Brookelyn So Far

The first 4 years of Brookelyn's life were spent in and out of the hospital. Seven to eight times a year we drove 3hrs from our home to the Janeway Children's Hospital for various reasons, mostly check ups for her but on more the one occasion there was various procedures and surgeries as well. In fact by the time Brookelyn turned 5yrs old, she had already had six surgeries. This was due to the fact that at age 14mths old it was finally confirmed that Brookelyn was born with a mild form of Spina Bifida called Tethered Cord. Tethered Cord is when your spinal cord is tied to the nerves at the base of your spine instead of being free allowing you to stretch and grow as needed. Her spinal issues also created growth issues for her left leg, making it weaker then her right leg and requiring her to wear an AFO (brace). We have no clue how long Brookelyn will be required to wear this brace, we have been prepared for it to be the rest of her life.

First AFO @ 14mths old

She was also born without her left kidney which is unrelated to her Spina Bifida and despite two types of genetic testing her team of doctors were never able to figure out how or why all of this happened to Brookelyn or find a disorder that links all 3 main issues together.

Over the years Brookelyn has thrived though, despite being told when she was very young that she may never learn to walk on her own, that she may never have full bladder/bowel function, she proved them wrong! We are very blessed that her motor skills were never compromised throughout any of this and infact she has been above average for learning/reading from the very start. She was only 2 1/2yrs old when she underwent spinal surgery to release her cord and came through with flying colors!

Oct 2005 @ the Janeway after spinal surgery!

Over the years she has proven to be extremely resilient letting nothing keep her down. Her last major surgery was at 3 1/2yrs old but since that time has had to undergo procedures/day surgeries two of which were for her kidney. Since we moved to Nova Scotia in 2007 her appts/procedures have finally settled and she now attends Spina Bifida Clinic @ the IWK once a year. She has grown into my beautiful  brown hair, brown eyed girl who loves to dance, sing and is an avid reader. We have no way to know what her future holds in terms of her health but we are taking it one day at a time and letting her enjoy life to the fullest!

Sept 2011 @ 8 1/2yrs old