Boy oh Boy: Cannon's surgery update!

If you read our last post then you know that the boys were supposed to have repeat ultrasounds of their brain next Monday. Since this past Monday they have been measuring the circumference of their heads and found that both boys head had grown in just 4 days. They decided to moved their ultrasound up to Friday morning. Friday morning we talked to the Dr. at Texas Woman's and he said that both boys had some sweeling but Cannon more so than Braxton. He wanted to call a pediatric neurosurgeon at Children's Memorial Herman to get a second opinion. He said that the Dr. would be over Friday night to look at the scans and talk to us. We spent the morning and most of the afternoon with the boys then we left to celebrate our 4 year wedding anniversary. Shawn had planned a perfect evening for us! All I wanted was to spend some time alone with each other and I got exactly that! He had us reservations at Texas de Brazil. It was my first time there and I am in love!! We left STUFFED! Then we headed to our hotel room for the night downtown to change clothes and then head to the hospital to meet with the Dr.

The Dr.'s name is Dr. Sandberg and is a very nice and knowledgeable man. He elvaluated both boys and said that Braxton was ok. Ok meaning he is still concerned but wants to do a repeat ultrasound next Thursday. He was more concerned with Cannon. He showed us the scans from that morning and from Monday morning and it was very clear that Cannon's ventricles had become more swollen in just 4 days. His reccomendation was that we transport Cannon to Children's Memorial Herman Hospital the next day (Saturday) and do the procedure on Sunday morning at 7:30. The procedure is to place a reservoir in his ventricles to drain the fluid that has built up so that it won't cause long term damage. He said that Cannon is too small to do any other procedure to correct the swelling. He also said that most of the time this procedure won't clear everything up but it could. If it doesn't he said this could be the first of many surgeries for our sweet Cannon.

So Cannon left brother Braxton at Texas Woman's but they said that he would move back to Texas Woman's 5-7 days later. While he is here he has gotten to meet his Uncle T.J., Aunt Ali, Uncle Zac and Aunt Kayla. At Texas Woman's the boys aren't allowed visitors other than Shawn and I and grandparents. When they told us that Cannon could have any visitors at Herman his aunts and uncles jumped all over the opportunity and they are in love with Cannon just as we are.

It has definitely been a long week but from what we hear it is what is to be expected with life in the NICU. These two sweet boys have so many prayer warriors praying for them. We are so grateful and thankful for all of you taking time out of your busy schedules to pray for Cannon and Braxton and our family. It makes me sick to my stomach knowing that there is nothing I can do to make things better for our babies. I wish I could click a button and we would be home with our boys getting no sleep and changing diapers every 5 min but instead we are still not getting any sleep but just in a different scenario. We know that this is the path that The Lord has chosen for us and the twins and we are strong in our faith and beliving that God will provide, protect, and heal our Cannon and Braxton! Each and every day will be something new but we are holding on to the fact that this will soon be a distant memory and we will be home one day with our boys as a family! We could not make it through this journey without each and every one of you and your constant prayers. Thank you for being so constant and faithful to our boys. We can't wait to tell them about all the wonderful people that they had in their corner their first months of life! Please continue to keep us all in your prayers as our journey continues with two babies in the NICU. Lots and lots of hurdles and obstacles to overcome but our boys are strong and will keep fighting until we are finally home!

As I am finishing this post, Dr. Sandberg just came out and said that everything went great with Cannon's surgery. He said that when he first started to drain he didn't get as much as he would have liked so he got the ultrasound to look at to guide him to exactly where he needed to place the reservoir. He said it started to drain better and he was very pleased. We are so thankful that he took his time and wanted a successful procedure just as much as we did! Thank you Lord for sending Dr. Sandberg to us to help our sweet Cannon. Cannon will be here for around 5-7 days and then do another ultrasound before going back to Texas Woman's. God is good and mighty!! Thank you Lord for a successful procedure!

In Christ we stand,

Shawn, Hali, Cannon and Braxton

Cannon just wanted to say hi to all of his prayer warriors!!