ONE

We did it - we survived the first year and by golly it was definitely a group effort (it takes a village, right?)!

The wonderful doctors in Philly warned me that the first year is really tough.  In October our physician at Mary Free Bed said, "You're almost through the toughest year."  I think a lot of people who go through Fetal Surgery think the hardest part is done after delivery, but really the whirlwind is just beginning... take a look at Kierstyn's past medical year,
MRIs - 4
Surgeries - 4
Doc apts - 47
Physical Therapy visits - 41
Ultrasounds - 6
Inpatient days - 9

Wow that's a lot, sorry Blue Cross Blue Shield (and thanks) :/

I didn't tally up Peyton & Myles's appointments that add to the mix or how many trips to Starbucks/ Tim Hortons for my sanity.

On a more exciting note, we also had a road trip to Rock Island, IL, a week in Florida, two trips to Philadelphia, lots of weekends at the cabin, many trips to the beach & splash pad, grandma's birthday in South Haven and lots of basketball/soccer games.

We are back on shunt watch for a little bit.  After Kierstyn's stay at Helen DeVos our local neurosurgeon is closely watching her ventricles.  We have another MRI scheduled for Friday and will also see a new physician, a pediatric Ophthalmologist.  I am hoping these are all precautionary measures and after these couple weeks of close monitoring the appointments will start to slow down.  As the physician follow ups start to slow down, the physical therapy picks up.  We are looking forward to spending lots of time at Mary Free Bed with the pediatric outpatient physical therapy team.  They are amazing and I continue to feel so lucky to have such a great medical team supporting us from everyone at Mary Free Bed, Helen DeVos, our Early On therapist and our pediatrician.

The past year and a half has confirmed what Jeff and I already believed.  Making memories & having experiences with our kiddos is the most important.  The best thing you can do for your daughter is give her an education, experiences, and show her the world.  One of our favorite doctors said that to me this fall and I feel the same way for all of our children.


Here are some pics from the past year...

birthday crown

I can't believe it either Kierstyn, you're 1!

NICU at CHOP

soccer kiddos

new wheels

dinosaur obsessed!

loving on her brother

splash pad fun

Myles is nursing his baby :)

hang on Kierstyn!

Myles was really proud of his purple cast (and it was water proof!)

Pavlik harness for hips

We are partying it up tonight with brownies, ice cream and Vitales pizza.  Its a celebration for all of us.  Thank you for following along with our family!

Choosing Joy,

Shawna