© 2002-2004, The Purdys

MRI Results

Haley's awesome developmental pediatrician called us at 7:30 last night to give us the results of her MRI from Tuesday. This was her first MRI since the one done the day of her birth. We have being using CT scans for her surgeries and follow-up appointments.

The MRI confirmed her Dandy Walker diagnosis. The doctor said she still had very little cerebellum, her hydro and shunts look good, she has quite a bit of scarring on the brain (normal for her) and saw nothing (bleed, etc) that would have caused the seizures in December. Her brain looked almost identical to how it looked last summer. It was great news!! He said "I have nothing new to add to the mix. I think Haley has enough to deal with as it is". He seemed very pleased with the MRI and told Kelsee he was grateful to be able to call us with good news (us, too!!). He has such great communication skills and is so caring—we are so blessed to have him as Haley's specialist.

He is sending the MRI info to another team of doctors at Children's for further review. They are researching disorders of the cerebellum. He didn't anticipate them finding anything new/different but knows they can use her case for their research and they might have additional ideas or insights.

Everything is just as we thought it was. We are so relieved! He said she could have more seizures at any time (of course) but the main risk is after trauma (including brain surgery). At least, we think that's what he said. Kelsee's mind was racing by then...

She is off the Dilantin now so she's med free and is doing well (no additional seizures).

Haley's Development

Our little miracle girl continues to surprise us!! Her walking gets better every day. She has lots of balance issues but can catch herself now sometimes when she starts to fall. She's walking backward and side-to-side now, too. Like every toddler we've ever seen, she loves to squat to play with toys and her balance is pretty good in that position. She started climbing two weeks ago and loves to get up in the rocking chair and stand up! UGH!!

She's still a helper! She loves to unfold the clothes Kelsee's just folded, unload the dishwasher we've just filled and pull ALL of the book off the bookshelves. It's exasperating but she's so fun!

Adoption News

We signed court petitions last week to start the process of finalizing Haley's adoption!! WE'RE SO EXCITED!! We are currently waiting for the court date. We had to redo some of our paperwork since it has to be up-to-date (some of our papers are over two years old). That's all done so we're just w-a-i-t-i-n-g. Our attorney has been great so far and we are anticipating no problems with the finalization.

Having the adoption finalized means that we can also have Haley blessed in our church and then sealed to us in the temple. Both will be very special days and we're excited that we'll have friends and family here to share that time with us.

Finalization also means that we can "open" the relationship with Haley's birthfamily which is very exciting! We're looking forward to that and hope to have a chance to spend some time with them this summer. It's hard to believe it's been 17 months already!

That's really all that's new for us. We're hoping for a visit from Kourtney's family next month. Kennedy is growing up way too fast and we haven't seen them since we all came home from Kentucky after Christmas. Haley misses her cousin, Nanna! It's great to have them just 3 hours away!