posting pictures soon, so stay tuned.
Naturally, we will undergo the full spectrum of emotions throughout the pregnancy, as will any expectant parent. We are preparing for a range of possibilities that are extremely broad and we are faithful that God will work his master plan. Whatever that plan may be, he will prepare us.
For those of you that we haven't had a chance to talk to, my beautiful bride and I are expecting our first child on October 11th 2011. Parker Mason Brown is the new beginning to our unbelievable family of 3! Last week (week 22 in our pregnancy) Parker was officially diagnosed with a birth defect called Hydrocephalus, this is an excessive build up of fluid in the brain. The root cause is called aqueductal stenosis, a blockage or absense of the path where fluid naturally flows from one part of the brain to the next.
What does this mean? Fluid is building up in Parker's head that would normally circulate through the body and be absorbed. The fluid is competing for space where his brain is trying to form. Yes, this means brain damage is a distinct possibility. Based on the MRI and conversation today, it looks as if all facets of the brain are forming, but the fluid is cramming the brain matter to the edges of the skull. The pediatric neurosurgeon we met at Texas Children's said that it looks like the center of the brain is showing early signs of damage, this is the part of the brain that controls your vision.
Good News, Leah and I are doing extremely well! First and foremost, this news means God has blessed Leah and I with the ability to have a family of our own and we are both thrilled! Secondly, it means we will have to deal with some challenges throughout the pregnancy and throughout Parker's life that may not be normal to most parents and children, but it will be absolutely normal for us. God will not give us anything that we can't handle and we are in a great position to handle any scenorio that comes our way.
Family and friends are extreme important in our lives and we want to keep everyone informed, educated and comfortable with everything that is and will take place. We've decided this blog is the best way to do that.
Here are a few of the key things that you may want to know:
This is considered a high risk pregnancy, so Leah will have a c-section.
The day to day managment of the pregnancy will be normal.
The pregnancy is expected to be full term.
Parker will have brain surgery after birth to release the fluid from his head and this will be an attempt to correct the issue that causes the build-up and damage in the brain. We won't know the extent of the damage until he begins to form his cognitive and motor skills.
60% of children with shunts inserted into their brain will need a subsequent procedure by age 2.
Leah and I are in great hands. We have a team of 5 doctors that are monitoring Mom and baby closely.
Leah will be delivering at St. Lukes in the Medical Center
Parker will then be transferred to Texas Children's for the brain surgery immediately thereafter.
I love my wife and she is awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We love all of you and we apologize that we cannot inform everyone individually, but we would love to hear from all of you. Our goal is to keep everyone informed, interested and praying! We can't wait to see our little boy, and we can't wait to introduce him to all of you!!!!
Love Leah and Dave
P.S. I will be posting pictures soon, so stay tuned.
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