Surgery is behind us

By special guest blogger: J.P.

My favorite blogger (Maggie) is holding Ben in her arms at the moment, so I get the honor of updating our blog. Ben's surgery went just as we hoped it would. As expected, it lasted a little over two hours. Dr. Genecov's nurse called Maggie about half way through the procedure to let us know that everything was going well. It was definitely nice to hear an update while we anxiously sat in the waiting room.

Ben did great through the surgery. We continue to be impressed by the medical team we chose for Ben. He has two 3"-4" incisions across the top of his head. The first is near the middle of his head (by the ears) while the second incision is towards the back. The doctors said that he now has "a really big soft spot." This combined with the helmet therapy should allow for normal growth of his head.

We are told that he didn't lose too much blood during surgery. We are hoping to avoid the need for a transfusion, but we should have a better idea about the need for one after 24 hours. We will spend the first 24 hours in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). We'll move to a regular room after that as long as Ben continues to recover as expected.

It is so wonderful to hold him and be with him. As you might imagine, he's in a lot of pain. Thus far, any time he has been awake he has been fussing and crying. One of the nurses remarked that he appears to have a red-headed temper. We assured her that was not the case. In fact, as many of you know, Ben is a very happy and easygoing baby and hardly ever cries. Seeing him in pain is very difficult for his mom and dad. But we are so happy to have made it through surgery and are ready to help Ben through the next steps.

We are so thankful for the love and support of our family and friends. Thank you for all your prayers!