Thanks to everyone who was praying for Landon and us! We are so blessed. Landon did great in surgery and Dr. Genecov was able to do both sides of the lip – yay! I’m just so happy he doesn’t have to go through this again in six weeks. We got up at 4am on Thursday morning to go to the hospital and Landon was all smiles! He wasn’t allowed to have any food and he was still a happy baby! All the doctors and anesthesiologist met us before hand to answer any more of our questions and then, Gladys, the nurse, took Landon. We sent back our camera and they agreed to take some pictures. While in the waiting room, we met two other sets of parents who were also waiting for their children to be operated on (different conditions). There was a TV screen that showed the progress of each patient (a scalpel meant in surgery, stitches meant they were finishing up, and a band-aid meant all done). It seemed just minutes after I sat down that Dr. Hung, the ENT, came in and said he was all finished putting the tubes in Landon’s ears! Then it was only a couple more hours before Dr. Genecov came and got us. I don’t remember a lot of what he said at that time because I just wanted to see my baby. I was a little emotional when I saw Landon at first. He was just coming out of the anesthesia and kept twitching and turning his head side to side. He was pretty puffy and I did not recognize him. I had been told to expect a completely different look, but it took me by surprise how it hit me. Joseph explained it well, “We fell in love with the Landon that came into our lives with the cleft lip and that was the only way we knew him. Now that he’s changed (albeit for the better), it’s as if a part of him died and now we’re accepting this new look.” Once he was more awake I could see my sweet Landon in his eyes. I just rocked and sang to him and that seemed to soothe him. We stayed a few more hours and they said he was doing so well that we could go home that afternoon!
Now that it’s a few days after the fact, Landon is mostly back to his happy self. He’s even tried to break a couple of smiles through his new mouth but only the bottom lip curls out right now! He is very stuffed up and sounds like Darth Vader all of the time! Now that he has complete nostrils, they make more mucous, plus there are blood clots in them. It took him a couple days to get his appetite back but he is almost back up to eating his regular amount now. We started out feeding him through a syringe with a long tube, but now he’s graduated to a regular bottle that has a tube-like nipple. He wears no-no’s on his arms that keep them straight out so he can’t touch or bump his mouth and nose. I’ve mostly just been holding him day and night. Partly because he sleeps best in my arms (I can tilt his head back so he can breathe better) and also because I want him to feel super loved after going through something traumatic. I just love to study his new handsome face! I feel like these experiences have opened up my heart to a deeper kind of love; for him and my whole family.
Next Thursday he has to go back in the OR to have all the stitches removed and stints put in his nostrils. Just a week or two after that and he should be fully recovered. Palate surgery will take place at around 9 months. Thanks again to everyone for your prayers, calls, and especially to Grandma Dorothy for all of her help with Michael.
3 days after surgery
