Now we wait...

A while ago, I believe I mentioned a little about Amanda Joy's birthmark. When she was born, her left leg looked bruised from the knee down. We (and the doctor's) were convinced that her foot/leg somehow got stuck, causing the bruising. After a few days, however, the bruising started easing up, and a red birthmark emerged. Part of it was very red, and raised (especially around the knee, and scattered down the leg). For those of you who haven't seen it yet, here's a picture... you can see part of it.


It has actually gotten a bit better over the last couple months. At her pediatrician's request, we took her to see a local doctor (a dermatologist) up at Hopkins, who is the regional specialist for this type of birthmark, a hemangioma. He took a good look at her, and wasn't too concerned with the spots on her leg. In fact, he said that they should improve about 10% each year, and they could totally disappear! That was good news! On the flip side, he was concerned with some of the hemangioma that is present in her genital area. There is a tendency for these areas of the skin to 'break down', as he put it, due to intense moisture. Therefore, we have to be diligent about coating her with a vaseline type diaper cream (A&D). In addition, on the more serious side, there is some correlation between that and some spinal deformations, though it occurs in a very small number of cases. Yes, getting this news was quite a blow. As a parent, you never want to hear that there might be something seriously wrong with your child.

So, her doctor ordered a spinal ultrasound on her, which we had performed, today. Back up to Hopkins it was for us. Boy is that place big! Anyway, the poor tech had quite a time trying to get the scan done. They had AJ on her tummy, and she is quite the wiggle worm. The poor girl kept having to recount all the vertebrae! She gave AJ a little break, in which she fell asleep. This made it much easier for the scan.

We don't have the results yet, so we are in that waiting period. The tech didn't seem to think there were any 'irregularities' in what she saw, but isn't the doctor, so can't officially tell us anything. I'm hoping that we will hear from her dermatologist soon. I hate waiting. I just want my little girl to be okay.

You know, in our lives, there are things that come up in which we stress over, and let get the best of us. Then there are the times when you have to stare fear right in the face, and try to be brave so that the world doesn't see you at a weak moment (like now). It's these times when you realize that all the other crap, is just not worth all the time you spend worrying. Kind of puts a lot of things into perspective. Whatever the results end up being, I want my friends and family to know that I feel so lucky to have all of you in our life. All the phone calls, real time words, and emails, letting us know you care. ALL of the support is much appreciated, and means the world to us. This is a difficult time for us. I have faith, though, that God will look over AJ, and she will be fine. For she is a much loved little girl, and has so many people who care so much about her :) Truly blessed... we all are. Thank you ♥! ~ Holly