Shunts and Bibleing -- An Austin Update

 

Our not so little baby brother had a doctor's appointment day before yesterday! He had not had an MRI of his brain in about 4 years, so it was about time we got a look in there just to make sure he still had something! Hahaha :D

Of course, that is a joke. You guys know he's a little smartie!

 

We were warned that the MRI would take somewhere around half an hour, and that he would have to lie there completely still. Could Austin do that? Nope! Sooo we had to knock him out. :))

(Or one time as one of my nurses informed me when I asked if she was going to "knock me out": "No, you will not be 'knocked out'-- It is against hospital regulation to tell patients that they will be 'knocked out'. You will be 'anaesthetised' and your brain and airways will all be fully functioning.")

My, my she was a dutiful little nurse...

She just couldn't crack a smile. --She probably thought that was against the rules too.

No please, Ms. Politically Correct Nurse, I wanna be knocked out!! ;P

 

Austin prepping for his IV (scary stuff):

Playing a new game on his DS!

^Big lips and all :)^

 

Here he is in recovery after the whole ordeal was over...

He did not want to wake up!

 

Dr. Dad making the doctor's office a fun experience.

Though I was not even there, I know my dad and I'm sure he was being corny and making everyone laugh :D

 

Ever seen a real live brain scan? Well... Now you have!

Well, actually you've only seen a real one now... Not a live one.

 

 

Imagine my shock when I check my gmail and see an email from my mom with the subject line "Austin's shunt", and then open it only to see a COILED UP TUBE!!! 

 There I was thinkin' that he'd gone in for a non-invasive MRI, and they've gone and pulled his shunt out! Seriously that was my first thought. :)) But no-- it was just a tube like the one in Austin.
 

 

This is Austin's shunt:

The tube runs from back behind his ear down into his tummy where its coiled up in there. It extends and uncoils as he grows taller!

It drains the extra fluid in his brain down into his stomach... And the rest is history :))))

 

This is the little valve that sits directly behind his ear. If the tube gets blocked we can just push down on that little raised bubble and it flushes out the tube....

 

Here's the little-big stinker again-- Mr. Longlegs

 

 

 

 

 Here he is at the eye doctor checking the pressure in his eyes.

With him having hydrocephalus (excess of water on the brain), checking the level of pressure in his eyes is very important, and actually has glaucoma because of the high pressure in his eyes...

 

Leg crossed, lookin' like a little man :)

 

And this is the end of your lesson on shunts! Hope you enjoyed! ;P

 

 

What in the world has happened to Austin's Bibleing project?

We haven't done a Bibleing update in quite a while, but Austin hasn't given up on his commitment of reading the New Testament in a year! He's still reading the Bible, and we're still doing everything we can to raise money to get started on building our church school. I'll give a more detailed update here in a few days, hopefully with pictures and maybe a recording!

If you would like to be a part of this project of building our church school, you can find the donate button on the right sidebar. We can't build this school with out money, but your prayers are also very appreciated! We have undertaken a huge responsibility here in Puebla of the education of our church kids and need all the help and prayers that we can get! We can't do this alone!

 

If you haven't already heard of the church school building project, or about Austin reading the New Testament in a year to raise money for the project, take a few minutes to read about it by clicking here:  Bibleing: Building a School-- One Chapter at a Time!

 

 

Please keep the Wakefield family in your prayers!

 

 

*Nicole*