Neuro and Eye appt news

We had a recent scare with Bella and her head.  She had been vomiting more and was irritable and didn't seem like Bella, so I sent an email to her neurosurgeon in Salt Lake.  This was done, intending to update him on all things Bella....I didn't expect an immediate response telling me that he was moving our appointment up from the 21st to the 9th.  So we made a rushed trip expecting Bella to need surgery on her head.  She had an MRI prior to seeing her surgeon and we got good news.  The following is what I posted on Facebook.  So now we can be all caught up.... :)

Prayers have been answered! Bella Grace will not be having surgery tomorrow! Her ventricles are still very large but the neurosurgeon said there is no intercranial pressure and putting a shunt in wasn't going to change anything crucial to Bella's development. Her ETV is still working and the MRI showed good movement through the ventricles. His exact words were, "I'm tempted to say that no shunt will be necessary". He felt so encouraged that we don't come back for 6 months. So now I just need to get the picture of her brain out of my head (trust me it is frightening to see that your child, in essence, is missing half her brain), and focus on Bella and how to help her be what God intended for her. On a side note, he did encourage a g-tube so we can maximize Bella's brain growth. So that is our next big question and what we will be praying about. Thank you all for your love, support, and prayers for our little miracle! We are so blessed!

Another Bella update. We saw her eye doctor this morning. He said her optic nerves weren't swollen, which is good. That mean her large ventricles aren't putting pressure on her optic nerves. He did say the time has come to do surgery to straighten her eyes. He hopes by doing this it will help Bella's brain and eyes work better together. He said it would probably take 2 surgeries to keep the eyes where they are supposed to be. So, surgery #1 is scheduled for March 22. Bella seems to be recovered from the anesthesia from yesterday and we are on our way home. I can't wait to see my other kiddos!

And one more update....
We will be headed to Denver on the 21st to meet with a GI specialist.  We need to figure out why Bella isn't eating as well as she should be and why she isn't gaining weight good.