Dillon just had his 15th surgery last week (9-9-05). We traveled to Nashville for this surgery. I felt I needed to. Dr. Tulipan is the neurosurgeon down there and he specializes in children with spina bifida and I was confident that he could help Dillon.
Dillon has been facing a battle with fluid in his spinal cord for the last few years, and after several surgeries to resolve the problem, he still had the problem which was causing him all kinds of problems. Some of his symptoms were lower body weakness, upper body weakness which was affecting his fine motor skills such as writing and holding onto objects, as well as bladder problems such as leaking between cathings.
Dr. Tulipan put in what is called a "cervical syringo pleural shunt". What that means, is that he has a shunt in the cervical area of his spinal cord (by his neck) that drains into the pleural cavity of his chest. The body will absorb the fluid build up from that pleural space just like the shunt in his head that drains into his belly.
This is the 3rd shunt he has in his spinal cord. He has another shunt in his cervical spinal cord that drains into the subaracnoid space, and another shunt in the lower lumbar of his spinal cord and now this one that was just put in.
We hope this is the last surgery he will need for a very long time. He has had a rough recovery. During surgery, his lung deflated, so he has had some pain from that and some shortness of breath but he is recovering well and hopes he can go back to school very soon.
Thank you for all your prayers for Dillon and our family. It means so much to me and its overwhelming the love and support we get!

Our flights to Nashville were great. Particularily coming home. We flew on Northwest Airlines, and since Dillon had a wheelchair and also just had surgery, they bumped us up to first class the WHOLE way home!
We were in the very first row, and were treated so special on both flights home.
I will always remember the stewardess in particular on our flight from Memphis to Omaha on Sunday September 11, 2005. She was SO wonderful and so caring. She was always there to make sure Dillon was ok and comfortable. She also made sure I was doing ok and took good care of me by getting me a glass of wine and making sure it was full! =) Then, she came over with a bottle of wine and told me it was compliments of them for me to take home and have a nice, quiet relaxing night when I got home, because I deserved it! How cool is that! It was extrememely thoughtful! I don't remember her name but if you ever read this.. THANK YOU!

As far as updates up to Dillon's surgery.... he is doing well. He is walking in his walker, and also learning to walk with forearm crutches. I honestly never thought he would have the strength or balance for the crutches, but he does really well with them and it's pretty exciting! He tires out quickly with them, but as he gets stronger, his endurance will improve.
Dillon is a GREAT kid. He manages to touch the lives of everyone he meets, and at times, it even brings a tear to my eye. He is so social and talks to everyone wherever we go. Even at the airport, it was almost like he was a rock star. He had people gathered all around him and he was talking all of their ears off! He would talk to everyone, smiling, flirting and saying hi as they filed onto the plane.
He has a great attitude and VERY strong willed. I joke around sometimes about how stubborn he is but that stubborness is God-given because he needs it to endure all he has been through!
God definetely has a big plan for Dillon!

Stay tuned, I will try to post more updates as he grows and learns.

Thank you for keeping Dillon in your thoughts and prayers!

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