Whitney Update

I have been meaning to write this post for weeks but life has just been to busy. So here it is, finally. We took Whitney to Seattle in June to have all of here tests done to make sure that her hemangioma is not affecting her heart or brain. We had all sorts of tests including an MRI, echo cardiogram, and an EKG. We had all these tests done in one day. It was a long rough day for us all but especially for Whitney. She had to me put to sleep for the MRI which was so sad. It was hard watching her be put to sleep but it was even harder watching her wake up. She was so confused to out of it. She couldn't even lift her head. It was like she was a newborn all over again. It was so weird. All the tests for her heart looked good and the MRI looked good but there was one little problem they found. No one really knows if it is a big deal but she has too much space in between her ventricles(I think that's what they are called). Right now our doctor is not too concerned but he thinks she will need another MRI a few months down the road to see if the extra space goes away. Here she is all ready for her MRI:

Here she is after her MRI:

After all the tests were done we started Whitney on medication to try to get her hemangioma to stop growing. We knew there were side effects to this medication and we have definitely seen some of them. Before starting it Whitney was the happiest baby ever. She very rarely cried and was always smiling and laughing. She also was a great sleeper that NEVER woke in the middle of the night. In the first week after we started the medication she woke up 3 times in the middle of the night. She also started crying a lot more. She would just all the sudden start screaming and there was really no way to calm her down. She didn't laugh as much either and for the first few days it was even hard to get her to make eye contact. After the first week things got quite a bit better but she still had her meltdowns and didn't laugh as much. Just this last week has been so much better though. I think she is finally back to her normal self. She has been so happy and smiley and she didn't have any meltdowns all week. I am so glad to have my baby girl back! Whitney will be one her medication until December. If we take her off of it and her hemangioma starts growing again we will have to keep her on it until she is one. Luckily we have already seen a huge change in her hemangioma. It is much lighter in color and it is now even with the skin, before it was raised off the skin. The medication is working like it is supposed to which has made this whole process worth it. Whitney is so beautiful and so special to us. We love her so much and are lucky to have her in our family.