18 Months Old

18 months ago, Alison surprised us by not wating until our scheduled c-section to make her entrance to the world. I would be lying if I did not say that I was really scared. I had so desperately wanted to make it to 37 weeks, and I was only 36 weeks 3 days. I had questions I wanted to ask my doctor. I wanted to know if her legs were moving. I wanted to know if her feet still ok, of if they were going to be clubbed. I was ready to have a baby on Aug. 22, but I was not ready to have a baby on Aug. 16.

She was born at 8:54 PM. One of the first things I remember hearing someone say was that she was moving her legs! Then, while they were cleaning her up, I heard one of the nurses say she was peeing and pooping. I asked Kevin about her feet and he said they were fine. He was running back and forth between me and her. She had some trouble breathing, so she had to go to NICU. They let me see her briefly before they took her. Kevin stayed with me until I went to the recovery room and then a nurse took him up to see Alison. Being the first Spina Bifida fetal surgery baby they had seen there, they weren't quite sure what to do with her. Kevin had some Polaroids to show me that they took of her. She was on her stomach just laying on a diaper with a big dressing covering her closure and graft sites because they didn't know if they could lay her on her back.

I didn't get to see her until 3 or 4 in the morning. I wasn't able to breastfeed right away because she was on C-PAP for her breathing difficulties. She was breathing room air the next time we went to see her, after morning shift change. With that hurdle crossed, we began to focus on the more serious aspects of her condition. How bad was her hydrocephalus? Was she going to need a shunt right away? Would she even need one at all? We hoped not. Her hydrocephalus was classified as moderate, so we just had to wait and see about the shunt, and the neurosurgeon was encouraged by her leg movement.

By the time she was 6 months old, it became apparent that she was going to need a shunt. The surgery was two days after she turned 7 months old. She did so great. We were expecting a 2-3 day hospital stay and she was home in a day and a half. It's hard to believe it's been almost 11 months. We still have the ever present possibility of shunt malfunction, but so far, she's had no problems. We are very grateful.

Alison took her first steps on Thanksgiving Day. The doctor she sees at Spina Bifida Clinic had all but assured us that she was going to be a walker several months earlier, but it was thrilling nonetheless when it actually happened. Fast forward to today and she toddles all over the place. She still trips and falls a lot and she won't stand still unless she's holding onto or leaning against something, but she's walking! It makes me laugh to see her just take off down the hall to find books in her room.

There are still a few things we don't know about. We don't know how much, if any, control she will have of her bowel and bladder, but her doctors are encouraged. They actually spoke about potty training at her last urology appointment. And they don't want to see her again for two years (unless, of course, there is a problem).

I am constantly amazed at how far she has come. We are at a point where we are able to focus on all the things she can do rather than the things she might not be able to do and no longer have to struggle to treat her like a normal little girl. To the average person on the street she is a normal, happy little girl. If Spina Bifida comes up in conversation, which usually only happens if we're letting people know she's got some pretty ugly scars on her back so they don't get a nasty surprise, people are usually shocked and tell us they never would have known.

My hope is that Alison will continue to thrive and keep exceeding the expectations we were told to have for her.