GOOD NEWS!!!!!!

Today, we went to see Dr. Tabor, then cried tears of joy! He reviewed the MRI and did another Level 2 ultrasound, and said that "there is NO neural fiber in the sac!" Dr. Tabor had as big a smile as we both did! There is still a sac, and there is still spina bifida, but the spinal cord is inside where it is supposed to be, and thus far, so are the nerves (as much as they could tell). YAY!! If it stays this way, we're looking at a less severe form of spina bifida, and we're MORE than ok with that! :) His brain continues to look great. Dr. Tabor said "we have a perfect baby brain." That made this speech therapist VERY happy! He also looked at his feet, and said they are also "perfect." They don't turn in, or out, or back towards his shins...all common in spina bifida. He said that the sac itself is still the same, which is good. And, it's ONLY in the sacral spine and down into the coccyx (tailbone). Just how low, we still don't know. He was cooperative, but not quite enough for more exact readings. All of his spine above the sacral region looked "perfect." Perfect is a word Dr. Tabor used A LOT today...and I loved hearing it!

There was one piece of "info" that wasn't so good, but wasn't bad either. He said that the previous doctor had misdiagnosed something...a cystic hygroma (on the back of his neck). He said that typically it's a sign of another issue, unrelated to the SB. That's the bad. The good is that the things it's typically associated with Down syndrome, trisomy 18, heart defects, turner syndrome, and nunan syndrome. I say good, because all of these things have been ruled out!! Especially turner syndrome because it's found in girls! :) He said he thinks it's just a cyst and will go away on it's own, or can easily be "drained" at birth. He may have some extra skin on the back of his neck, but that can ultimately be removed as well. Like Becci said, he could be like a puppy...maybe he'll just grow into the extra skin! :) Either way, we'll know more next month. Dr. Tabor is checking with a geneticist to make sure there isn't something else...as far as chromosomes/syndromes are concerned...that we should be checking for, but he was VERY positive about this as well.

Dr. Tabor said that at this point, he would say at the worst, we're looking at possibly ankle braces to stabilize any weakness in his ankles when he starts standing/walking, and possibly some physical therapy, but that's it! I can do that!! There is also a very small chance that the bladder and bowel can be affected, but we don't yet know for sure. Again, we wait and see! I'm just thrilled we're looking at a normal brain, and therefore likely normal development!

There are still 4 months for things to change, and 4 months for nerves to poke their way out into the sac, etc, but for now, we are taking good news as an early Christmas present! We will go back to Dr. Tabor in a month, and will get another look, but for tonight we're praising God for good news, and now looking forward to Christmas! And, I know we'll both sleep much better tonight! Like I said, there is still alot of time for things to go either way, so please keep praying!