The Crofts: A Small "Bump" in the Road

Hello again! A LOT of things have happened since the last time I posted. Lily is getting SO big and cuter by the day! (If that is even possible :) )
I know I had mentioned that she had a bump on her head the last time, which her doctor believed to be a sebaceous cyst. He thought the bump would eventually go away on its own, but we noticed that it seemed to be getting bigger and bigger. So, being the worry-warts that we are, we decided to make an appointment with a dermatologist in Cheyenne to make sure that it would go away and that it was correctly diagnosed. We had done our own research and were convinced that it was a different kind of cyst.
The day we travelled to Cheyenne, they were getting slammed with a blizzard. There was probably 8 inches of slushy snow on the roads in town--scary! Thankfully, we all arrived in one piece. :) The dermatologist confirmed our concerns, and told us that the cyst on Lily's eyebrow is actually a dermoid cyst, which is more common than sebaceous cysts in children. Dermoid cysts are composed of skin and hair cells, and, because of an infection risk, they must always be surgically removed.
We were not too surprised, although unhappy, to hear this news. The dermatologist did, however, inform us that there is a slight (although unlikely) chance that, since the cyst is near her midline, it could be connected to her brain. Therefore, we had to schedule an MRI at the Denver Children's Hospital to make sure. If this is the case, a neurosurgeon, rather than a plastic surgeon, will do the procedure. We have an appointment for the MRI on May 14, with a doctor consultation the next day. Regardless, because of a the anesthesia risk, the surgery will be done in Denver. They will also probably wait until she is 6 or 9 months old to do it.

Here is a picture of her cyst

In other (happy) news, we have officially made the transition to Scottsbluff. We moved in last Thursday, and are finally all settled in! It feels so nice to be able to live in town and run errands quickly!

Graduation is now 9 days away--thank goodness! I will be graduating Summa Cum Laude (which means I have a 4.0) on Saturday, May 9, 2009, at 10:00 am in Chadron. It has been a long-awaited day!! I was also pleasantly surprised to find out that an article I submitted to a school publication called "Outside the Lines" is being published and placed 3rd (which is nice, because there is a cash prize!). Other than that, I am just living day by day, taking care of the little one and finishing up with finals. My grandma from Texas will be here for graduation and we can't wait for her to finally meet Miss Lily!

Brian is also coming to the end of his teaching year. His final week is the week after my graduation. He will be "done" on the 15th, and then have a few teacher days the following week. On May 23 we will all be flying to Ohio, along with Grandma Barb, to visit Brian's brother Darin and his wife Lisa. Then--BRING ON SUMMER BREAK!!!

Here are some more pictures to enjoy: