post surgery

Reese had me take pictures of her stitches - before and after - since she couldn't see them herself. She is now back to her normal naughty self with the next surgery scheduled for December 17.

surgery

On August 20, Reese had surgery to place bone anchored hearing aids. The doctor was originally going to do the surgery in one stage but changed his mind and decided to be conservative and do it in two. Titanium screws were placed behind both ears, into her skull and the skin was pulled back over the screws. After 4 months, the skin will be pulled back again and a sort of snap will be put on the screws so that she can attach her hearing aids to them and will no longer need a headband. The surgery lasted about 2 1/2 hours and she was not a happy camper coming out of the anesthesia. They had originally said that she should not have much pain, but apparantly it was more complex than the doctor expected due to her malformations. He actually had to drill 2 holes in her left side because the first screw popped right thru the skull, it was in a place that was not dense enough. The first hole should heal up though. So, yesterday was not a good day for Reese and she had more pain than we had expected. Today is better as long as we stay on top of the pain meds.
When this process is all done, she should have improved hearing which is so important at her age. She is learning so much at school and this should help with her speech and pronunciation.

May 23, 2009

Just thought I would throw in an entry with Reese and Ellie playing in the sprinkler - too funny !

May 7, 2009

Well, Reese is now 5! and she is so...proud of it. although she was convinced that her ears would open up when she was 5 - didn't happen. Poor baby - we just tell her that God made her ears very special and we like them that way. She has finally hit the 50th percentile in height - GO Reese! She also lost her 1st tooth a few weeks before her birthday. Why do they grow up so fast? She told me today that at school they had a fire alarm and a tomato drill. I never go a day without a little giggle courtesy of Reese.

December 31, 2008

Reese had a good Christmas this year. She has been very "Americanized". She told us exactly what she wanted and all about Santa coming. As she opened her presents she kept saying, "mommy, I am very happy!" Reese has only been with us a year and a half but it feels like forever.

November 26, 2008

Reese came home from school last Thursday with a fever of 103 and coughing up a storm. I called the doctor and she said that it was a virus that is going around. Well, after a weekend of fever and coughing until she threw up, Jeff took her in to the doctor and lo and behold, she had pneumonia!! She has been on antibiotics for 3 days now and has got her energy back. I imagine she will have no problem eating her Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow.

November 13, 2008

Reese is still loving school. She finally got her headband so that she can wear two hearing aids. The grin that spread across her face when she realized that she could hear better was priceless! She is still talking non stop and daily talks about "baby africa". What will she do when she is actually here?