Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Lauren's coming home

The doctor just signed off on Lauren leaving the hospital. She had a difficult night and had to have pain medication every 4 hours. However, she is taking in fluids well and that was enough to approve her release. We will be keeping her at home and making her as comfortable as possible.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Primary's- 2nd Surgery

Lauren has just come out of surgery and is slowly waking up. The doctor said there was some complications that arose. They were unable to fit the splint into her mouth. This was because the incision made during the distraction surgery had started to close and it didn't have the flexibility to move it in the position they wanted. They instead had to grind down the splint and fit it into place. The downside to this is it won't be able to give the added pressure needed to give her the length in her jaw. More or less, we are basically putting her back to where she was before the first jaw surgery. The doctor said there may be some added length but not as much as they originally intended. Her jaw is wired shut and she will be on a liquid diet for the next 3-4 weeks. They said she may be released as early as tomorrow morning. She is unable to really talk and it is difficult to understand what she wants. The room we are in is much smaller than before and we are located on the 2nd floor in room #22. I don't know how visiting hours will work due to the room size and location. I'll try to find out more and post the information later.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Turning.. bad to worse...

So, what a week we have had. We took Lauren in for her check up on her jaw. The Orthodontic Doctor said to stop turning the distractor NOW and that it was distracting the bone the wrong way. On Sunday we noticed her lip was getting pushed and started to worry. Anyway long story short, no more turning the distractor. Her lower jaw has shifted far over and the poor girl has no bite. She is struggling eating and the length needed was not accomplished.

So, after meeting with doctors today, and after a couple x-rays, they want to place a bone stint on her jaw which will move over what was pushed and will lengthen her jaw. They will need a mold on Monday and will do surgery Tuesday. They have to do it quick while the bone is still soft and easy to work with. We asked why the distraction didn't work. They couldn't confirm anything with the x-rays. They said it could be many things, but they think either one of the brackets on the device were loose because young bone is soft, or her bone was not filling in where they had hoped. Pretty much it can't be verified until they go in surgically.

After the next jaw surgery the bummer is her jaw will be wired and she will be on fluids for FOUR WEEKS! That will be the hardest part I am sure. They say it won't be as painful and the surgery will be 2-3 hours. So here we go again. This is not what we were planning on, but we will survive. Lauren is great and never complains. We will update everyone as things transpire. Thanks to all of you for your love and support.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Still turning.....

Well, lets just say that jaw distraction has definately been the most painful for Lauren. We have been turning the distractor now for about twelve days. She does not like it and it seems to be very uncomfortable. I love how the doctors said it "shouldn't hurt." After we turn it, she is fine, but while we are turning it it is unpleasant for not only Lauren but mom. Anyway, we will be turning it until next Monday when we will see Dr. Yamashiro and he will tell us how much longer it will need to be turned. Hopefully there will be an end in sight. She is doing great though. She started preschool and loves it. She is meeting friends and she is a TROOPER. We will keep you posted as we stop turning it and as we prepare for her next and final surgery of the year in October.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Week 2 Post op-Primary Children's

Lauren is pretty much back to the way she was before the surgery. She started preschool this week and doesn't seem slowed down by the surgery. We are turning the distractor every day. It does give her some pain when it is turned initially, but it doesn't last long. We sent new photos to Dr. Lewin in California and she thinks the ear is healing well. We took her to the ENT doctor today to have the ear canal cleaned and have her tragus checked. This is the small triangular piece of cartilage in front of the ear canal. It seems to be the slowest healing area of the ear. The doctor checked it and felt it is looking OK. They recommended putting ointment on it daily to help it heal. We will be planning to head back to California in October for her final surgery of the year.