Unfortunately, the dissolvable sutures that Dr. Sargent placed on Monday, August 25th have ruptured and Anna's skin above the lip repair is no longer intact. We knew that there was a good chance that this could take place because the skin was so tight once he had sewn the lip and gum in place. This can take place when a child has as severe a case as Anna's bilateral cleft lip.
We did not realize that the sutures had actually ruptured until the dermabond glue adhesive covering the sutures dissolved and fell off on Friday, August 29. We have talked to the surgeon on call and there is nothing we can do until we can call Dr. Sargent's office on Tuesday and have him see her. We are trying to just keep the area clean and free of infection. We are uncertain whether Dr. Sargent will be able to restitch the area or whether we will have to let the area heal until a procedure can be performed at a later time. This is all uncharted territory for us...please pray for Anna that she continues to go without pain and that the surgeon is able to make the best repair possible with what he has there to work with. We will let you know if we are looking at another surgical procedure due to this incident. Our palate repair is scheduled to take place on December 3, 2008, but this date could change now...we will not know until we consult with Dr. Sargent.
It has been a long few days. We appreciate your thoughts and prayers and will keep you posted this next week.
Sheri
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
ANNA LIP SURGERY AUGUST 20, 2008
THE DAY BEFORE MY LIP SURGERY AT DR. COX'S OFFICE...HAPPY I'M GETTING THIS LATHAM DEVICE OUT OF MY MOUTH
Anna had surgery to repair her lip and gum on Wednesday, August 20th at T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital. The surgery was successful and Dr. Sargent was able to get a great repair on Anna's lip and gum, but Anna had a limited amount of skin to use to get a final repair on the nose. Dr. Sargent will need to perform an additional surgery in approximately a year to lengthen the columnella (skin from the tip of the nose to the lip) to complete Anna's repair. The skin that had to be sewn was very tight. We felt like Dr. Sargent did a great job with the limited amount of skin to work with.
We stayed in the hospital until Friday afternoon and were able to take Anna back to the hotel to stay in the area until Monday, August 25, for her suture removal. My mother was able to stay the weekend with me and Anna so that Mark and his mom were able to bring Samuel back to Knoxville so that Anna could get the rest she needed to recover. Anna was very agitated by even the slightest sounds so we had to keep things very quiet for her over the weekend. Our parents have been a great help this past week...we are grateful for the help both of our mothers have given! Our church family has been such a blessing, too...bringing meals, coming to clean our house, or just sitting with Samuel to give me time to tend to Anna. How grateful we are for everyone's care and concern for our baby girl!
Anna rested well over the weekend due to her taking Tylenol/Codeine that the doctors prescribed, but she did not start taking her milk back until the stitches were removed on Monday. She drank Bubble Gum Pedialyte for 5 days and began to take milk back early this week. We had to take her to the Emergency Room on Sunday night because her temperature was above 102 degrees but they ran tests to make sure she was okay before Monday (since they had to put her back to sleep for a few minutes for the stitch removal). There was no sign of infection but they did determine that she was anemic. We addressed this with her pediatrician this past week.
She has especially not eaten well the last two days (Thursday, August 28 and Friday, August 29). We tried to mix her milk with Pedialyte to get her to take liquids, but she was just not interested in eating the last few days. She was refusing juice and straight Pedialyte. PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY THAT SHE WILL HAVE A DESIRE TO EAT. She had lost 6 ounces as of Tuesday, August 26. I took her back to the pediatrician today,Friday, August 29, and we determined she has thrush in her mouth which is causing her discomfort and ,therefore, no desire to eat. She has eaten small amounts since this afternoon and we are giving her medication to clear this up, so we hope she does better in a few days. She had not had a bowel movement since Tuesday, August 19 and this concerned us, but she finally had one today. I think that helped her to feel some relief due to her having a lot of gas the last few days. She had lost 7 more ounces as of today so we hope to keep her weight stable since she has lost almost a pound.
