Today was an amazing day…Sam finally took his first full bottle in over two and a half weeks. Him taking his bottles today just shows the amazing progress that our eldest/smallest twin has made recently. As many of you know, Sam was diagnosed with mild hydrocephalus in utero and this condition was made worse when he had his battle with meningitis. Since he recovered from meningitis things had been progressing slowly, but overall in a positive direction, the only thing that was of some concern was that since late December his head size has been increasing slightly faster than what is normal; this was especially concerning considering his history of hydrocephalus and meningitis. Our doctors were following him very closely and finally three weeks ago decided to consult the neurosurgery service to see what their thoughts were on Sam and to see if they believed anything needed to be done.

First, they decided to just watch his head size to see if it continued to increase and also we were watching him closely to see if he became more tired or stopped wanting to eat. If any of these things continued to happen then the neurosurgeons suggested that they perform a “Ventricular tap”. Basically, a ventricular tap is them sticking a very small needle through the soft spot on Sam’s head and into his ventricles, then drawing off some fluid to relieve some of the pressure. Relief of the pressure is what would then hopefully make him feel better and more awake. Sam was doing quite well until two weekends ago, when he started to get much more sleepy and wasn’t interested in his bottles at all. It was decided last Monday that the ventricular tap was needed. The tap was performed and instantly his head felt better to the touch and within two days he was much more alert, but then starting Thursday his head started to feel full again and he again became sleepy… what we learned from the tap was both good and bad. Good in the sense that we knew what was wrong with him, but bad in the sense that the procedure to cure him was something called a “VP Shunt” which stands for ventriculoperitoneal shunt — this device is implanted into his head and continuously moves excess fluid from his ventricles down into his belly where it can be reabsorbed. No parent wants to hear that their son needs to have surgery… especially when it involves their head.

But, this past Tuesday, Sam had his VP shunt placed. Since that surgery, he has looked better and better everyday and has made an unbelievably speedy recovery all culminating in his dominance over his bottles today! We are so proud of both our boys and thankful that Sam has the perseverance to overcome so much at such a young age. We aren’t the only ones who are impressed with Sam’s resilience though.

Today, Adam interviewed at the University of Nebraska and he ran into a fellow med student who attends Nebraska (UNMC) and was on the Neurosurgery service this past month when Sam was being followed by them. The student asked how Sam was doing and went on to tell Adam that the Neurosurgeon, his residents and this student were all very impressed with Sam and were amazed with his resilience over every single obstacle he has faced, orneriness and his last name (I guess he was referred to as “Stibbs” during rounds instead of his formal name). In fact, they were so impressed that this med student told Adam that if they could “Buy stock in Sam Stibbe they would and we would know it was as close to a sure thing as we could get.” I think it is hard to get a much better complement than the Neurosurgeon telling you that your kid has heart.

We wanted to tell you all what Sam has gone through recently and that he still faces a battle, but he is definitely on the offensive right now and shall continue to go forth and dominate! <–Adam's words :o) So thank you to all of you who continue to support us and we hope to introduce you to our two great boys as soon as we are able.