MRI and More

It was another busy week for us.  My good friend Tresa came over and spent some time with us on Tuesday evening.  She hadn't seen Kai since September and she was surprised at how big he has gotten.  It was nice to spend time with her, just relaxing and catching up--and when J got home she and I went out for some frozen yogurt. :-)


On Wednesday, Kai went in for his MRI and had some x-rays done on his spine.  Thursday, we headed back up to Primary Children's for the results.  J took a couple hours off work for the visit so that we could talk to the doctor and figure out the best course of action.  Kai's cervical spine is narrow and compressed, meaning that too much movement (and growth) is damaging his spinal column.  We talked briefly about a custom collar for Kai, which would extend from just below his armpits to his chin.  The biggest problem with that (other than the fact that Kai would be miserable) is Kai's short neck and the trach/vent.  The doctor said the only reason a collar would even be a possible consideration at this point is because Kai is not yet crawling or walking.  However, because of the aforementioned issues, the doctor pretty much vetoed the collar as a possibility, which leaves spinal surgery.

The surgery will be next week and they will be removing part of a bone to allow more room in his spinal column and for spinal cord growth.  When he is older, they will do a procedure to fuse the bones together.  Strangely, I feel very peaceful about the surgery.  The surgery would be inevitable anyway, and this way his movement (hopefully) won't be damaging his spinal cord.  Poor little guy.

In the cafeteria at Primary Children's--chilling while we ate lunch after the appointment

 

My dad came in Friday for the weekend for General Conference.  We have been having fun with him and Zuri has been really cute--she wanted to sit next to him during the sessions.  I have tried to get some cute pictures of them but every time I pull out my camera she would turn away.  Zuri is going through the "pretend" camera-shy phase.  She doesn't want a picture taken, but when the picture is taken she always wants to see herself.  Too funny, but it is getting really hard to get a good picture.


I was fortunate enough to get this shot with Zuri playing dress-up.


This week Kai has been a little more fussy than normal.  He is fine as long as he is being held, but as soon as he is put down he gets fussy.  I am not sure why the sudden need for attention.  I included this shot because Kai was so tired but refusing to fall asleep.  I stood and just rocked him until he finally gave in--and I was able to get him back into his crib without waking him (quite a feat with all the cords and tubes we have to navigate around).  I took a picture of my victory!

Saturday, J's maternal grandpa came over and got to see Kai for the first time.  He and his wife spent some time with J and Kai (Zuri and I were in Salt Lake).  J's grandpa brought over tables he had made for Zuri and Kai, which are really nice.  Zuri loves her table and feels like a grown-up with it.