Saying Prayers...Awaiting Answers

Sorry all for not updating sooner.  A lot has occured since our last post.  The flood gates to specialists flew open two weeks ago and we are moving full steam ahead.  All in a nut shell... we are being admitted to Sutter Memorial today for hospitalization for 24-48 hours.  They are going to be doing an MRI/MRA to access her cerebellar cyst and her vascular system in her brain, if all looks good, we will be starting her on a medication that will heal the hemangioma.  It is known to be highly effective, but has potential side effects of low blood sugar and low blood pressure, so that is why they want her in the hospital for monitoring.  If all goes smoothly and Hadley responds well to treatment then we will be home Sunday.  I will try to update more with greater detail after the results today or tomorrow.  Please pray for safety in MRI/MRA and good recovery from anesthesia, good response to medication and stable blood sugar and pressure.  And for our hearts.  For God to strengthen and keep peace in our hearts.  Love to you all and thank you!

Update on Hadley...

In my previous post, we had planned to see the Pediatric Neurologist shortly after Hadley's birth.  I did not update the blog at the time, but shortly after the previous post our appt. was rescheduled.  Well, we had our appt. today and so I wanted to take a few minutes and update everyone on how our sweet little Hadley is doing. 

Hadley is delight to our souls.  She is beautiful and we are enjoying her little soul so much.  She has blessed us with a few sweet smiles and occasionally attempts a coo at us.  She is a pretty good sleeper at night, superb nurser and real heart stealer for sure.  We love her. 

A little history to explain the present:

When Hadley was born, within the first 10 minutes after her birth, Aren noticed a pale patch of skin on her face and a bruise-like area on her left temple.  We were not given a lot of direction on what it could be and we left the hospital feeling very confused.  I felt as if everyone knew something, we didn't.  Having worked previously in the medical field... I guess I am a little skeptical at times, as I know how the "behind-the-scene" talk can go.  The staff discussed a little bit with us about this area on her face, but there was never a definite diagnosis given.  We left thinking that Hadley had a fairly small hemangioma on the left side of her face.  Since Hadley's birth, it has changed significantly.  Long story short... because I am too tired to get into any more details, Hadley has a large hemangioma covering the left side of her temple, eye, cheek and top of her head.  It covers the greater majority of her left side of her head.  It has changed in color quite a bit and is much more red, and noticable than in her first week of life.  It has changed rapidly week by week.

So today, we got to see the Pediatric Neurologist.  Dr. Asaikar is a wonderful physician, and we had the privelage of receiving his care and support with Payton.  He is warm, kind and brilliant.  We were so grateful for his care today.  I am truly lacking the words and energy to type in great detail about our appt.  But Dr. Asaikar stated that he is cautiously optimistic that the hemangioma on Hadley's face and the "cerebellum issue" are two isolated issues.  He personally called to get us into an opthamologist this week, as he is concerned about Hadley's eye and the effects the hemangioma may have on her eye and the health of it.  He also wants to schedule us for an MRI, but later down the road when Hadley is older.  He believes that it is in her best interest to wait to do the MRI till she is older and the risks lower with the exposure to anesthesia for the procedure. 

We are also scheduled this Thursday to see a dermatologist to ask about the hemangioma and find out if treatment is recommended or if it is better to not treat and let it take it's course of action and go away on it's own.  We have been told most hemangioma's disappear on their own by the time the child is 5-9 years of age.  We should get more clear direction on what type of hemangioma is Hadley's, if treatment is recommended and what affects both might have on Hadley as she grows. 

Truthfully, there were a lot of details discussed today at the appt. but at this point, what we really need to be looking at and praying about is the two appts. (opthamology and dermatology) for this week.  We are praying for no hemangioma growth behind her eye, no pressure and complete health in her eye.  If they find that the hemangioma is affecting her eye health, that opens up some concerns that the hemangioma and the cerebellum concerns may be linked.  There are several conditions associated with those findings...right now we are resting on Dr. Asaikar's advice and also remaining optimistic.

Thank you to everyone for praying for Hadley and for us today.  We are grateful.  Please pray for us as we go through this week and the eye appt. and the skin appt.  Please pray for healing, for no eye complications to be found and for hope in the hemangioma treatment.  And please pray for peace and comfort for us as well.... and for little Hadley to be pain free, and healthy.  Also, a cold virus swept through our house this week and Hadley caught her first cold already at 3 weeks old!  She has been congested, but otherwise well.  Please pray for complete health in that too. 
Thank you... love Heather, Aren, Avery, Ben and little Hadley