Surgery Day ~ Hardware Removal!!

 

We were so grateful Dr. Morgan was able to work us into the schedule in same-day surgery today!!  Even though it was a later surgery time (2:20pm) we were ever so grateful to have an OR booked.  It was a long morning of waiting after we arrived at the hospital. . . so the sweet nurse gave Preston a Lego set to work while we waited for surgery to begin.

It began close to the slated time and it wasn't long at all before they were calling us to talk to the doctor.  The actual removal of the hardware took about 15 minutes!  Dr. Morgan was pleased with the process and said that he just had to stitch a few of the holes that were a bit larger than expected.  However, in a matter of a few days, the holes should be closed and cleared up.  

We were anxious to see him, but thankfully my sweet friend Heather came to chat with us on her lunch break.  Before we knew it they were calling me back to recovery phase 1.  Preston was quite a bit numb and kept asking the same questions over and over.  His first question when Dr. Morgan hopped over to check on him was about soccer . . and unfortunately he is still not cleared to play until we follow up in two weeks.  The doctor then asked him when he wanted to go back to school, "never" Preston said.  LOL!  Dr. Morgan said, "well, that will certainly require me to write a lot of notes" :)  He'll spend tomorrow at home and plan to return to school on Friday.

We arrived home after a very long day and all enjoyed CFA dinner together. I am just grateful for this next step to be finished and humbled by the many calls, texts, visits, and Facebook messages checking on our little guy.  One step closer to normal . . . 

And They're Off to School!!!

It feels like forever since both kids went to school on the same day . . and it has been forever, one week shy of an entire year!  Both today was the day.  Savannah finally got to enter Providence High School as a freshman and Preston finally got to return to in-person school post-accident.

This girl was up bright and early ready to go (we'll see how long that lasts) by the time the car pool arrived at 6:35am. I have to say I was a bit nervous for her, but she handled it oh so well.

And there she goes, officially in the building as a high school freshman!

And this little guy was quite a bit anxious about going back, but he too handled it like a champ.  He is back with restrictions of course, but I'm so thankful he was able to see some real in-person friends today!  Apparently, the school rotations are changing again as of next week, so we're just taking it one day at a time.  This is a short 4 day week due to a teacher workday, so I think we can handle this one.

Sissy, Will you Bake Me a Cake?

 

The eating is going quite well for Preston!  He is eating pretty much all foods (except for sticky gooey ones and super hard things) in small pieces.  This has been life-changing for us all!  He has enjoyed pizza, sandwiches, peanut butter, cookies, lunch meat, etc.  We are definitely headed in the right direction.  We followed up with the surgeon again today and he made the call to schedule the next surgery to remove the hardware in Preston's mouth!  More x-rays were taken and the doctor is very pleased with the progress of the jaw.  He said that it wasn't perfect, but looks fantastic and so now we are waiting on a Pediatric OR room to be available to get the metal out.  When we got home he asked Savannah to bake him a cake to celebrate . . which of course she was happy to do!

In case you've been wondering about the metal and screws we speak of, check out his x-rays!  OUCH!

Eating Progress

We had another follow-up with the surgeon scheduled for Friday, so that gave us a few days to try lots of foods before the bands possibly went back on.  He was skeptical each time but enjoyed lots of delicious food.  The first treat was Savannah's homemade chocolate chip cookies.  The fresh gooey cookies from the oven seemed to hit the spot!

The pie was a bit trickier and didn't go down very well the first time.  Later in the week, it was also delicious for him to enjoy.

Preston took no part in the zoom cooking dinner meal kit provided by Sonic in lieu of attending the conference out of town.  Dave and I certainly enjoyed it though. :)  Then came Friday. . . back to the doctor for another follow-up and possible band insertion.  BUT, we were thrilled that Dr. Morgan left the bands off for another week.  Hallelujah!  His mouth opening was at 29mm today, with 35 being the low end of the normal range.  Great progress!  Preston was given the go-ahead to try soft meats in small bites.  And guess what his first meal choice was . . . Chick fil A!!!  He has been asking for a CFA sandwich since this all started so what an exciting night for us all to enjoy it together!

Now we have another week to enjoy real foods as the jaw continues to loosen day by day.  Eating is SO much easier now, but still not back to normal.  

Freedom from the Bands

Preston had another follow-up with the surgeon today . . and we were thrilled that he removed the bands from his mouth!!!  It was quite interesting though because even with the bands removed his jaw was still frozen shut.  The doctor gave it some time and then came back to check and still no movement.  So, instead of putting bigger looser bands back onto the arch bars, he decided to leave the bands off for a few days to give the jaw time to loosen up (all of which he assured us was normal). 

Preston was cleared to try some soft foods, spaghettios as suggested by the doctor.  He asked about CFA, but Dr. Morgan laughed, nope, not quite time for that just yet.  Either way, we were eager to try "real food" for dinner.

I warmed up a bowl of his favorite spaghettios, without meatballs, and we all sat down to dinner.  The baby spoon was out and it was tricky business getting that food in when the jaw was still frozen.  He even said "mom, we shouldn't have tried this today.  I just can't do it."  I ignored the slurping of sauce and let him continue to try while we ate.  The next thing I knew, he had literally finished the entire bowl!  We were all so proud and thankful he can finally eat something other than liquids through a straw.

This is totally random, but I love to see my kids take baby steps to independence.  Today Preston used the self check out at Lowe's all by himself with his own visa debit card from Christmas.  It was another big step for this little guy today!

 

Major Improvement!!

With each passing day, this kid is bouncing back!!!  Not only is his smile physically bigger (less painful to smile and laugh) but his spirit is almost back to normal too.  His extreme uncomfortableness is less and less as he has adjusted to the device in his mouth and he is able to eat more now that he can use a baby spoon for pudding and applesauce. He's back to joking with his sister, on-camera zoom at school, laughing at our dumb jokes, and also non-stop Minecraft. 

His mouth is still somewhat uncomfortable and he REALLY misses chewing food, but for the most part, he is doing amazing!  We see the surgeon again on Monday and follow up with Orthocarolina on Friday.  It will be a busy week, but we are praying all of the bones are healing fast!

Valentine's Day

Well, this year Valentine's Day is quite different . . . there is no Cheesecake Factory cheesecake (nope, not waiting 2 hours to get cheesecake slices to go), there aren't boxes of chocolates or candies since Preston can't eat them, no special dinner or extravagant gifts, but as we celebrate in our own little way, my cup overflows to be loved so well by so many.  I bought some balloons for the kids and had little gifts for them because to THEM that is important.  I got iced doughnuts for Dave and Savannah and a box of the specially requested yogurt sticks for Preston.  Dave brought me a bundt cake from church and had flowers as well.

For me, it's a day to be grateful for my village.  I feel so loved, so overwhelmed with gratitude, and so thankful for this family God blessed me with.  My love language is not gifts and I always prefer handmade cards . . . my three blew it out of the park with their cards today!
 

Happy Valentine's Day!  My heart is full!