Luke: The adventursome tales of a boy with a Dandy Walker Variant: Tubin'

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Tubin'

My mom and I took Luke to the hospital today for his 3rd tube surgery. They booked us early as the hospital has memory of what he is like later in the day when he is hungry and under the effects of the "silly juice". This time, however, he made out great! He was pretty cheerful before and after. Now we just wait and see if his hearing and behavior is better now that the tubes are back in. Were hoping he stops being so LOUD! So are our neighbors :) jk

I think we may have reached another milestone as well! Luke has consistently gone #2 on the potty here at home for over 2 weeks. Can I express enough how much of a huge PRAISE THE LORD that is? Wiping your 5 year olds rear gets frustrating! Finally light at the end of the..... well never mind.

No comments:

Post a Comment

What is a Dandy Walker exactly?

Dandy Walker is known by many names: Dandy Walker Syndrome, Dandy Walker Malformation, Dandy Walker Cyst, Dandy Walker Variant.
By definition, Dandy Walker is a congenital brain malformation typically characterized by incomplete formation of the cerebellar vermis, dilation of the fourth ventricle, and enlargement of the posterior fossa. In layman's terms, Dandy Walker is a cyst in the cerebellum (typically symmetrical) that is involved with the fourth ventricle. This may interfere with the body's ability to drain cerebrospinal fluid from the brain, resulting in hydrocephalus.
Dandy Walker cysts are formed during early embryonic development, while the brain forms. The cyst in the cerebellum typically has several blood vessels running through it connecting to the brain, thereby prohibiting surgical removal. In most cases the cause of Dandy Walker is not known, though there are a few known cases resulting from autosomal recessive genes.
Dandy Walker is generally discovered before birth, by ultrasound. Symptoms in the newborn may include a bulge or lump on the back of the head ("bulging occiput"); a "hair collar", or patch of long hair just above this lump; red pigmented skin in the area of the lump (similar to a "stork bite" birthmark); increased head circumference (if hydrocephalus is present); a downward gaze (if hydrocephalus is present). Other symptoms of the syndrome can also include congenital heart problems; malformations of the face, fingers, or toes; other central nervous system structural anomalies (often agenesis of the corpus callosum); abnormal breathing patterns; motor delays; hypotonia; learning problems; mental retardation; high pain tolerance; seizures; reflux; nystagmus (jerky eyes); ataxia; and other complications.
There is an extreme range of severity with Dandy Walker. Some people have it their whole lives without any symptoms ever presenting; some infants may have it in association with other syndromes resulting in severe complications or death.

This info was copied from the website www.geocities.com/Heartland/Hills/3919/dws.htm

Luke: The adventursome tales of a boy with a Dandy Walker Variant

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Tubin'

No comments:

Blog Archive

Christmas 2002