Epidermal Nevus

     This year, has been going fairly well however, I have been really bad about updating things here.  I have been updating Kerstin's Instagram a lot more.  Be sure to following Growing With Kerstin there.  
     Now, I will take us back to August 2016, when I noticed this little spot behind Kerstin's left ear.  At first I was thinking maybe her earring had scratched her or the post had stuck her and I immediately started applying an antibiotic ointment to it.  It seemed to smooth out some but, later it came back and appeared bigger and no matter what I applied it seemed to keep growing.  All while growing, it become more irritating to Kerstin,  she did not want it touched in any way, not to have the area cleaned while bathing, not to mistakenly touch it while dressing or anything. 

continuing to grow

     In October of that year, Kerstin had an appointment with a dermatologist that I walked away from still unsettled and wanting more answers.  The appointment just did not seem thorough or complete.  There had been cultures (cultivation of microorganisms) done on this area only to come back negative for any types of fungi.  So, back in December of 2017 a new medical doctor was added to Kerstin's team and the center of her medical home, a female!  Yes, we were enthusiastic about it and she went right to work with us.  On a thorough exam of missy, she determined that she would refer her out to another dermatologist. 

     February 2018, Kerstin had a new appointment with dermatology and it was determined that a biopsy needed to be performed in ordered to know how to properly treat this spot, whatever it may be.  Scary thought of this in office procedure where a small plug of her skin would be cut so that it could be properly tested. We have to do things that are oftentimes scary in order to take care of our children.  The process included a numbing applicant, that would be in place for 30 to 45 minutes before the cut.  Then, post cut, we had to wait another 30 minutes to ensure that the bleeding had stopped before she could leave.  

The wait!  It is so hard to be patient and wait on the results of a skin growth on your child.  Then the call comes and the nurse says she is calling from dermatology with biopsy results.  Take a deep breath and listen, "epidermal nevus".  What?  A very irritating and itchy skin mole.  It may come back but she has been prescribed a skin topical and now she needs to bath with have her hair washed with products that contain ketoconazole as an ingredient.  Since February, that nevus has inflamed twice, the cream is applied and it goes away again.  Another step on this journey. 

More to come...

References:
Epidermal nevus.  NIH U.S. National Library of Medicine https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/epidermal-nevus

An Unforgettable Day: A Look Back

     Monday, November 4, 2014.  A chilly morning in downtown Birmingham, Alabama. We around the night(11/3/13) before so we wouldn't have to make to two hour journey at 3 a.m.  We got to the hospital at 5:30 a.m. to make sure Kerstin was checked in, all forms filled out.  We met team after team, nurse after nurse.  It seemed like an overload but it was reassuring that my little angel was in good hands.

     Around 7:30 a.m. the nurses came in to take her back so that the could begin the anesthesia and all that came with spinal fusion prep.  We were told that someone would periodically come out to inform of what was going on and that I needed to leave cell numbers so that they could contact if we left the waiting room.  Yes, they suggested, getting a change of scenery, it would be a long surgery.  About two hours later, I got a call to say that Dr. Killian had started the incision.  It took a lot to not cry.

     It would be hours before another report would come and even longer before I would see my love.  The entire process was pretty much all day.  It was around 4 p.m. before she was out and in recovery and it wasn't until around 5 p.m. before I saw Kerstin.  It was a bit of a shock when I did.  I had been warned that she would be getting a lot of fluids while she was having the surgery and that with her lying face down, it would settle to her face and arms, causing significant puffiness.  Understood, but actually seeing the difference was shocking.  Surgery went well.  Dr. Killian showed me her after x-ray picture and it was a huge difference.  My sweet pea's spine was straight!

    Kerstin would be on the 7th floor in PICU for the next 24 hours, then onto the 10th for what we thought would be for the next week. I never knew that ICU was such a busy place!  Not as quiet as I thought either.  This would be a long 24 hour stay.  Over in the night Kerstin started having some complications with oxygen and her blood pressure dropping.  She needed more blood.  She actually needed the 4 units we were told to have on hand.  We had to use the blood bank because the four units from her family had clotted or congealed.  She needed that pain pump overnight as well.

     Just being in somewhat of an upright position overnight, the puffiness and swelling was already going down.  It wouldn't be until late the following evening that she could leave PICU, she was headed up to 1046H.  That's where we would live until Thanksgiving Day 2013!

Looking back...it's been a journey!

More to come...