Springs and fevers

I'm so tired, haven't slept a wink
I'm so tired, my mind is on the blink
I wonder should I get up
And fix myself a drink – no, no, no, no

Ira had springs put into the back of his head a little over a week ago.

This is a good thing.

The springs are piece of tensile wire that when in place, keep the sutures in the back of his head from fusing too quickly. With Apert Syndrome the bony plates in the skull tend to grow together prematurely. This forces the brain - as it grows - to go wherever there is room, not necessarily where it should. In Ira's case, this is most places but back. The back of his head is flat, which in turn can cause difficulty for the flow of cranial fluid from the brain into the spinal canal. Pressure at the back of the brain can also mess with the optic nerves, causing blindness in the worst cases.

So, the springs will allow the brain to grow into the back of his head - make for a rounder swede and generally ease pressure upstairs. These are good things.

Unfortunately any trip to the hospital brings possible calamities. Having come out of his operation without problem, Ira came home for just a couple days before developing a fever. A suspected lung infection spiked his temperature to a high 39C (104F for our American peoples). Additional swelling around the head didn't help with our freak-out factor, so we were back in hospital for another week.

So why the John Winston Lennon lyric? You never rest in hospital. I'm blessed that I can sleep through most any carnival, but when your little boy is fevered with springs in his nut, there is no rest - even if you do sleep some -the night Maria stayed she got about 2 hours.

Fortunately after close observation and a clean CT scan, our neurosurgeon Wicks sent us home - folks that tinker with brains tend to favour caution.

So, we're all tired, but thankful to be home.


One bonus about surgeries is that every time Ira comes out he has learned a new trick. For several weeks we've been encouraging cognitive response to vocalese. Bah-bah-bah-bah constantly at feed time. In hospital he finally clicked and has has been saying "blah-blah-blah-blah".

I wonder, is he commenting, or just enjoying his new noise?


Next post will be all about Edie and the hijinx she's been up to while her little brother convalesces.