We got good news today! Olivia's pediatrician called to let us know that all of Olivia's blood work came back normal! Whoohoo! She is a healthy little girl. With all of the smiles and laughter that come out of this little one, I kind of suspected she was!
We also saw the cleft surgeon this afternoon. He took a one second peek inside her mouth and said, "yep, let's schedule her for surgery!" He said the cleft palate is pretty wide and would like to do surgery soon. He also said there is about an 80% chance that the first surgery will be "unsuccessful". When I asked him what he meant by that, he said there is a risk that her speech will not be normal. If the first surgery is unsuccessful, they follow-up with a second palate surgery in about 6 months. He also said the surgeon in China did a pretty bad job correcting her cleft lip. He said he could try to do some reconstructive surgery on her face but wouldn't recommmend surgery until she was about 4 years old. I think she's absolutely beautiful now....so what if her nose is a little crooked!!
We see an ENT on Friday morning. They'll determine at that time if she also needs tubes put in her ears (a pretty common procedure with cleft kids). If she does need tubes, they'll be able to do this at the same time her palate is repaired.
After our visit with the surgeon, they gave us a tour of the unit she'll be staying on. She'll only be in the hospital one night, and I can stay with her.
After leaving the hospital, I got pretty teary! She's such a happy girl and is adjusting so well to her new life, the thought of putting her through surgery right now (or any time) breaks my heart. I know there are many moms and dads out there who have been through surgery and illness with their kids. Any advice you have would be most welcome.
Thanks again for following along with us. I'll leave you with a couple of prayer requests....and I thank you for keeping "little O" in your prayers:
1. Please pray that Olivia's first palate surgery will be completely successful and that she will NOT need the second surgery 6 months later.
2. We'd also appreciate prayer on the timing of this first surgery. If I had my way, I'd postpone it forever. They are talking about either December or January. There are pros and cons to both months.
Thank you!
Karis
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4 comments:
Karis,
I will keep you and Olivia in my prayers. Ella did great with the tube procedure (twice) and her flap surgery. I know Olivia will do fine but the recovery is tough. They can't eat real food for awhile so mushed bananas became our friend. I think we even blendered up a hot dog... yuck. Just sharing that to give you a smile, but if I can help at all please let me know.
Joan.
I am glad to hear that her test results came back great. She seems to be a wonderful little girl. I will pray for her surgery and recovery. Please let me know if I can do anything. P.S. I also can't do the self portrait thing without using a tripod.
I'll keep you and Olivia in my prayers as always. I'm happy to hear about the blood work. I know that the idea of surgery (especially more than one) is difficult. Remember the incredible resiliency of children and that the most important thing is the love and care you have for her. She (and you) will make it through ANYTHING!
Love you,
Noelle
Thanks so much for the updates--I love to hear how you're doing and see the photos of you and Olivia! So glad to get news of a clean bill of health--hurray! I'm sure it's hard to think of letting her have surgery now.... We had the "surgery fairy" visit our kids when they came out of anesthesia--seemed like there was a string of surgeries there for awhile. So when they woke up there was a new favorite toy on the hospital bed... But I think Olivia is a bit young for that. Will be praying...
Love, Di
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