Another MRI

Back in May the MRI showed that TJ had good flow of the spinal fluid. The doctor decided that the headaches might be allergy related and we tried some allergy medication. The headaches seemed to have gone away. They are now back with a vengeance. We are scheduled for an MRI on December 1 at Riley. Hopefully we'll know something soon and can get these darn headaches resolved.

Headaches back?

TJ's had a few headaches lately that show some signs of being related to his Chiari. Since Dr. Smith was unable to move the other tonsil back up into the skull we're hoping that it isn't causing problems and blocking the flow of cerebral spinal fluid. Please pray that these headaches are something else, not related to Chiari Malformation.

Spring is here

I can't believe it has been over four months since TJ's surgery. He is doing so well. The scar is so small that if you didn't know to look for it you wouldn't even notice it. He is doing amazingly well. He has not had any Chiari related symptoms since surgery. He's been totally released to do any activity now and I'm a little nervous. So far he hasn't pushed to roller blade, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time now that the weather is nicer. He has promised he will always wear his helmet, but it still makes me a little anxious.

2 Months Post-op

It's hard to believe that it's been 2 months since T.J.'s surgery. We saw Dr. Smith on Tuesday, January 13. She was amazed at how well T.J. is doing. She has released him for most things now. She wants him to wait another month before trying ice skating or roller blading. One thing he will never be able to do is play tackle football. That would devestate Jake, but T.J. could care less about football. His scar looks wonderful. He is pretty much symptom free and is surprised at how great a "normal" life is. Thank you all so much for your prayers, love, and support. Without God and all of you I'm sure he wouldn't be where he is today.

Back to school!

T.J. was finally able to go back to school today. His fever was down to 99.8, so I let him go. He made it through the whole day, but is extremely tired this evening. I'm sure each day will get a little easier.

Fever continues

I spoke with the on call Neurosurgeon twice yesterday. All T.J.'s labs have come back normal, so they feel he has just picked up a virus. They advised us to keep him on the Tylenol/Ibuprofen rotation and to continue to take the antibiotic just in case. Last night his fever spiked to 104, I spoke with Dr. Vorhees again and he said to just keep doing what we're doing and it will hopefully break soon. We are shooting for returning to school on Wednesday.

Slight scare.

We spent last night in the ER at Riley. I noticed yesterday evening that T.J. seemed kinda wiped out. When I put my hand on his forehead he was burning up. He had a temp of 103.4. I called his doctor's office and spoke to the on call Neurosurgeon. He advised me to bring T.J. in. We got there about 9:30 and his temp had gone down a little, but was still 102.6. They did some blood work and swabbed him for strep. The initial strep test came back negative, but they sent out a culture. Due to the fever and a fine sandpaper rash on his chest they feel that he does have strep. So, after 6 hours in the ER we were sent home with a prescription for antibiotics. His temp was down when we got home, but it's back up to 102.4 this morning. He is so worried that this will keep him from going back to school on Monday, but as long as he responds to the antibiotic he should be fine to go by then. The on call Neurosurgeon was really impressed with how well T.J. was doing this short of time after surgery.