Surgery went well

Faith's surgery today went well. She was off the ventilator right right after surgery. She was irritable after surgery and needed Tylenol and morphine to keep her comfortable.  She will be given antibiotics for a few days to eliminate any chance of infection.  We are praying that she has a good night!  If all goes well, she *should* be able to come home in the next week or so.




When she is older I am sure she is going to be mad at me about this picture.  They keep shaving spots of hair off of her head when the shunt is moved.  The first one was on the left, the second one was on the right, and this one is on the back.  So there is a unique shaped spot of hair in between. Before long she will have hair covering all of it and you won't even be able to see it.  We think that she is the most adorable baby ever no matter what her hair looks like!  Just look at that face! :)  She has the cutest nose I have ever seen!


Last night I read back through all of the blog posts since the first ultrasound at 20 weeks.  It has been a tough but also rewarding journey we have been on.  This journey has made us stronger individually, as a couple, and in our faith in God.  

We hope and pray that everyone we care about is doing well.  It is very difficult to keep up on every
thing going on with everyone when we can hardly keep up on the laundry! ;)


With Love,
Steve, Michele, & Faith Sunde

Surgery Tomorrow

Faith's EVD (external ventricular drain) is still not working but she is doing well despite that.  She will be having surgery tomorrow at 11am to remove the EVD and replace it with a VP Shunt (ventriculoperitoneal shunt).  Faith turned 10 weeks old today and tomorrow will be her 8th surgery.   She has been through more in 10 weeks then most of us do in our entire life.  She is a strong little fighter!  This is the 3rd VP Shunt Faith has had.  We are hoping and praying that 3rd times the charm!

What is a Ventriculoperitoneal shunt?
VP Shunt is a catheter which is placed inside the ventricles (the fluid-filled spaces within the brain) and is attached to a valve which limits the amount and direction of flow of the fluid. This valve is then connected to a long catheter that is tunneled under the skin from the head down to the abdomen where it ends in the abdominal cavity (the peritoneum). This type of hydrocephalus shunt diverts the excess fluid from inside the ventricles in the brain to the abdomen where it can be re-absorbed.


Any questions about this post, another post, any of Faith's medical diagnosis, or anything else?  Please email them to: mickeyshelljoy@hotmail.com so we can answer them for you.  Chances are that if you are wondering, so is someone else! :) 

We are SO, SO, SO HAPPY and Thankful that Faith continues to act appropriately for her age.  She loves music and watching her mobile.  She loves it when I read to her and especially books with bright colored pages!

Please keep Faith in your thoughts and prayers tomorrow and always!

With Love,
The Sunde's

Update

Faith's surgery on Thursday to repair the left side leak in her head went well.  She has been doing fine since surgery with stable vitals, eating well, and acting appropriately.  However, her EVD (external ventricular drain)/External Shunt is not draining any CSF (cerebral spinal fluid) as it should be.  There has been no CSF output since shortly after surgery.  They will most likely have to do surgery tomorrow to replace the EVD with a new one.  Either way, her shunt will not be able to be internalized on Thursday.

We do our best to update our blog as often as possible but it is much easier to update facebook and post pictures there too.  If you are not our friend on facebook and have a page, please friend request us: Michele DeBoer Sunde and/or Steven Sunde

Sleepy Girl

Precious Angel 2/2/12

Faith with her new quilt from the hospital 2/7/12

Faith waiting to go to surgery on 2/9/12

Faith snuggling with Daddy before surgery on 2/2/12

Surgery #7 Today

Faith is having her 7th surgery today.  This surgery is to repair the leak on the left side of her head where her 1st shunt was.  This site continues to leak.  This is a problem because if fluid can get out then infection can get in.  They can not put in a new internal shunt until this leak is fixed.  If everything goes as planned and the leak is fixed, she will have surgery to internalize her shunt next week Thursday.  Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.  Thank you for all of your support!

With Love,
The Sunde's

Faith is 9 weeks old!

Faith is now 9 weeks old already.  She is doing well since surgery.  They test CSF (cerebral spinal fluid) every few days for infection.  The 1st culture was positve but all of the cultures since continue to be negative.  She has one more day of antibiotics.  They will continue to test the CSF between now and surgery.  The surgery to internalize her shunt is tentatively scheduled for next week Thursday, February 16th.  They have not decided yet where the new shunt will be placed.  Her 1st shunt was on the left side of her head.  The 2nd shunt was on the right side.  The left side of her head continues to leak.  This is how they feel that bacteria was able to get in.  It makes sense that if CSF can come out of the site, that bacteria can get in.  They feel that this site will eventually get enough scar tissue to heal completely and not leak but it will just take time.

We appreciate your continued support during this tough time.  Faith is such a little fighter!

With Love,
Steve and Michele

Surgery went well

Faith's shunt was infected and had to be externalized today.  The surgery went well.  They were able to take out the breathing tube so she won't have to be on a ventilator.  This is great news because she has always been agitated in the past when she had to be on the ventilator after surgery.  She is in recovery now and we are waiting to see her.  She will have the external shunt for approximately 10-14 days.  Depending how things go, she will have another surgery to put in another new shunt. 

Faith is just 8 weeks old and this is her 6th surgery.  She is such a fighter!  It is so hard for us to see her go through all of this.  We are thankful that she will not remember it! 

Surgery Again

Faith's shunt study showed that her shunt is malfunctioning.  They are trying to squeeze her in tomorrow and she is tentatively scheduled for surgery sometime between 3-5pm.  If they can't fit her in tomorrow, she will have it on Friday.  They are giving her tylenol to try to keep her comfortable.  She is very lethargic and not eating much.  We will try to update as much as possible.  Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.  Thank you for all of your support.
With Love,
Steve and Michele

Back at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital

Faith was doing well at home for a few days.  Tuesday she became very lethargic, low grade fever, and not eating. We brought her to the ER and she was admitted to the PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit).  They will be doing a shunt study this afternoon to be sure her shunt is working properly.  They will also take a culture of CSF (cerebral spinal fluid) to check for infection.  That culture is checked daily for 3 days.  Her first shunt site is leaking again.  They are talking that she may have to have surgery tomorrow to try to repair that.  Prayers appreciated!