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Hand Surgery

Isaac was fairly content this morning waiting for surgery.  Of course once he realized we were not giving him a bottle his attitude changed a bit.  We spoke to his Plastic Surgeon, Dr. French, before surgery and she said she had been thinking a lot about Isaac.  She wasn’t certain that he needed to have a palate repair at this time.  Isaac makes it hard for anyone to get a good look at the back of his mouth.  We decided to have her get a good look at his palate after being put under and determine if he in fact needed a repair.

Early morning bed head


We were able to take Isaac back to the OR around 8:15am.  We then went to sit in the waiting area, knowing we’d hear from Dr. French or the OR Nurse on whether or not the palate surgery was taking place.  Well about 15 minutes later Dr. French came out to let us know that she got a good look at his palate and he does not need palate repair at this time.  What a relief, this kid can still enjoy his bottles.  His bottles are his comfort and had he had his palate repaired he would not be able to have a bottle for 2 to 3 weeks.  Prayers have been answered!!  Heavenly Father sure has an interesting way of testing us, as this is the second time we’ve prepared ourselves for a surgery and it was not needed.  It definitely proves to us that his Doctors are providing the best care for Isaac and his development.

As for his Syndactyly release, Dr. Scott released his pinkies today.  We had thought it would be his index fingers, but he decided to start with his pinkies.  His hands are wrapped in Coban and he will keep those on for 3 weeks.  We originally were told he would have full casts.  We will not need to do dressing changes for the first 3 weeks.

Since Isaac only had hand surgery today, we are able to go home after spending a couple of hours being monitored in recovery from anesthesia.  We are excited to start 2016 outside of the Hospital!

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“De-ported”

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted.  Last week I was “de-ported”, as the radiology team likes to say.  In other words, I had my chest port removed.  I had a CT scan a couple weeks ago and it showed no evidence of disease, YAY!  I asked my Oncologist if I could have my port removed if things looked good.

It has been three months since I had my last chemotherapy treatment.  My body still aches, but I am feeling stronger each day and my hair is growing back.  Before you know it, I’ll have enough hair to comb and style!  My eyebrows and eyelashes are coming back in full force.

  
This year we seem to frequent Hospitals as much as others go to the grocery store.  So, we are finishing our year off with a Hand & Palate surgery for Isaac.  Isaac will have his palate repaired, which will improve his swallowing and speech.  He will also have his first syndactyly release to give him index fingers on each hand.  

We are not exactly looking forward to the recovery for this surgery.  Very much hoping that the time goes by quickly.  As much as we love his hands how they are, we are excited to see his development as he goes from a mitten to separate fingers.

We had Family in town for Christmas!!  I will post more on that, but wanted to share a couple pictures.