Her lip is healing and we will be going back to Dr. Sargent's office to have them look at her on Monday, September 8. The dermabond they applied over the area where the stitches were is peeling off and it looks uncomfortable, but all in all she seems to be dealing well with the lip and the pain. I think it looks worse than it actually feels now that we have gotten past the first few days. We had to clean a couple of spots that had some infection above her lip last night-we called Dr. Sargent to make sure that this was normal. He said that there can be a spot that gets infected where he placed some disolvable sutures on Monday, so we are watching it closely.
DAY OF THE SUTURE REMOVAL...
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
LIP AND GUM SURGERY ONLY ONE WEEK AWAY
SAMUEL AND ANNA PLAYING EARLY THIS MORNINGWe are exactly one week away from our second surgery in Anna's journey to repair her cleft lip and palate. We go to Chattanooga next Tuesday, August 19 to see Dr. Cox and have him make any final adjustments to the Latham device in her mouth. Then, we will go the next morning, August 20, to T.C. Thompson Children Hospital to have Dr. Larry Sargent perform her lip and gum repair.
It has been a long month. I appologize for not posting any updates this past month. I am very tired and trying to get rest after being sick for a few weeks. Trying to pump milk, taking care of Anna with occasional feeding challenges and the lack of sleep that can bring, plus trying to be a decent mother and wife for Samuel and Mark has kept me busy. I am surviving...The Lord has really helped me the past few weeks and I have encountered strength only He can give. I was especially ministered to by the book "The Bumps are What You Climb On" by Warrren Wiersbe. I read it the past few weeks and it was a great encouragement. I have been blessed to have Mark's mom come two days each week to help with the kids so I can try to accomplish needed tasks around the house through the week. Mark has really pitched in with Samuel and helps with Anna when he can (in the evening and during the night when she chooses not to sleep or when she is just restless.) My family and church members have been such a help and encouragement, too.
Anna has been sick with sinus problems for the last few weeks but is much better now. We go back Friday, August 15, to our local pediatrician to make sure that they feel that she is healthy enough to undergo the surgery. The pediatrician is keeping her on an antibiotic until the surgery so she will not get sick from exposure to anything else...we are keeping her out of crowds, not taking her to church the last two weeks, etc. to make sure she stays well and does not get sick. She is really growing and changing. She is reaching for things, holding things and she is smiling so BIG now...it is hard to imagine her not being able to smile for a few weeks.
ANNA SITTING IN HER BED...ALL SMILES!!!We will have 2 1/2 weeks to recover which means no bottle (tube feeding with a hand-held bottle we squeeze, giving her small amounts of liquid at a time) and Anna has to wear "No-No" elbow restraints to keep her from bending her elbows for two weeks to avoid tearing her stitches and sutures (which I am sure will make her very mad). So, I covet your prayers that I get through these few weeks. I especially ask you to pray that she will eat well. I plan on having my mom and mother-in-law help with Anna and will probably send Mark away for a few days with Samuel to take a mini-vacation so that Samuel does not get upset if Anna is really fussy and irritable for the first few days home...he does not like his sister crying. He has been eager about her getting her "Boo Boo" fixed, as we have talked about the hospital and the doctor with him the last few weeks. He has a book that he reads called "Miffy Goes to the Hospital" and he tells us about the doctors fixing Anna's lip when we get to the page with the hospital on it. It makes you wonder what he thinks and how much he understands...I think he will be amazed when the lip has healed after a week or two.
SAMUEL READING A BOOK...ONE OF HIS FAVORITE THINGS TO DO!We will stay in the hospital until about Friday, August 22 and then come home for the weekend if all goes well. We will then return to T.C. Thompson for another day surgery on Monday, August 25, for them to remove her stitches. They will have to put her under general anesthesia again for a brief time to remove the stitches, not wanting to damage or scar the lip. They will cover the area with Dermabond glue adhesive and allow the area to continue healing for the remaining 2 weeks. We should not have to stay in recovery for more than a few hours for this procedure and be able to come home that evening.
We will keep you posted during the next few weeks and try to update you throughout her recovery following the surgery. THANKS FOR ALL YOUR PRAYERS! The Lord has been a refuge-we could not make it without Him.
The Carr Family
Mark, Sheri, Samuel, and Anna
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