No, he has SPINA BIFIDA.

Part 2 of ?

After seeing Matthew's pediatrician, we were sent back for another hearing test a week later. He still failed. We were then referred to audiology at CHCO, where we did multiple hearing tests, all of which he failed. Okay let's pause for a moment. When you're a breastfeeding mom, can I tell you HOW AWKWARD doing a hearing test is on an infant? Basically you have to starve them and keep them awake for 3 hours prior to the test. Pretty rough when your kid is used to eating every 2 hours on the dot. Then, you nurse them to sleep, and keep them ON THE BOOB for a couple of hours, while the doctor puts in different mechanisms for their ears,and different sensors around their head. So basically they're all up in your business. And it makes your baby look like a cyborg or something out of the Matrix. But I digress.

The thought was that because he was very small, and because I didn't push for very long (my reward for 20 hours of labor I suppose), some fluid was stuck in his ear. Generally delivery pushes the fluid out of the baby's ears. We were given a referral for an ENT, which meant waiting. Referrals, I was starting to learn, took some time, as we were STILL waiting to see the neurosurgeon.

We finally saw him once Matthew was about 3 months old. Dr. Micheal Handler was  his name. Now, we didn't ask for Dr. Handler, he was just given to us, and I thank our lucky stars every day for him. Dr. Handler is apparently nationally renown, and is one of the leading experts on kids with Spina Bifida. He sent us for an MRI. When the results came back, it was confirmed; Matthew didn't have "a little spina bifida"....he had SPINA BIFIDA. Now, there are a LOT of different types of Spina Bifida. Matthew's particular variance is called lipomyelomeningocele. (There's a mouthful for ya. You pronounce it lipo-milo-my-ninja-seal) So, basically, here's what happened. When Matthew's spinal column didn't close, the body developed a lipoma (fatty tumor) to protect the defect. But, in doing that, the spinal cord grew through the opening, and attached to the tumor. This is called a tethered cord. (You can learn more at http://www.seattlechildrens.org/medical-conditions/chromosomal-genetic-conditions/lipomyelomeningocele/ if you're interested) While one of the most rare forms of Spina Bifida, it's also one of the less debilitating. So there's your silver lining.

What all this meant, while the Monkey's tail was adorable, it had to go. And by this point, it was no longer a cute tail. As Matthew grew, so did the lipoma. It was now a sizable lump on his back. Aside from acting as a barrier from keeping baby poop from going up the back, it was nothing but a nuisance that caused him pain, and would continue to do so as he grew more and more. Without detethering the spinal cord, he could face major complications later in life. Some parents do decide to wait. I, personally, am thankful we had a surgeon who encouraged early surgery.

Coming up: the trip to the ENT, and getting ready for surgery.