Our Hospital Stay

Holding Grandpa's Hand

We have amazing, supportive family and were so thankful for all of the love and concern they showed while we were in the hospital. We had so many wonderful visits which gave relief from the monotony of a hospital stay. Family helped us with our other children as well.

My parents came out and were at the hospital every day with us. It was so great to have them there. Thank you Mom and Dad!

The day after Zach was born, he went in for surgery to close up the sack on his back. The surgery really wasn't very long and he came through it like a champ. He still had to remain on his side or stomach for the next several days until the incision was more healed. He wore his diapers backwards because it was easier to change him. He also had to wear a little plastic "mud flap" (we had many names for it) to prevent any dirty diaper content from getting into his incision.

The nuerosurgeons decided to wait and see if he would need a shunt for sure. Before the surgery, spinal fluid was still able to leak out of his back a little bit but once they closed it up, we had to see what his ventricals would do. Unfortunately, his head size began to increase rapidly and we knew pretty quickly that he would need a shunt. The shunt would drain the excess fluid from his brain into his abdominal cavity where his body would just absorb it. He had that surgery on Thursday, three days after he was born.

Zachary recovered really well from his surgeries and because he was eating well and didn't need oxygen, they sent him home on Saturday, just five days after his birth. While we were so excited to have him home with us, I was also scared to death. We had to make sure his shunt was working and watch out for lots of other things. His brothers loved him and have been great brothers to him.