***This post contains pictures that are quite graphic***
**Viewer discretion is advised**
Most of this post is pictures with a few things written underneath. Most of our day is best explained through pictures rather than words.
Charles was taken from the University of Utah to a room on the infant unit where he waited before going into surgery.
This is the first view we had of Charles' birth defect. They wrapped him up in plastic to keep germs out. This was a direct path into his spine and ultimately his brain, if an infection was to get in it would have been disastrous.
Cody had to go with Charles. They needed a parent or a guardian to accompany him while they took him to Primary's. Seeing as I was in no state to go with him, it fell to Cody.
Remember that long hallway and bridge? Well this is it...
Transport is almost done.
The room Charles was in before surgery was 4319... We are very familiar with this unit now. Much too familiar... This is just one of the many rooms he has been in...
This is an open warmer that they had Charles in to help keep his body temperature up before surgery. Everyone working with Charles was in a gown and wore gloves to help keep infection out of his spinal fluid.
The nurses got Charles going with his sucking reflex, knowing that this is such an important thing for him to start practicing. He is only a few hours old here. (My timeline is a bit fuzzy the first few days...)
When I first saw these pictures of Charles, I was a bit taken back. I wasn't able to really see Charles clearly when he was in the incubator and on the stretcher. He honestly looks like he has a torso. His little legs were so contorted, it was hard to see the rest of his body.
This was the photo I absolutely had to have. Since I wasn't going to get to see Charles' back before he went into surgery I wanted to know what he looked like when he was born. Some may say this is a morbid photo to have. To me it is perfect. This is how Charles came to us.
This is a view from the other side. The opening on Charles' back was much bigger than the doctors anticipated. It was also much higher on his spine. Charles' defect was on T-12. Being on T-12 means that his case is much more severe than they originally thought. We were told after an MRI, before he was born, that his defect was on L-1. That is only one vertebrae different from T-12... Being only one off I would think it wasn't much different in severity. We knew that being in the lumbar was important. It meant less problems for Charles. That one vertebrae makes an enormous difference. (For more detailed information my other blog http://whatisspinabifida.blogspot.com/ will have more shortly).
If you look closely you can see how Charles has his legs. They look like they are on backwards and his club feet are very noticeable. They have him all bandaged up while they wait for an OR to become available to perform the necessary closure in his spine.
Precious. These photos speak more words than I could ever say. Seeing my boys like this brings tears to my eyes still. Cody is sending Charles off into the OR for the first time.
Even as young as he is, Charles still knows who his daddy is and wants to hold on to him. Seeing how tiny he is, compared to his daddy's hand, puts into perspective his little 5 pounds and 13 ounces.
Our first real time together as a family.
I was told that I could not leave the maternity ward at the U of U, until I was able to get up and walk around. I was up and walking by 4 pm. As soon as I walked from my bed to the bathroom, I was free to go. My mom put me in a wheelchair and ran (yes she ran), all the way to the waiting room at Primary Children's. I was able to get here before Charles was out if surgery. Being able to see his sweet face was amazing. There are no words to describe my joy at being together with my boys. It was after they took Charles, that I realized how much I missed him. I wasn't so fond of not being pregnant, because that meant that I could not protect him in the same way I had been.
My boys were with me again. Things were going the way that they should. For the moment things were perfect. I love my boys!!
Charlyse Wilson
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