Jailbreak

Well, Mom and Gwendolyn have busted out of the hospital and are on their way home. Unfortunately, we've been told it will take at least a month until we know for certain what the results are.

One negative is that Gwen's still fighting off a cold so she was rather congested again last night. As a result, her breathing was more labored than usual and she awoke several times during the night, which she rarely does at home. When she did wake, she kept trying to rip off the sensors that were taped all over her tiny little head… So, mom had to hold her hands down most of the time, which only upset Gwen even more. Hopefully that didn’t significantly alter the test results in a negative fashion.

On a positive note, while her oxygen levels did dip at some points of her sleep, Gwen brought them back up herself and never needed the assistance of oxygen-enriched air. Also, the nurse was confident preliminarily that Gwen doesn't have central apnea. That basically backs up what the neurologist and the plastic surgeon told us when they initially suggested Gwen’s jaw extension because they felt the issue was the result of a physical defect not a neurological one.

Hopefully it also eliminates the possibility that her breathing issues (and any other limitations that could have popped up in the future) being the result of a chiari malformation. That is what the pulmonologist kept trying to tell us was the source of Gwen’s issues this past fall. If you remember, that can be a common issue with kids that have the more severe case of spina bifida that Gwen did (meningomyelocele). It can typically affect the cerebellum and brain stem, which is where the base of the brain meets up with the spinal cord. While her spina bifida's likely effected that area in some ways, this test seems to suggest it isn't sever enough that it's causing issues with her essential body functions (such as breathing) or, hopefully, her motor skills. Since Gwen’s already got so much she’s going to have to deal with as she matures, we were hoping and praying that this wouldn’t be just another hurdle that got added to the list... and it appears in the interim that our prayers have been answered there.

So, while we won’t know the final results for a little while and even though Gwenner had a rough go of things last night, there’s at least some cause for optimism.

P.S. A BIG thanks goes out from Dad to Braelyn for sleeping through the night and at least helping him catch up on some sleep!!! Hopefully Mom will be as lucky this afternoon.