Charlie's Hemangioma

Charlie was born with a hemangioma on his left cheek and on the very top of his head. Well actually we didn't notice it at birth. A hemangioma is an abnormal buildup of blood vessels on the skin. They are actually very common and we have been told they almost always go away on their own over time. However, it can take several years to fully go away. We were so thankful it was just a hemangioma and not something more serious...but it was something unexpected and took a bit of time to adjust. We are now very used to the stares we get from strangers or questions we get from friends, family, and acquaintances. In fact we hardly even notice it anymore. 

Charlie at 2 days old. If you look closely you can see the spots on his cheek...we never noticed them when he was born. 

 A few days later a red mark started to appear...I thought it was a rash at first. It wasn't until his 2 week appointment that the doctor told us it was a hemangioma.

 By one month old it was bright cherry red and growing quickly.

 At two months, it had changed a lot and had become pretty puffy.

I didn't notice a drastic change between month two and three. It did change to a much deeper red--almost purple.

Our plan was to let the hemangioma go away on its own. We knew it would take some time, but it didn't seem to be growing too quickly and we had high hopes that it would be gone within a few years. We were just glad he was a happy little boy.

 However at about three and a half months the hemangioma started to break down and ulcerate-- or break open. I had read that it can be painful and can also leave a lot of scaring over time. It would be on thing if the hemangioma was on his back or arm...but it's on his face. So I called his doctor who after seeing us again referred us to a dermatologist in town.

We got in quickly to see the dermatologist who sent us to Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City to a pediatric dermatologist. We were told that Charlie also had a hemangioma growing under the skin. You can see it in the picture below. It is big and swollen under the red spot. They were worried that it was getting to close to his eye and that the red marks were getting close to his mouth.

They proposed putting him on a blood pressure medicine called Propranolol. They told us it was a safe medicine as long as you kept a close eye on his blood pressure, heart rate, and blood sugars. In fact, they kind of scared us at first telling us all the things that could go wrong  if we didn't keep a good eye on things. Charlie had a MRI, and a few heart tests to determine if he was ok to take the meds.

After proving he was very healthy, we went ahead and started the medicine. He has done very well on it. He takes the medicine  3 times a day and he cannot go more than 8 hours without eating. Which means we are up in the middle of the night eating and giving him the meds. It has completely messed up his great sleeping schedule....but the meds are working! Check out the pictures below:) 

 The picture on the left was taken the day we started the propranolol. The picture on the right was taken 2 weeks after. The one on his cheek is so much flatter and much pinker. And the big swollen bump under the red spots is pretty much gone!! The one on the top of his head is flat and has white dots throughout it. I cannot believe how much progress we have made in just two weeks! They feel smooth against his skin. It is crazy!

 We have to keep going back to Kansas City for awhile to monitor his blood pressure, heart rate, and blood sugars. The medicine has messed up his sleep schedule a little bit...but it will all work out in the end. We are just thrilled to have a happy and healthy little boy. He sure is growing quickly. Can't wait to see what happened to his hemangioma in 2 months! 

We love you Charlie Boy :)