Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Hello to all! Once again, sorry for not posting in awhile. If we would post more frequently, we would not have to try to remember all the events of the past weeks. Seems to me that our days are passing by so quickly and I want God to show me how to make the most of every moment. I also feel the need to clear my head and thoughts often. Last month, we forgot my mother's birthday and this month we forgot my mother-in-law's birthday!! We called my mom after her birthday and I cooked a meal for my mother-in-law Monday evening (three weeks after her birthday)~Goodness!! So, if we happen to forget your birthday.......it is not intentional. :-)

Clay had a follow-up doctor appt. last Monday (22nd). A small area around Clay's donor site was infected; so, we were glad to see Dr. Bidic and have him take care of it. We are thankful for Dr. Bidic (Clay's Plastic Surgeon) and for his two Physician Assistants (Kaylee & Savanna). Clay's next surgery will be April 29th at Children's in Dallas. Dr. Bidic will place expanders under the skin on his shoulders and an expander in his left leg. Clay still has his trach and it cannot be removed until he has more mobility in his neck. The scars still prevent him from tilting his head back. Having the trach in place enables the doctors to safely intubate him for surgeries. Once the expanders are placed under the skin, saline will be added weekly to expand his good skin. The expanders will be in for several months-until enough skin is expanded to bring around to the front of his neck. The same thing will be done for the scar band behind his left knee. He may look like he has shoulder pads this summer-"saline" shoulder pads. :-)
We have had warm days this week and Clay has started saying "I'm hot" and looking for shade.
It is almost time for his lesson with his "homebound" teacher, so I will let this be all for now.
Thank you for your continued care and kindness~you are special to us!

Monday, March 15th

Good day to all. Clay has all of his stitches out from his last surgery. He and his brothers have gone to South Texas for a week of spring break. When I spoke with Deidra this morning they had been to the beach yesterday and were capturing tree frogs in Pappy & Grandma's yard this morning. Dana (Deidra's twin sister) and the girls are there from Omaha and I am certain there are no dull moments. Clay is scheduled for another surgery toward the end of the month. They are going to have to do more work on his neck to allow him to lean his head back farther before the trach can be removed. He splashed in some waves while wading with his cousin. Mom was a little anxious about him getting too deep, but he seems to know he is not ready for that yet. I know that this is a brief post, but I wanted to let everyone know that Clay is all little boy and doing well. Thanks to all.

Monday, March 1st

Hello to everyone. Clay had a surgery on Friday, February 26th. They worked on his nose, mouth, and chin. We were scheduled for the O.R. at 11:15 but the surgery did not start until 1:15. We had several areas of concern that we showed the surgeon before they went in and he decided to spend the extra time while he had Clay under anesthesia and address one of them. Initially they were just going to work on the webbing around the bridge of his nose and release the scars around his mouth . The goal is to have him open his mouth wide enough for intubation on future surgeries. With this in mind they were able to add about 1 cm to the opening on each side of his mouth. The area we were concerned about was below his bottom lip. The surgeon was able to take a full thickness layer of skin from below his waistline and graft it in under lower lip. He sewed a bolster in over this graft to protect and support as the new skin has a chance to adhere. To give you an idea of what Clay looks like it appears he went several rounds with a professional boxer. He has stitches all around his nose and mouth and Saturday he was swollen to the point where he said it hurt to swallow. Some of the swelling has started to go away and he is now able to enjoy a , "soft diet." I stayed home with him yesterday (Sunday morning) and his appetite has returned with a vengeance. He is one tough little boy. He looks pretty rough but he is scheduled back to Dallas Friday to have the stitches removed. I know this is short but I wanted to let everyone know how he is doing. Thank you to all who have expressed their care and concern.