Successful surgery #3

We arrived at the hospital this morning and discovered that Harper was already in surgery! They decided to take her back first since she's so young. The surgery went great. They removed the external shunt from the left side due to a blood clot. They think the clot formed due to the blood pressure issues Harper had following last week's surgery. They've opted to give the clot time to break down on its own due to all of the hemorrhaging she had on that side in her first surgery. They made an incision on the right side and inserted a new external shunt and cleaned out what they were able to on that side... The incision made on that side can be used in the future for either a tap system or an internal shunt if either are deemed necessary.

So, now what? We wait again... They'll be monitoring her head pressure and fluid output to make a decision about what to do next... If it goes wonderfully, they could eventually remove the tube completely and be done. The other options are either a tap system that involves a needle in place to tap out fluid on a daily basis instead of constantly, or an internal shunt. We also are waiting to see her ventricle size go down so that her brain can stretch back into the appropriate space, and we are expecting pathology reports this week to determine more about the cystic systems she had. And, naturally, at this point we are back to praying for a smooth recovery... No blood pressure issues, no bleeding or need for blood/plasma products, no seizures, etc. It's a lot to take in and process, but we know Who is ultimately in control of our little girl!