Home again

Once again, we've had a trying week though probably not as traumatic as it must have been for a very small boy. However, Thomas seems to have a remarkable ability to recover as yet again he has recovered, this time from surgery, in record time and by yesterday was deemed fit enough to go home. Now he's home, he already seems more settled and we can see his head reducing in size as the fluid begins to drain.

As you can imagine, it all came as a bit of a shock to us. Every week, a Neo-natal nurse visits Thomas as home and there had been no indication of any problems until she measured his head last Friday. Normally, a baby's head should grow at 1cm a week but Thomas' head had grown 5.6cms in two weeks. Within a couple of hours of Jennifer's visit, Thomas' consultant at St Peters (Tosin Otunla) called to ask us to take him to A&E for further examination. Thomas had a CT scan later that night and the consultant paediatrician on duty sent the pictures to St Georges Hospital in London, as they have a special paediatric neurological department. As you the know, the rest is history.

As a result of Thomas' surgery, he has a small lump on the side of his head which comprises of a pressure valve and reservoir installed just under the skin . He has another small cut on this tummy where they pulled the tubing down into his stomach so that the liquid which drains away from the head can be absorbed back into the body. As long as there are no complications as a result of the operation such as infection or the shunt blocking, Thomas will have the shunt for the rest of his life. The surgeon told us that he installs approx 200 shunts a year into children as a result of brain haemorrhages, illnesses such as meningitis and other problems so it's not as uncommon as you'd think. He will be able to lead a pretty normal life which is good, though we will always have to be on the look out for potential blockages which will require immediate surgery.

Whilst staying at St Georges, we saw lots of small children with much more serious problems such as cancer, leukemia and disability so we have to be thankful that Thomas is back home with us so quickly and hopefully permanently this time.

We have to take Thomas back to St Georges in six weeks time for another scan and we are hoping that they might be able to tell us more about the damage that the brain suffered as a result of the original bleed when he was a day old. We will obviously update you then but in the meantime, here is a picture of Thomas taken a couple of days after the operation.

Quick update from Tooting Broadway

Thomas was admitted to St Georges Hospital, Tooting on Sunday afternoon from St Peters. His head had grown 5.6cm in 16 days and it was concluded that he had fluid on the brain. This is probably as a result of clotting from his brain bleed blocking the ventricles.

On Tuesday morning he was taken into the neuro-theatre and had a shunt fitted. This allows the fluid on the brain to drain through tubing and a value into his abdominal cavity where it is absorbed by the body.

The operation went well and Thomas was in Intensive Care by around 10.30am and back on Ocean Ward by 1.30pm. He is still very drowsy but doing well.

Thanks for all the messages of goodwill from you all, they really help.

Will keep you updated as we can.

Love from CC&T

Class reunion

I'm sorry that I've kept you all eagerly waiting for the next installment but it's amazing how quickly time flies when you're feeding, burping and playing with a small person 24-7!!

While Chris has been off work, we've been busily trying to sort out the house and get rid of some stuff that was taking up much needed room for toys, etc. We've also tidied up the garden a bit which I'm sure those that know us well enough will be shocked to hear. So as you can see, it's been all go since Thomas arrived home.

We did manage a couple of little outings without any hiccups though. Last Friday, we enjoyed a nice picnic and walk with the dog around Virginia Water. Cerys seems to be taking to the new addition to the family very well and is most excited about having company all day during the week. On Saturday, Thomas was a bit grumpy and cryed all afternoon whenever he was put into his carrycot so he was given lots of cuddles. That evening his Aunty Sandie gave him some cuddles too and managed to get him off to sleep in his carrycot at last giving everyone a nice evening off!!

Monday saw a special treat....guess who else has escaped the hospital...yes the twins were given parole last week. Thomas couldn't wait to catch up with Tom & Jack so we popped over to visit them along with their parents Tilly & Martin. We had a lovely lunch in a pub near where they live and got back to their house just in time for all the boys to be fed and changed!! Today's pictures are of the happy group......as you can see, Thomas doesn't take kindly to competition in the cute stakes!!!