We're home!

I can't believe it! We're home already! Ava is doing really well. She didn't have any further problems with her oxygen once she left recovery. A little too drugged up I guess! She is drinking pretty well and of course wants to eat, but doesn't usually eat much due to the pain in her mouth. The doctors in jax are not as restrictive on her diet as we have had previously, but we are obviously very careful about what we give her. I haven't looked in her mouth yet but I guess she has real raw area on her cheek where they disconnected the flap. She has another flap that was done previously in her throat that I guess is not in the right place and has a lot of scar tissue. They will address this in another surgery as they didnt want to do too much at once and have nothing work. We are cautiously optimistic, but last time her palate looked good for about a month then pulled apart. So please continue to pray for healing. We really appreciate all your thoughts and prayers!

Surgery #4.

Ava is out of surgery and in the recovery room. They are keeping her a little longer because her o2 saturation keeps dropping when she falls asleep. The surgeon said there were some issues that will require a follow up surgery or two, but he is optimistic that this one will close the holes and heal correctly. We will update again when she gets settled into a room. Thanks again for all the prayers.

We're Home!!!

We were so excited to be able to go home today!! I guess after our 2 week stay last time, it was a shock that we could go home so quickly. Ava is doing really well, although we really won't know for a while whether the surgery was successful. As of now, our biggest obstacle is trying to distract Ava from wanting to eat. This is even harder while at home since the rest of us are eating normal food. She will have to be on clear liquids (broth, gatorade, etc) until Tuesday. Then she will be able to start on "full" liquids for three weeks, which is basically anything that could be sucked through a straw (although she is not allowed to use straws, sippy cups, or the like). This means basically stage 1 baby food, ensure, or milkshakes. I am being completely obsessive about these restrictions, because I don't want to look back and think that I could have done more to make her palate heal better. In the few hours we've been home she's said "want snack" about a thousand times. These diet restrictions are not usually an issue for this surgery in the U.S. because 99% of kids that have it are 6 months and under and have never eaten any food other than milk. It makes me sad and angry at times that she had to spend so much time in the orphanage when 2 years ago we were waiting to adopt and she was waiting to be adopted. I don't understand why her paperwork was not sent in earlier by the orphanage so that she could have had the care she needed earlier. I know God is in control and there is a reason for the way things happen. We are just praying that she has temporary amnesia about cheeseburgers and lollipops!

Post op day 1

Last night Ava was very sleepy and actually very calm compared to the last time. I knew she would snap out of it sooner or later! She has done pretty well today, just a little whiny at times (understandable-but most of the time just drama) and one full out fit. The fit occurred while on a walk throughout the hospital when she spotted some food at a coffee shop and realized she couldn't have it. With her focus on food since we've had her, keeping her distracted from the fact that she can't eat has probably been one of the hardest tasks. During her screaming fit today, I got a good look inside her mouth and what I saw (with my untrained eye) did not look very good. Knowing the surgeon would be gone all weekend, I immediately asked the nurse to page him to come look at her mouth (she was sleeping this morning when he came by so he didn't look). His associate came by and said it looked about the same as when they closed yesterday, they just had to redistribute what little tissue she did have toward the back of the palate, where it's more essential. In any case, he said we may be able to go home tomorrow or Sunday if all goes well. Yay!! We're already sick of the hospital. We appreciate all your prayers and ask you to continue to pray that she would heal without difficulty or complications. She really has been such a trooper and has made incredible progress in so many areas since we brought her home from China. I really would hate for her to have to go through this again any time soon!

Surgery #3

Becky and I have been sitting in the waiting room for the last 3 1/2 hours, and the doctor finally called. The surgical team is finishing up and Ava should be headed to recovery soon. We didn't get the "it went great" speech we really wanted...the doc was able to close the palate, but had to use a little bit of artificial tissue. The artificial tissue died off last time, which is why we are here for this third surgery. At this point, it's just wait and see. We will know more over the next couple of days.

Gavin

Ava Today

It has been a long time since we updated this, mainly because we have been busy, busy with Ava. She is doing great, trying to say new words all the time and back to her old self. On July 28th she will be back at Shands for her third (and hopefully last) operation to fix her palate. She has healed up from the last operation and the gap in her palate has closed significantly. Pray that she holds up better after this surgery than she did the last two..both physically and mentally. We will try to keep this more current.

Gavin

Amazing.

Just a quick update. Becky has managed to work some kind of miracle and was able to get Ava to take her pain medication. She then somehow convinced her to start taking liquids, even a popsicle! This is HUGE progress and if she keeps it up, we hope to have Ava home in a day or two. Almost there...almost there.

Gavin