After I returned home from Illinois, we hit the ground running with a string of big medical appointments.

First up was a full day in Madison at the American Family Children’s Hospital.

Tate and Eliza both had their neurosurgery check-ups, which are yearly right now, even though these appointments were only nine months from our last appointments last December.

We purposed the appointments a few months early this way to avoid traveling in December, and I am SO glad we did!

With all that we have going on right now, I have to admit I do not think I prepped these two precious cherubs enough for this day.

I think I only started the big talks of all that was going to happen the night before the appointments.

Based on how things went with Tate, I regret this very much!

Addie Mae had to work on this day, so we took the middle boys with us.

It gave us a great reason to make a day of it and eat lunch out and then visit the zoo!

First up at UW was for Tate to have a quick brain MRI.

We do not have the option for this type of MRI locally, so that is why our insurance pays for us to have them in Madison.

The neurosurgeon was just checking on Tate’s VP shunt, even though there were no concerns.

Off Blake and Tate went to MRI!

It was about two seconds later I heard Tate screaming.

Then Blake came out with Tate because Tate was saying he needed to use the bathroom.

At that point I went and tried to calm Tate down, but he was beside himself.

So both Blake and I went into the MRI room, and unfortunately we had to hold Tate down while they strapped him to the table.

It broke my heart to see him so upset!

Tate held tightly to my hands as they rolled him into the machine, and I laid in the machine as much as I could so I could reach him.

He stopped crying once the noise started.

The whole thing took about fifteen minutes, but my perspective as the Mama was that it seemed a whole lot longer!

Once we were done there, we headed upstairs to check in for Tate and Eliza’s appointments with the neurosurgeon.

We all squeezed into the exam room together!

The neurosurgeon examined both Tate and Eliza, told us that Tate’s MRI looked perfect, and then gave us a picture of the prognosis for these two precious ones.

Eliza’s prognosis includes NO MORE (!!!!) MRI’s, and a space of one year before her next check-up.

After that one year check-up, the doctor said he will space check-ups either with a space of two years between them or possibly we could be on a “call if you need me” basis.

That is AMAZING!!!

Eliza’s type of spina bifida should only require the one surgery she had right after she came home from China, Lord willing!

Tate’s prognosis is more involved, and will probably include several surgeries someday – the unknown is when.

The neurosurgeon explained all of the unknowns – literally “unknown” even with all of the MRI’s, CT scans, and x-rays – and how he really does not know what he will do until he sees Tate’s split and malformed spinal cord with his own eyes.

These kinds of conversations make Blake and my heads spin – but are also the ones that get us on our knees, because we know who is the One True Healer!

So thankful to let the Lord carry that load, and to have such peace as we trust in Him!

Just look at these two precious gifts from Him!!!

The neurosurgeon wanted a couple more pictures of Tate’s full shunt system, including all of the tubing, in the form of x-rays, so we got the orders for those to be done another day at our local hospital, because insurance makes us do things this way.

We then checked out, and headed to find some lunch!

Chipotle is a favorite and gluten-free, so we headed there!

It was such a BEAUTIFUL day.

There is a free little zoo in Madison, and we knew visiting it would be the perfect end to a big medical day.

And it was!

That post will be up next!!