Surgery for Hazel

We took Hazel to her long awaited doctors appointment today. We met with the neuro surgeon and we loved him. He's Nigerian and sounds just like Mr. Echo from Lost. He told us Hazel would need surgery and gave us two different options. The first option would be to wait until she's 9 months old and have major reconstructive surgery on her skull. She would need to spend a week recovering in the hospital but would not need to wear a helmet. We've seen pictures of kids after they've had this surgery and they look really awful. The scar would also be from ear to ear over the top of her head like a headband. The second option is a minimally invasive endoscopic surgery where they remove a large piece of bone where the growth plates have fused together. She would be able to come home the same day as her surgery and the recovery will be much easier. She'll have two smaller scars on the top of her head and will need to wear a helmet for the next year. She'll have to have a series of three different helmets and will need to keep them on all day. We chose the second option. She has surgery Sept. 13. He said he would have done it next week but he's going to be out of town. We were a little shocked he wanted to do it so soon. Overall I feel really good about everything. I was really scared she'd have to have the more invasive surgery because the research we had done on the internet explained that not everywhere does the endoscopic surgery.