All is Well

Julie came through surgery wonderfully and has almost no pain in recovery! We were also pleased to learn that her hearing will come in more gradually than we thought, mainly because her ear canal is filled with gel and she's wearing a cotton ball all the time. We should start to see the effects of the prosthesis in the next month or so. She'll have a hearing test in 6 weeks, which seems like it's right around the corner, which makes me realize we're going to have a baby really soon! Speaking of baby, here's a picture of me from yesterday, at 34.5 weeks.

Prayer for Julie

I'd like to throw out a quick prayer request for Julie and the surgery she will be having surgery tomorrow morning. Yes, we are in surgery mode around here right now. Last October was the same way. At least this time the surgery is a "good" one. Last year, Julie had a radical mastoidectomy in her left ear, as well as the removal of a cholesteatoma (growth) in that ear. The growth had eroded her middle ear bones to the point that the surgeon had to remove them too. Now, a year later, there is no regrowth of the tumor or recurrence of the mastoid infection (praise God!), so she is going in for reconstructive middle ear surgery. Basically, the doctor will insert prosthetic ear bones to replace the ones she no longer has. This should restore her hearing in her left ear, which is a very exciting prospect! Of course, surgery is still surgery and we're very nervous about getting her through it. She has been through so much and quite understandably freaks out about such things. It sounds like the recovery should be easier than her previous ear surgeries, at least. We're also a little concerned that her new ability to hear may overstimulate her or bother her in some way until she adjusts to it...kind of like someone turned up the volume and it's stuck that way. So, if you think to pray for Julie and our family tomorrow, we'd very much appreciate it. I will update soon. Thanks!!

More Updates

Melody had her first post-operative appointment with the surgeon yesterday. Some of you know that Larry and I already noticed a hole opening in her palate, which caused us great disappointment and dismay. The surgeon, however, was able to offer some encouragement in his assessment. The whole back part of Melody's palate looks really good at this point and the grafted tissue is doing well. There is, indeed, a little hole up front, but the doctor says it should be much easier to fix than the ones he just dealt with. He said that if her palate stays just like it is we will have made good progress. That was very nice to hear. As a parent, I guess I was hoping for the perfect outcome all at once. It's only natural not to want to go through another surgery if it can be avoided. We go back to see the doctor in another month. He said that whatever Melody's mouth looks like then is what it will stay like. Her next surgery will be about a year from the last one.

As for me and "Baby Brother," we're going well! I just got off the phone scheduling all the rest of my OB appointments for the entire pregnancy. I only have six more!! Oh my! I'm feeling really well, other than an annoying case of carpel tunnel in my wrists which causes numbness and pain overnight. The doctor told me to wear a brace and it seems to be helping, especially with the pain aspect. I will have Larry take another belly photo this weekend when I hit 32 weeks. I'm happy not to feel too huge yet!

Larry is now halfway through his first semester of graduate classes toward a second master's degree. He is incredibly busy with a full-time job, full-time classes and a full-time family. In fact, his final exams coincide "nicely" with our baby's due date! I think he is enjoying the classes, which is great, and we both hope it will help open doors for him (and our family) in the future.

I didn't write about it at the time, but our family traveled to NY to visit my mom this past August (yay for frequent flier miles!). It had been 3 years since we'd been there...too long. We stayed for a week and had a good time. The girls especially liked all the fun things that Oma had prepared for them to play with. Here are just a couple of pictures.

Mother and Daughter

Blueberry Picking (my favorite activity of the whole trip)

Oma and Granddaughters (blurry but very cute!)