# Chateau de la Tobler

## Tuesday, September 26, 2006

### Baby Dule

We had our second perinatalogist ultrasound this afternoon, and the news is very encouraging! First of all, the placental problem--it was low-lying, and our doctor was worried about placental previa, which is a pretty scary, pregnancy-compromising condition--has resolved itself, and we don't have to have any worries about anymore. That is a relief.
Second, hydrocephlus (water on the brain) can develop even before the baby is born, and the early it develops, the more brain damage can occur. Although his ventricles are measuring near the top of the range, they are not quite in the abnormal range yet, and in fact are pretty much the same as they were a month ago. That is VERY good news, in that it's a big worry and sometimes they have to deliever the baby early just to put the shunt in early enough to save brain functions. Dr Dizon-Townsend was quite relived to see no real change there, as were we.
Third, and pretty cool, the lesion is NOT as high as we were told on our last visit. Our first ultrasound, in our doctor's office, indicated that it was about level with the hips, or in the lowest lumbar region. Then the following Tuesday at the perinatalogists, it looked very much like it was in the highest lumbar region, or even higher. The higher the lesion is, the more damage is done to the spinal cord and the worse the disabilities usually are (although it is not a one-to-one correlation). Today we were able to see much more clearly exactly where the cord comes out of his back, and it is MUCH lower--the lowest lumbar region! The problem before was that the sac is floppy, and it was flopped in such a way that it looked much higher than it really is. This is FABULOUS news, in that the lower it is, the more nerve function is possibly preserved. He might still be in a wheelchair, but it is a much better chance that he will have more mobility than we were fearing.
I'm still on cloud nine over such a lot of good news--we found out yesterday that Brad's dad doesn't have to have bypass surgery, and now with our good news about baby Dule, well--it's great. Also, the ultrasound machine we were on today could do that awesome 3-D stuff that they do at the mall ultrasound places, and we got some really awesome pictures. So, everyone, meet baby Dule! (He's squashed up against the side of the womb.)

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