Bungee Jumping and Superheroes

Ramsey had 2 appointments this week at children's. First, he had a CT scan as a follow-up for his spinal anomaly followed by a review with neurology. The fusion of his skull to his spine hasn't changed much. His symptoms are mild and we won't need to follow up again for two more years. At that point they will do flexion x-rays. We weren't surprised to learn that we'll need to limit his physical activities due to the risk of spinal injury. That means no football, wrestling, trampoline jumping and yes, no bungee jumping, ever. I hope he'll have enough interest in other activities that he won't mind the limitations. I wonder how he'll feel to learn he can't do those things. Also, I worry about unexpected accidents. We returned home from CHP that same day and he fell over the arm of the couch right onto his head. These things worry me. I know with time my fear will fade. I know that I could unknowingly have the same spinal anomaly...any of us could, but knowing about it somehow makes it scarier and googling it does too. Google is good for a lot of things but not health concerns!

Ramsey also had a chest x-ray and appointment with his surgeon. His lungs look great! His diaphragm looks great! He's just an all-around awesome almost two year old.

Playing at RMH between appointments

We were happy to see some of our NICU friends. Most of them hadn't seen Ramsey since his discharge. They were AMAZED at how good he looks. That he walks. That he talks. He breathes and eats and does all the things odds said he might not do.

Our NICU friends are everyday people but every day they have the chance to impact lives. In my mind they look something like this:

They save. They encourage. They entertain. They bond. They say good luck and sometimes they say goodbye. I don't know how they do it, but they handle the ups and downs and still return to work everyday, ready to do it all again. Call me corny, but they're my heroes. They inspire me and I'm proud that they remember my little superhero as one of their successes.

This is how I say "Cheese"

CHEEEEEESE!

Ramsey loves his construction hat!

Today's Appointment with Neurosurgery

I feel much better after today's appointment!  We met with the chief of Neurosurgery at CHP about Ramsey's spinal anomaly. He said he wanted to see Ramsey today to evaluate him as a basis for monitoring him. If it wasn't for the CT scan, he said he wouldn't have suspected any problem. Children with a fusion such as Ramsey's (C1 to skull) often go without any treatment. In other cases, surgery is needed. We will follow up with neurosurgery a year from now to have them reevaluate Ramsey. In the meantime, if we have any questions or concerns we are to call them. The potential problem is that as he grows, there could be a curve in his neck causing his head to lean to one side. From what I've read there could be other issues such as headaches or limitations like avoiding contact sports. Obviously, those issues would years down the rode. Now, all is good and that makes me very glad.