MRI Results & other downers...

I spoke to one of the pediatric neurologists yesterday, Dr. Sweet. She showed me Nora's MRI pictures and explained more about her condition to me. The pictures were difficult to see because it is apparent that Nora's brain is different than normal from the scans. The left side of Nora's brain appears normal, while the right side is missing brain tissue in many areas. So, what we were seeing on the ultrasounds was not just an enlarged ventricle pushing on brain tissue, but just an enlarged ventricle from lack of brain tissue.

This condition could cause Nora several problems. First is developmental delay, ranging from mild to severe (not like we haven't heard that before!). Also, she is at high risk of having seizures. Finally, she is at high risk of having cerebral palsy affecting her left side. This should become evident within her 1st year.

Although none of this is a surprise to us, it is still hard to see the pictures and hear the actual words from the doctor. I guess she has been doing so well in the NICU, it is easy to start to forget that she still has a lot of other problems that will not be fixed before she leaves here.

Dr. Sweet did say that it is not a hopeless situation. She said that babies brains can compensate for damaged areas. When a part of the brain is missing or damaged that is supposed to take care of some function, another part of the brain can take over that job. Of course, like everything else, it is completely unknown to what extent Nora's brain will do this and what affect it will have on her. No one knows what to expect...