EMYSON AND CO.: Guess what!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Guess what!

I bet you're all wondering what excuse I'm going to give for my hiatus from blogging these past few months. I know, I know, I never even posted pictures from Christmas...

What kind of a mother am I?!!

Well, I actually have a fairly solid alibi.

~I'm pregnant~

Baby number three is due in September. Bryson is really excited, and I will be too when I stop feeling like the living dead. :)

11 comments:

Rochelle said...: Congratulations! You are very blest with a beautiful children.; March 18, 2010 at 11:17 AM
Jessi said...: EMMIE!!! What wonderful news!! I can't wait to see how cute the next one will be, you sure know how to make 'em! Love you guys!; March 18, 2010 at 11:31 AM
Lexi said...: How exciting! Not the living dead part, but the baby part! Wow Em I'm so happy for you guys. I can't wait to see Bennett Baby #3.

Hope you feel better soon. Love you guys.; March 18, 2010 at 11:44 AM
Becky said...: I am SO thrilled for you. :) But I also feel for you...I know that feeling. Praying you feel better soon. Can't WAIT to meet this one. xoxo; March 18, 2010 at 2:59 PM
Elder Richey said...: That's WONDERFUL!!! I am so happy for you guys. When do you get to find out what you're having?; March 18, 2010 at 4:52 PM
Suman Family said...: how fun!! congrats to you and your beautiful family! so excited for you.; March 18, 2010 at 8:54 PM
Karrissa Winward said...: Congratulations! I am so sorry you are so sick. I hope you get better soon!; March 18, 2010 at 10:23 PM
DnK said...: Congrats Bry and Em. We are so happy for you. That is so exciting.

Hope you feel better,
Dave and Katie; March 18, 2010 at 10:38 PM
Melanie Henage said...: Congratulations!!! That is so exciting for your already cute family! I'd be more than happy to help babysit or bring a meal or something - let me know what I can do for you!; March 20, 2010 at 3:07 PM
Lisa said...: Yay! I am so excited. I need to have Eleyna over so you can rest!; March 21, 2010 at 7:01 PM
Ashley said...: wonderful! congratulations.; April 2, 2010 at 7:18 PM

Words to live by

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor's children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived." ~Marjorie Pay Hinckley (emphasis mine)

Lissencephaly

The following is a "quick" explanation of lissencephaly, the condition our handsome Hunter was born with.

Lissencephaly is a malformation of the brain in which the brain surface is smooth rather than convoluted. In man, the surface of the brain is formed by a complex series of ridges and valleys. The ridges are called gyri or convolutions, and the valleys are called sulci. In children with lissencephaly, the normal convolutions are absent or only partly formed, so the surface is smooth. Lissencephaly is usually diagnosed based on interpretation of either a CT or MRI scan of the brain. (Hunter was diagnosed from a CT scan.)

Lissencephaly is only rarely suspected at birth or soon after. Some of the problems parents are likely to notice first include failure to develop visual tracking, poor feeding and weight gain, and seizures. In most children, slow development is recognized between 2 and 6 months of age.

Hunter's specific lissencephaly syndrome is called isolated lissencephaly sequence (ILS). Children with ILS have profound mental retardation with abilities limited to brief and inconsistent visual tracking, brief smiling and some spontaneous movements. They are floppy (due to low muscle tone) and significantly less active than normal children. Head control is poor and they often arch their head and trunk backwards. Seizures are a part of everyday life. Anti-seizure medications can help keep the seizures under control, but total control is nearly impossible to achieve. A child with ILS has a much shorter lifespan than normal.

After some genetic testing, we discovered that Hunter's lissencephaly is the result of a genetic abnormality. He is missing a very small piece of chromosome 17. Since neither Bryson nor I have any missing genetic material, Hunter's condition is not hereditary. (Therefore, the chance of any of our other children having lissencephaly is virtually nonexistent.) In Hunter's case, what happened can be compared to a smudge on a Xerox copy. Genetic material, for whatever reason, simply wasn't copied correctly.

I know people wonder if we are able to have meaningful interaction with Hunter. Parenting Hunter is very interactive and meaningful! Not just anyone could step in and know how to read his cues, but I know that we know Hunter and that he has a personality. It is such a joy to care for him. He is the snuggliest, sweetest boy ever! Knowing that our family is going to be together forever, and that we have the chance to embrace a resurrected Hunter someday, makes the tough days worth it.

If you want to know more about Hunter's life, check out his blog.

EMYSON AND CO.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Guess what!

11 comments:

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Lissencephaly