Yverline's History
Yverline arrives
Yverline (pronounced
like Evelyn) came home to be with the Knutson family
in the middle of August, 2008, after nearly four years
of waiting for the adoption process in Haiti. When she
arrived, she was 8 years old, loved building blocks,
singing worship songs, Dora, Little Bill and dolls. She
(still) does not like dogs or bedtime.
Yverline arrives
Yverline (pronounced
like Evelyn) came home to be with the Knutson family
in the middle of August, 2008, after nearly four years
of waiting for the adoption process in Haiti. When she
arrived, she was 8 years old, loved building blocks,
singing worship songs, Dora, Little Bill and dolls. She
(still) does not like dogs or bedtime.
| Medical history Yverline was diagnosed in 2006 with JPA, which are benign tumors of the brain. Because she was in Haiti, they went untreated and grew very large. She came to the United States in December, 2006 on a medical visa to drain the cysts and shave down the solid portion of her tumor. She returned to Haiti in June, 2007. From 2007 until the first few months of 2008, she remained in good health. In march of 2008, she started complaining of headaches, which is a symptom alluding to the fact that her tumor had grown back again. However, she had to wait until her adoption was completed in August of 2008 before anything could be done about it.. |
2008 Surgeries
Since Yverline has been home with
the Knutsons, she has had over
ten surgeries and procedures.
Soon after her return to the
States, Yverline's health
began steadily declining, resulting in emergency shunt
surgery on Sept. 30, 2008. It was hoped that the shunt
would alleviate the pressure in her head from the
build-up of excess fluid She was then scheduled for a
more invasive procedure on Oct. 6, 2008. This was a
very similar surgery to the one done in 2006. The
surgery had inherent risks, including stroke, paralysis
or death.
However, the surgery was a success and Yverline was
back to her old self soon after it.
Since Yverline has been home with
the Knutsons, she has had over
ten surgeries and procedures.
Soon after her return to the
States, Yverline's health
began steadily declining, resulting in emergency shunt
surgery on Sept. 30, 2008. It was hoped that the shunt
would alleviate the pressure in her head from the
build-up of excess fluid She was then scheduled for a
more invasive procedure on Oct. 6, 2008. This was a
very similar surgery to the one done in 2006. The
surgery had inherent risks, including stroke, paralysis
or death.
However, the surgery was a success and Yverline was
back to her old self soon after it.
| Here is an update the Knutsons gave the day Yverline came home from the Sept. 2009 surgery: 9 PM Sunday, Sept 5, 2009 - Yverline came home today! We are so happy, relieved , tired and ultimately thankful. We feel as though God continually blesses her and we are just along for the ride on His plan for her. Nothing seems to get Yverline down. Her spirit is always happy and she rarely complains even when she is in tremendous pain. When she was given gifts by friends and hospital staff she immediately asked to be able to share them with her sister. She was so excited to come home this morning. Now that she is home and doing better much of the real work has just begun. Yverline is still having eye problems. She cannot raise her eyes and she has a hard time focusing on things. We will meet with the Opthalmologist in the next week or so to try to improve her vision. She is also on a new drug as there is also some problems with her spacing out and not being present in the moment. They haven't seen any seizures, but they are being cautious. We will also being going back to PT and OT and trying to come up with new strategies in her chemo-therapy. Sometimes we get tired, discouraged by setbacks and overwhelmed. Please continue keep our whole family in your prayers, it is what keeps us going. Thank you and Blessings, The Knutsons : John, Cynde, James, Peter, Olivia and Yverline |
| 2009 Surgery Yverline did well for the first half of 2009, but was in and out of the hospital having less intrusive, but still risky, surgeries. She was fitted with a PIT line to make blood draws easier, and began undergoing chemotherapy. In August of 2009, Yverline fell and was hospitalized with a concussion and had a CAT Scan. When the CAT scan was compared to her MRI from the end of May, it showed that there was significant growth of her tumor. She was scheduled to have surgery on Sept. 2, 2009. This surgery, like the other two major surgeries she had, involved shaving down the solid tumor and draining the cyst. In this surgery they also placed a valve into the cyst area to make it easier to drain in the future, as well as checking on a shunt that drains the brain fluid in another part of her brain. |
Yverline and friend Erin getting ready
to trick-or-treat 24 days after the
2008 surgery. One of her eyes was a
little lazy for a while after the
surgery, but it soon came back into
line.
to trick-or-treat 24 days after the
2008 surgery. One of her eyes was a
little lazy for a while after the
surgery, but it soon came back into
line.
The Knutsons: Peter, James, Yverline, Olivia, John and Cynde