I am so sorry that I still haven't posted details about the surgery. I am not emotionally ready to revisit the emotions of those days in details yet. Those were the darkest days of my life, and I am just not there yet - I hope you all understand. I will do it soon, I promise. :)
In the meantime, I do want to go ahead and at least post some pictures. :)
Mason turned 4 months on the day of surgery, so mommy took his 4 month picture before we left
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| A great organization called "Socks for Surgery" sent Mason the cutest socks. Please consider supposrting a child facing surgery by visiting their website! http://www.socks4surgery.com/ |
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| A very nervous mommy and happy baby Mason, waiting for surgery |
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| 12/10/13 at 7:15PM |
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| 12/10/13 at 7:10PM |
Mason looked amazing when we first saw him in PICU. Best moment to finally see our baby!
Words can't explain how worried we were when they couldn't get his pain under control. I tried holding him to calm him, but it only worked for a little while. It was so hard knowing that I couldn't bring him comfort.
The bruising and swelling started to set in right before our eyes. These pictures were around 9:00PM.
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| Mason had to be put on oxygen about 12 hours after surgery. Words can't explain how hard it was to see our little baby like this |
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| 12/11/13 at 6:43AM |
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| 12/11/13 at 10:48AM |
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| 12/11/13 at 11:55AM |
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| 12/11/13 at 2:25PM |
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| 12/11/13 at 4:33PM |
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| 12/11/13 at 6:46PM |
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| The swelling and bruising peaked 2 days after surgery. It was so hard to see our baby be unrecognizable. I can only imagine the discomfort he felt and the fear associated with not being able to open his eyes |
So thankful to my sister and best friend for the blood donation! Mason needed 2 blood transfusions.
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| 12/12/13 at 9:57AM - Mommy was FINALLY able to hold Mason again. Best feeling ever to finally have him in my arms again and to be able to comfort him. |
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| 12/12/13 at 8:02PM |
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12/13/13 at 12:15PM:
On day 3, Mason finally was able to open 1 eye! It was like seeing him born all over again when we saw his sweet eye open! |
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| 12/14/13: Mason could finally peek through his other eye! |
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| We debated on bringing Easton for a visit in the hospital because we didn't want him to get scared or upset. We finally decided that it might help him to see Mason's "boo boos". He did great and wasn't scared at all! It was SO good to see him after being away from him. |
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| 12/13/13 at 12:50PM: Finally out of PICU and in a regular room |
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12/14/13 at 7:03PM
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12/14/13 at 7:03PM
Mason received this BEAUTIFUL prayer chain in his care package from Cranio Care Bears. They are the best organization for support for Cranio families. If you are facing surgery, please look them up: http://craniocarebears.org. Also, please consider making a donation in honor of Mason! |
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| Best site ever - a smile! |
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His head was VERY swollen and felt like a water balloon in the back for a couple of weeks.
Side note: the incision is wavy so that his hair doesn't part when it is wet. It is done this way to minimize the appearance |
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| Mason and his cranio bear! |
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| Before and after - notice how much room was given in the back of his head and how much more round his head it. The surgeons said his brain was VERY tight in the back. They even had to re-mold his dura matter in the back, which is not a normal thing to have to do. So thankful that his brain has room now! |
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| 12/15/13 at 10:04AM - Ready to go home!!! What a relief to be released by his surgeons and recover at home! |
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| So thankful for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston! The staff was amazing. We were SO glad to be going home. |
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| Thankfully, he slept the whole way home and it was uneventful trip. :) |
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| 6 days post-op! |
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| 8 days post-op! |
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| 13 days post-op, heading to our post-op appointment with his neurosurgeon! The appointment went well, and Mason goes back again at 6 months post-op for a follow up CT scan and appointment. |
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| 3 weeks post-op before and after! His head is much rounder! The back of his skull was very tight and his brain was being "pinched". It was so tight that they had to remold the dura matter around his brain as well. So thankful for this surgery and that his brain can now grow normally! |
I promise I will post some recent pictures soon! Thank you again for your continued thoughts and prayers for our little hero! He is the strongest person we know!
So thankful to see these. Thanks for doing this. Love, Mary Carole
ReplyDeleteThis story brought tears to my eyes.My son who is 19 yrs old now went through a very similar surgery at Mass General Childrens Hospital in Boston Ma. He was misdiagnosed by his primary care doctor as an infant. I tried telling her I thought something was wrong because one side of his skull was flat. She kept telling me it was from him lying on that side so much and told me to lay him on the opposite side and prop pillows behind him. One day when he was 6 months old I had to re schedule an appointment and saw a different Dr. in the group. He took one look and started taking measurements of my sons head and ordered xrays . 2 weeks later my son had a lambdoidectomy in Boston. He too had pressure on his brain. I was so lucky to see this Dr. Otherwise I wouldn't have known about his condition. God Bless you baby Mason and your family. My son is a happy healthy young man now . I have all the pictures like yours. I was on fb looking for a fundraiser for a baby mason in my community and came across this page.
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