Prayer for me and baby

Hello dear friends, I wanted to give you an update on what we’ve learned about baby Mason’s challenges in the coming months and years.  We still have a lot to learn, but we’ve started. 

What we Know:Mason has a condition called Spina Bifida Myelomeningocele.  As he was developing in the womb the spinal vertebrae in his lower back did not close and part of his spinal cord and nerves are coming out through this opening in his back.   This will affect several things, including his ability to walk and bladder/bowel control.  His feet are turning inward due to incorrect or inoperative nerve messages, also known as clubfoot.  He may learn to walk with assistance like braces or he may be in a wheelchair, we do not know yet.  The other major effect he will face due to the spina bifida is in his brain/skull.  The brain is a bit pulled to the back of his skull and so the flow of fluid around the brain is not as smooth as could be.  He will likely have Hydroencephalis, where fluid builds up around his brain due to the reduced flow, and will need a shunt surgically placed in his skull under the skin, with a tube under his skin draining off excess fluid.  There may be learning difficulties down the road (about a 20% chance).  When/if hydroencephalis begins in utero he will need delivered, which means he may be premature.  I will deliver via C-Section at Riverside Methodist Hospital. Mason will require surgery within hours or a day of birth at another hospital to close the opening in his spine and to place a shunt in the skull.  We have yet to meet with the pediatric neurosurgeon to learn details of what that will involve, including how long Mason will be in Children’s hospital’s NICU.  He will likely require more surgeries as he grows.  The clubfeet are treatable to some degree, and again, we’ll be talking with the neurosugeon about that as we go along.     For the moment I will continue to have regular prenatal appointments in Newark AND High Level Ultrasounds monthly in Columbus to monitor things.  We will begin gathering a pediatric neurosugeon team and preparing for the changes that are coming. 

What We’re Grateful For:Mason is an otherwise healthy little boy, and while his Spina Bifida and all that entails will be hard, he is going to live.  Many of the possibilities Mason could have had in combination with his Spina Bifida (genetic/chromosome) had an end result of very early death.  It seems that God has planned a path for our yet-to-be born son that will not be the easy, healthy one you always assume will come at birth.  The challenges he will face come from his physical body.  As we are learning more about the challenges we are clinging to the knowledge that this child is known by God and that the circumstances of his body are not an accident.  “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee…” Jeremiah 1:5   

We appreciate your prayers in the coming months as we prepare for our sweet little boy’s arrival.