Hemangioma Update

Thank you for all of the prayers and support. We had a very good visit with Dr. Metry of Texas Children’s hospital this morning. Although Harper’s hemangioma is growing rapidly, the placement and shape of it is actually doing great. Until it moves down onto the eyelid, it will not cause any damage to her vision. We have a follow-up appointment with the pediatric ophthalmologist in a couple of weeks just to be sure all is on track but we’re not expecting anything negative to come about. Dr. Metry said that Harper’s Hem. has very little surface area (which is the red part) which will leave very little scarring later on once it does go away. She said it is deep but that it is not growing into the bone and should flatten out nicely. The tricky part is knowing how long it will take to flatten out. Most Hem. grow for about 5 to 6 months then gradually flatten out by the time they are 2 or 3. If it hasn’t gotten better by this age then they will surgically remove it. Our options are pretty cut and dry right now; let it flatten out on its own or give meds twice a day (propranolol) to speed it along. While the medication is not FDA approved to treat hem. they use this on patients every day and have seen significant results. For now, Grant and I are going to see what it is going to do on its own to try and bypass introducing any medication to her. For those of you wondering, the Dr. also confirmed that it does not hurt or cause any harm to her in any way, even if she bumps it. She said it could split open and you would treat it as if it were any other wound. So, now we are scheduled for an appointment on May 26th to re-measure the growth and will give you another update then.

Great news for us! God is Good!