Surgeries...Procedures...2

Ashley Autumn Angel Allbaugh's Spina Bifida Site

Surgeries...Procedures...2

I am having an EEG to catch the seizures I started having after my bad surgery in July 99. I was diagnosed and put on pheonabarbital and my parents have never seen another seizure since. Thank god!!!

This is me having one of my many CT's or MRI's done. I have to have one anytime they think my shunts might be malfunctioning.

This is me at a Urology appt. I am having a procedure called a Urodynamics performed. I am getting my bladder filled up to see how much pressure it takes before I void. I have had to have 2 of these procedures done prior to having my 2 urethral diliations preformed. I no longer have to be cathed every 3 hours. Yeah!!!!

This picture was taken after my brainstem decompression. If you look hard you can see the bandages on my neck too. I also had a bandage on the other side of my head that looks just like the one you can see on the left side. That is where Dr. Krone added another shunt and hooked it to the existing shunt on the right side of my head. This surgery made me so sore and my mommy and daddy had to turn my head every 2 hours and make me cry so I wouldn't stiffen up so badly.

Hooked up to sleep.jpg

This is the way I sleep...I have a feeding pump to feed me all night long to keep my blood sugar up. I also am hooked up to a Pulse Ox to monitor the oxygen in my blood...and I have to use .5 litters of Oxygen to keep my sats up.

This is me in Physical Therapy trying out a small walker in front of a mirror. I really liked seeing myself upright.

This is me having getting ready for a sleep study. This is my second one. I had my first one on 14 Feb 00. They found out that I was stopping breathing over 12 times an hour. I had sleep apnea. After my first sleep study they did my brainstem decompression and this pic is me 6 days later. The surgery was a sucess. My apnea decreased by half. It should only improve from here on out. I do have to be hooked up to oxygen at night. Small price to pay. Oh yeah they put all this stuff all over you and say "Sleep well" Yeah Right!!!

This is Cyndi King casting my body brace. I have a pretty bad curature of the spine for such a young child.

This is me getting fitted for my standing frame. First thing I did was throw my hands up in the air to indicate "Yeah" cause I was so happy to be upright.