We left without tears...

The last two weeks have been going fairly well. As you can tell from the earlier post, her incision is healing nicely. It is past the "WHAT IS WRONG WITH THAT BABY!!!" phase and into the "Oh, that poor baby fell and hit her head" phase. Today was her check-up with Dr. Sargent to check out the healing progress. I was pretty confident that he would be pleased, so I was truly at ease all day. We were running a little late so Mia and I got dropped off at the elevators while Maddie and Drew parked the car. We got on the elevator with a nice gentleman who began oohing and aahing over Mia. When I looked down at her expecting to see her normal grinning face I noticed her bottom lip quivering and her eyes beginning to water. I tried comforting her, but she remained very solemn. We got off the elevator and walked into the Medical Mall entrance. The sliding glass doors opened automatically and she jumped and grabbed tightly onto my shirt. As we continued to walk, her grip became tighter and tighter. Suddenly it hit me... she remembered. She had such a strong connection with this place and the pain she has gone through that she was already beginning to dread just being there. My heart was so saddened and empathetic for her.
Thankfully, once we arrived at Dr. Sargent's office, there were 4 little girls playing with toys. After closely watching them, she decided to jump down and join in. By the time Drew and Maddie arrived, she was laughing and playing with her new friends.
A quick hour and 45 minutes later, we were finally called back. I don't know if I could have stayed one more minute in that waiting room, so hearing her name was like music to our ears. Once we got into a room, Dr. Sargent (and his entourage) arrived very shortly. He took a quick look at her head and confirmed that it was healing well. He even said that I was "doing a great job keeping it clean and allowing it to heal." Then after an impressive 45 second consult, he was out the door and asking us to return in 4 weeks. Suddenly we heard Maddie exclaim, "WHAT! That's all?!?" We heard the entourage in the hall laughing at that remark and the nurse practitioner peak her head back in the door and let us know that gave her a good chuckle.
So, even though we wanted to hear "see you in 6 months", we will take "it looks great, see you in a month."
As we were getting on the elevator, we were all laughing and joking and Drew looked at me and smiled. "Hey... this is the first time we are leaving this place without mommy in tears." I paused and reflected on that wonderful thought.

What a difference 1 week makes...

WARNING... GRAPHIC PICTURE INCLUDED

I knew that children (toddlers especially) heal quicker than adults, but it is fascinating to see it happen before your eyes. Babies have more fibroblasts than adults, which are cells that lay scaffolding for new skin. This makes sense because the baby's skin has to keep up with its fast height increases and weight gains. I knew all of this but I still can't believe how quickly that huge crater in her head has healed over the last week.
It has now finally closed up and you can see that beautiful new skin beginning to form. There was a small area above the spot that looked like it was a little of the seborrheic dermatitis. So, I had Drew hold her and I took a pair of tweezers and just lifted it right off. It came up very easy and there were no problems underneath it. My goal is to keep it as picked over as I can so her doctor won't have to touch it the next time we see him!
Speaking of seeing Dr. Sargent... we were scheduled to see him today, but received a phone call and he was called away for an emergency. So, next Monday we will try it again. By then, we hope to hear, "Come back in 6 months."
I have included a few pictures of the incision... I even did a little side by side so you could see how fast she has healed in just 1 week. I also added a few more pics just to show you how stinkin' cute she is! We are praising our Savior and Healer! Thank you for the prayers!

Healing... Take 2

Life had calmed down a bit since The Great Scab Removal of 20-12. Poor baby slept for almost 14 hours that night and then took over a 3 hour nap that afternoon. I think all that sleep really allowed her body to start the healing process.
Each day is has gotten a little bit better. She has been staying at home all this week so we can keep the environment as "sterile" as possible. Thankfully, it is beginning to scab up which will ultimately seal it off and allow it to really heal. This kind of scab is the kind we want. It is the natural scab that occurs during the healing process of a wound. Drew is pleased that her skull is pretty much covered up. The first day after the scab removal, he stayed home with her. I was going over instructions with him about how to "nurse" the wound during the day and when I got to the part about applying a thin layer of Neosporin he stopped me. "Wait, do I put it on with my finger?" "Sure, just wash your hands first and apply a nice thin layer." "But, I might touch her SKULL!" I just laughed. This is definitely not his area of comfort, but he would do anything for his little girls.
I am including a new picture of the wound. Again... it's a little graphic. Not near as much as the first, but it's still a little tough for some people to look at. I had to snap it fast tonight because my camera battery was going dead, so it's a little blurry. The other picture is her sweet smiling face. What a picture of a precious little fighter that doesn't let all this strife in her life get her down! She's certainly my inspiration! Thanks for the prayers... keep them coming!

Oh my... I can see her skull

One of the major reasons I write this blog is to allow other families who will be going through a similar journey to have a better understanding of the process. Because of this, I want to make sure and stay honest during this time... good or bad. Unfortunately, today I must write about the bad.
If you have been reading the blog, you are quite aware of the "spot that wouldn't heal". It started several weeks ago and was looked at by several doctors and dismissed as a place that just needed more time to heal. So we waited... and waited... and waited. Today was her scheduled check up with her plastic surgeon and I couldn't wait to see his opinion on the "spot". Sadly, the news I was hoping for ("we've got some medicine to clear that right up!") was not what we received. Instead, he explained that the spot was a collection of dead skin cells, hair and other waxy substances that have built up around an area of the incision that had formed an open spot. This collection had formed a cap on top of the open spot and basically was keeping it from being exposed to air and therefore unable to heal. The only solution? Remove the scab.
I'm not going to lie. This was one of the more traumatic experiences of my life. They were not able to give her any pain killer for this process, so the procedure involved me holding her down with all my strength while the Resident armed with tweezers and a small pair of scissors cut away to remove the scab. She screamed until she couldn't scream any more. A good bit of the scab was removed by ripping at the hair and scab with tweezers. I have never in my life wanted so badly to take the place of my little girl. Instead, I could only hug her and hold her and pray that the doctor's hands would move swiftly and precisely. By the end of it, she and I were both drenched in sweat and Maddie and Daddy were paralyzed with unbelief. Thankfully, it was a successful removal, but I must admit that it is hard to look at. Even now, I am sobbing as I write these words. That scab revealed a very deep wound that upon closer view exposed a tiny white spot. "Oh my... I can see her skull" I mumbled in disbelief. They cleaned out another spot near her ear (thankfully this one was was quicker) and it this one exposed a nice pink spot below the smaller scab.
So, what's the plan now? This might surprise you, but we are to keep it open and exposed to air. He doesn't want us to cover it unless she is in an environment where it can get dirty. Keep Neosporin on it and rinse it in the bath each night. In one week we go back to have it looked at again.
Please pray that her wound would heal quickly. Please pray that there are no other complications and that we can start to truly put this all behind us. Please pray that God would continue to give us strength and that He would allow me to fully trust in his path for our lives.
I have posted a few pictures below. Please understand that these are pretty graphic. Again, I want to be honest about this process, so I think the pictures are necessary to paint a true picture.