Saturday, January 5, 2013

Our Little Warrior

Without further ado, here is Miss Nora, our little warrior, post-lip and palate repair.  Angie describes her little one as a warrior, a totally appropriate description for these little ones. 

I hesitated to post a photo because it's really hard for this mama to look at the eyes of her daughter and not see the sparkle that is normally there.  Through this though I am in further awe of this little one that we get the gift of calling daughter, she is a fighter.  And because of her fighting spirit, we were able to come home this afternoon.

So, what will the next couple of weeks bring?  Well, in addition to ensuring that Nora's pain is managed and that she is well-loved on (so thankful that she is attached to us and finding comfort in us which is improving my one-handed typing skills), Nora will have to wear the arm restraints ("no-no's") for the next three weeks or so (for sure until her post-op later this month).  In addition to not being able to suck her beloved thumb (which is already a source of frustration for her), she cannot drink from a bottle so as to not compromise her palate repair (of course, we went cold turkey with the no bottle thing as I did not want to give up any of those precious times with her before surgery).  Nora is allowed to drink from a cup (failed attempt on that tonight) or we can syringe feed her which definitely seems to be the way to go right now.  Nora's lip sutures will be removed next week, the rest of the sutures (in her mouth) are dissolvable, and while I haven't gotten a real good look inside her mouth, it does look a bit like a sewing machine went to work in there (thank you for the heads up on that, Angie).  We will also have to see the ENT for a follow-up as Nora also had ear vents put in (fluid in the ears is quite common in cleft kiddos).  I was only half joking when I asked if they could just go ahead and pierce her ears right away. 

So thankful that this major surgery is behind us and thankful for the surgical team Nora had.  The surgeon we were referred to is wonderful.  And, I must note that one of the Residents assisting him was a young Chinese-American doctor.  Warmed my heart as it was obvious he was smitten with Nora and made extra efforts to see her last night and this morning.   

Thank you for encouraging us and praying for our sweet girl.  We will surely have to take recovery and everything that comes with it one day at a time.  And, we are absolutely looking forward to seeing Nora smile again, rearranged lips and all.

6 comments:

Melanie said...

Awh....She looks beautiful, Heather! No doubt, that sparkle will be back in her eyes in no time flat, with all the love she is receiving :) Watching Nora go through this is helping my son overcome his "fear of the cleft"! Thank you for sharing with us all.

Kim said...

I must prepare myself to cry every time I look at pictures on your blog;) She's beautiful before and after. It's amazing to see the repair, I mean just looking at the lip incision it is clear she will barely have a scar. What a great surgeon! Praying for her pain and probably confusion and that God will just comfort her in supernatural ways during the time with "no-no's" on. We are praying for Nora and all of you. I cannot wait until you post pictures of her "new smile"...I know her smile and sparkles will return before you know it!!!

Bethany said...

Heather, I'm so happy to hear you're all doing well. I can't believe how good Nora looks just one day after surgery! She is amazing and certainly in the best of hands. Love to you all.

Kim said...

ANd I must add as look at her once again- Does her nose look just like your other kiddos or what? I think she looks like Jason a bit...sweet baby;)

Dana said...

She looks great, poor thing! Hang in there - praying for y'all!

suzie said...

So good to see pictures of your little fighter. What a sweet heart. I have been praying and will continue to pray for you over the next few days as you all adjust. Nora always has been so beautiful