Closed!

The fistula is closed!! YES! I am hoping it is not my imagination...Jason was gone for five days and perhaps I was delirious, but I think it's gone!  This is great news! Stay tuned.

Next week we will go to have Teagan's hearing checked, post-surgery, first time......Then they will check the ear tubes. Are they still in? Clear? And so on? She's been pulling at one ear for the past few days, so I am curious to see how she is doing.  She's been signing less since ear surgery, I am not sure why. But, she clearly understand everything we are saying. You can ask Teagan where her nose is, where her belly is, where are her shoes, where is Nana Rosalie (her BlahBla Pig)? And she will respond to you.

We've had a busy two weeks.  Before Jason went to Finland, Jason's brother's family was here for a GREAT week-end to meet Teagan. We appreciate the journey they made with 6 children on hand!!!!

Teagan and Kathleen have been all over Linden Hills with Melissa.




At the library:

At the Bread Store:

We've got a couple days to hang out here before we go to Cleveland - my grandmothers can meet teagan for the first time.

If I can end on a more serious note, I've noticed that Teagan's friend from Ang**el Home - JiaY*  has not found her family yet:(.  Here are JiaYi and Teagan together at AH before Teagan (the JiaYue) left AH.

 Teagan and JiaYi came from Pin*ding*shan together to Ange*l's H*ome in July 2009 

They were friends and companions at Angel*s H**ome (the * are for searchers, not something else!). Jia*Yi has a serious heart condition and has not been adopted yet. They are one to two weeks apart in ag.

I am really hoping and advocating for Jia*Yi!!! I know there are people from the larger adoption community who follow this blog. She is walking, talking and looks healthy but her heart condition is quite serious and needs medical attention. 

I know the right family is out there for her.

Happy Mid Autumn Festival!

Happy Moon Festival Everyone!

We did not have our party this year. But, we did take a trip to look at the full moon and think of everyone we love all over the world looking at the same moon. As a bonus, Jupiter was out that night, in line with the moon and we could see it and Jupiter's four moons through the binoculars. Teagan ran through the field laughing and probably wondering why she was out in a field at 830 pm.


The fistula is still there, but it does not seem worse.  We will probably be starting speech therapy in about 6 weeks. Meanwhile, Teagan seems healthy and happy.

One of the favorites has been going to watch "cat cat" play soccer this fall. We've had great weather and she loves to run around. Here is some "peek a boo" while watching the game.

A little of the game:

A good view of the game from Dad's Shoulders:

More playing:

And more peek-a-boo:

Updates

I've been getting some requests for updates on how Teagan is doing after surgery. It's hard to believe it's been two weeks already from this photo above.

For some comic relief, here I am in my "bunny suit" before I took her in. You know, I am not sure how comforting it was for me to carry her down to surgery and talk to her as she fell asleep looking like this.

For the most part, she is doing really well. The liquid diet was tough, she was sick of jello, soup, and blended food after about 3 days.  I don't know if you can tell here, but she is not pleased with her food choices as she sits in her chair.

We tried to make some good ones - graham crackers with cream were a hit, so was peaches with juice, and meatballs blended with broth.  She even like blended wedding soup made by our neighbor Scott. Popsicles were allowed. This is Teagan with her Popsicle making the "cold" face.

She has moved to soft foods now and no arm restraints after 11 days. She was so happy to do this that she literally danced a jig when she has her first bite of soft food. And smiled every time she ate something. No crackers, cookies, chips, or sharp edged food for awhile.

There is a set back- a fistula has developed. I saw it Saturday - a fistula is a hole basically. It's a smallish hole in the back of her mouth where the soft and hard palate meet. It's a place where there are not as many layers of tissue to work with and bring together and is the weakest kind. Teagan's palate was bilateral and that is the kind of palate (wide) that is most vulnerable to fistulas.

We spoke with our surgeon Monday about it. While it is not uncommon, you don't want a fistula. We will have to wait and see what happens. It may granulate and therefore close on it's own. IT may not close but stay the same size. If that happens, we can wait to repair it when we do a lip revision, nose revision, bone graft and all the other things to come. If it grows, we have to deal with it sooner.

If your reading this, please pray/hope/wish/visualize with me it closes on its own.

I spoke with the cleft clinic about this yesterday. My read of the literature was that even a small fistula can impede speech although our surgeon thought not (but he is not a speech specialist). The expert in speech at the cleft clinic, said it's too early to tell. But, yes, a small fistula can hurt speech. It also may not.  There are endless possibilities and we just won't know until she starts speaking more.

I think this is the part we just have to get used to. There is going to be a lot of forwards and some backwards.

Bonus Photo: Here is a photo from Angel's Home of Grace and Teagan!

Almost out of here..

After a very rough start in recovery and a tough night, and being told we were NOT going home....Teagan has turned the corner and is racing towards discharge! OK the racing part is my dream..but they might let us go today because Teagan has started to drink broth and water. I would love to get her out of here and away from the tubes and beeps and the madness that goes with overnight hospital stays. Toddlers and cords don't mix well at night. She does not need oxygen anymore, is off the BP cuff, the bleeding from her mouth is mostly gone, and she has almost smiled once - at my dancing to enrique. We took her on a hall walk and she made some signs for cat and fish when she saw photos of them. We can take off one restraint as long as we watch her hand. Her hearing seems improved already...much quicker reaction time to sounds.

done!

Palate repair -done! Ear tubes done. Met with surgeon after that and learned she had
A lot of fluid in one ear and some in other. Hearing should really improve now.
Palate repair went well too. We may stay 1 day now not two.

The hospital is GREAT! Really impressive.
The process is designed with child well being in mind. I was able to carry her to OR...hold her in my lap with her mask and say goodbye when she was out. No poking no needles before then. She had access to fun toys before then and ran around.

We will see her in about 20 mins.

Thanks for all the prayers, well wishes, and waiting room reading material you all sent us:)

First Day of First Grade and Pre-Op

Last year..Kindergarten First Day

This year..a First Grader!

Before school Drew Crew Gathering:

Group Hugs:

Walking in:

In the classroom:

After School!

These two were seated next to each other in class. They were separated by noon.

Yes, they would not leave the school. They are sitting here eating someone's lunch together as a snack.

 And Going Home:

 

We met with Teagan's surgeon yesterday. He explained what he will do exactly and we talked some details. Good news- she is allowed to keep using her bottle after surgery! She's up to 3 a day now and I don't think it would go over well to give them up now. This is a big relief.  He thinks he will be done in about 2.5 hours including the ear tubes and exam.  I'll be allowed to put on scrubs and be with her until she is asleep and then they will take her to the operating room. There is about an 85% success rate with this surgery for her kind of CP. Otherwise, you have to redo it or go on to other procedures. Since we are going to be in the 85%, I won't concern myself with what that would entail. My Dad is coming up for a few days to help us out, making sure Catherine can get to school and other things. Teagan will wear arm restraints at night, but he said we could keep them off in the day as long as we can keep our eyes on her all the time.  All in all, he presented a much more balanced view than I had heard before.

I'll post an update after the surgery. Wish Teagan luck.