The Neurosurgeon... The Diagnosis.

On Monday December 29th 2009 after months of talking about Brandon's head and about what the right thing to do is I decided to call and make our first appointment with the Neurosurgeon. I took the day off of work and Eric and I both went to our first appointment with Brandon. We saw Dr. Scott Elton at Banner Pediatric Specialists. He is a wonderful man with great bedside manner. He came in, looked Brandon over and said that to him it feels like Brandon's coronal sutures were already fused which might explain why Brandon's head was just a little off in shape and size. My heart just sank and I don't think I made eye contact with the man more than 3 times after that. I heard him say surgery and correction and pressure but my mind was just racing. He wanted to do a CT scan to be able to get a better idea of what was going on and thanks to my new insurance what could have all been answered in one day became 3 separate visits. We went back to Cardons Children Center on Friday January 8 for the CT scan which thankfully only took about 3 minutes and even though Brandon hated it the Tech was quick and Brandon didn't have to stay strapped in for very long. Then we went back for the follow up with Dr. Elton on Monday January 11, 2010. My wonderful mother in law went with us for support and to lend a second ear seeing that I tend to tune out when things get stressful. Dr. Elton came in and pulled up Brandon's CT scan and I think if you could of taken a picture of our reaction it would be of three people with their jaws hitting the floor. There before my eyes was my beautiful baby's head and a soft spot that was so large it spanned from well below his forehead to the back of his skull. I would have never guessed it to be soooo big. Tears immediately left my eyes. Dr. Elton then went on to explain that Brandon has Bilateral Coronal Synostosis. The three words that I find myself saying over and over and over again in my head. The rest of the appointment was a blur to me but basically Brandon would need to have correction surgery to open the skull and create more room for the head and brain to grow. I still feel shell shocked when I think about what is to come, about the pain my baby will go through. The doctor assured me that they will do everything in their power to make sure Brandon is comfortable but I still am scared. That last thing any mother wants to do is have her baby hurt. I know this is the right thing to do, I know Brandon will never remember it but somehow I still feel wrong about putting him through it. As we go forward I am glad that I have the support of my family and friends. And luckily I have the best mini therapy group at work, those girls are great and they let me cry. Next up is the appointment on January 22nd with the pediatric eye specialist to get a baseline of where Brandon's vision is at. I know that he can see just fine but the Doctors want to have an idea of what his vision is like before the surgery is done. We also have to get Eric blood typed because Brandon is A+ and I am O+ so if Eric is A+ than he would be the best person to be able to donate blood for Brandon's surgery. If not then I already have my back up person ready to go.