So today we had the follow-up appointment for Elijah's MRI. I was pretty confident going in that everything was fine, but I was looking forward to having some sort of definite confirmation anyway.
The resident doctor came in and confirmed what I had been told by Eli's pediatrician, that there is no dermal sinus tract. We're very relieved by that, because it means that he won't have to have a surgery to remove the connection (because it doesn't exist...) The dimple itself does not run very deep, but it IS on the skin right where the defect is.
So, the defect. Technically, and by the books, Elijah DOES have spina bifida occulta. Spina bifida is defined as when there is incomplete closure of the "embryonic neural tube" (aka the spine.) It's when the vertebrae (bones) are not fully formed or fused and remain open. In many instances this causes the spinal cord to protrude through the opening in the bones. Scary stuff right?
So "occulta" in this case means the the spinal cord is not protruding at all. In Elijah's case, the defects are so shallow that the spinal cord is fully encased, and there is nowhere for the spinal cord (or neural roots at that point) to protrude from.
If you run your hand down your back to feel your spine, you'll notice that you can feel each individual vertebrae because they come to a rounded point. For Elijah, this is the part that is incomplete. The "point", as I call it, isn't there for the 3 affected vertebrae. Other than that, the bone is normal and there is plenty of bone around the spinal cord, so he won't experience any spinal weakness as time goes on.
All of this is rather hard to explain in blog-form, AND I'm distracted, so please please forgive me!
The long and short of it is, he couldn't have a milder form of spina bifida. His reflexes are fine, his nerves are in tact, he feeds regularly, goes to the bathroom on his own, and moves his legs like crazy. In short, he's a perfectly normal little baby, with something a little extra special about him. We're not worried in the least about his future, as there is absolutely nothing to indicate that he will experience any side-effects of the defects. We are so very very relieved.
So we were discharged from the specialist clinic today. As we were leaving, the doctor said, "you shouldn't be here! You should be at the Well-Baby Clinic!" and I couldn't agree more. I've been walking around today calling Elijah, "My Little Well-Baby" and I'm pretty sure it's a name that's going to stick.
In other news, I received a hilarious spam email today. It was cleverly done, somehow appearing to be from one of my contacts on my safe list, but the message was so funny and obviously written by an Asian with limited knowledge of English. Here's all that the email contained:
Hi !
Long time no see ! Here is a good piece of news for you .I find a
unique original website,="(junk link)"?/.There are all sorts of
famous-brand,quality products in the shop,such as Gucci Handbag,Wallet,Polo
Clothes,Adidas,Nike shoes,Tiffany,Jewellery,Cosmetics,MAC,and so on
.Otherise,they can make wedding dress to measure if you need. The method of
payment is very simple and safe ,and they accept Paypal.So I want a pair
shoes next week,and I think you will be crazy when you got there. Good luck
to you !!
Yours
Anyway, I've got to go to bed, as we have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow.
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