The week 3 challenge for the This Scrapper's Got Talent competition on Stuff to Scrap was to journal, and we couldn't use any pictures with people or animals in it! Crazy, huh?!?! You also had the option of not using a picture at all, which is what I chose to do. I decided to reminisce about Cameron's story and all the trials/tribulations we've encountered from early on in my pregnancy.
Here is a brief outline:
*I was told at about 5 weeks pregnant I was going to miscarry because I was spotting.
*I was told at 8 weeks it was twins.
*I was told at 10 weeks one twin had probably died: the ultrasound could see something, but they couldn't figure out what, so they assumed it was a twin that died. Apparently this is phenomenally common: kind of Darwinism in the womb, I guess. Survival of the fittest.
*At 22 weeks we were told Cameron had "mild ventricular swelling" of the brain, as well as "mild kidney dilation". These two factors can point toward down syndrome. We began a flurry of specialists and tests, undergoing what seemed like weekly ultrasounds checking to make sure nothing else was wrong. I met a slew of doctors, it was ridiculous.
*Cameron is born, an ultrasound is done and decided there is no kidney dilation.
*A CT is completed and no ventricular swelling is detected, but a "brain matter abnormality" is detected. We begin seeing a neurologist.
*An MRI is done at 4 months. No brain matter abnormality is detected, but excess fluid is seen on the frontal lobe of the brain. (see a trend? One problem goes away, another comes!)
*We've continued to see the neurologist since that point. The fluid hasn't gone away, but hasn't grown or forced swelling of the brain. So they aren't concerned, just monitoring it. Originally it was discussed we would do a follow-up MRI this summer, but the neurologist doesn't feel its necessary anymore.
*Cameron has a very large head (off the charts) but low weight and small height (25th percentile). This has prohibited gross motor development. He's still not walking at 20 months. We started seeing a physical therapist back at his 1-year mark, and that has helped tremendously. We've also added a orthodist to the mix, who fitted Cameron with small foot braces, because his ankles turn inward. Add to that the fact that he has fluid in his ears, so we're seeing an ENT this week to discuss getting tubes (he doesn't say any words yet other than mama, but he recognizes lots of things and does a few signs), in hope that he'll be able to hear better, and possibly walk better because the fluid could be effecting his balance.
In any case, writing this journal entry was hard because it really made me reflect back on things. The brain matter abnormality was crushing to me, because words like "severe mental retardation" and cerebral palsy were thrown out there. The spectrum of possibilities was that Cameron could be completely normal, or be so severely retarded that I couldn't care for him. That's quite a wide array to think about!
Okay. Here is my page. Click on it to maximize, or go to
my gallery post at Stuff to Scrap to see more info.
I really like how it turned out. I could have blown up the journaling font and deleted the frame, but I love how it framed the words. Of course, I would love to put a picture of Cameron there...maybe now I will since I've already submitted this. :) I'll find out Tuesday evening whether I made it to week 4. I assume they'll be cutting quite a bit this week because we only have 3 weeks left of the competition. But I'm excited I made it this far!
