Time to Start Up Again

Well...it's time to dust off the old blog.

Yes, it has been almost a year since we last posted anything.  We've always wanted to use the blog as updates on Karsie's omphalocele progress, and since there hasn't been anything medical to talk about lately, we've left it alone.

Karsie has had such a great year.  She is growing and eating (still not as much as the doctors would like, but she's going at her own pace).  She is happy and really bright.  We can't believe there was ever a time the doctors thought she might have serious brain damage.  That has definitely been an answer to prayer.

She's almost four now, and it has been easy to forget there's still lots to do for her to fix her omphalocele.  And that starts up again today.  Karsie will begin the process of closing this afternoon.  She is scheduled to have her tissue expanders put into her flanks/obliques/whatever her side muscles are, today.  The way it's been explained to us is that they will filet her muscle tissue on her sides and insert small balloon-like expanders (similar to breast implants).  Then, over the next few months, they will slowly increase the size of the expanders with saline.  Finally, when she looks like she has three omphaloceles (here real one and two large filled balloons on her sides), they will attempt to close her.  Most likely she will have another round of that in a year or two depending on how everything goes.

So, this afternoon, if you happen to read the blog that's been silent for a year, pray for Karsie's tissue expander surgery.  There was a time when these two parents were much more used to telling our daughter goodbye as the surgeons took her away.  Now, we've had years to have her to ourselves, and this is again a very scary process.  Thank you all.

Kevin and Michelle