Palate Surgery Went Well!

[HollyBee]

Hi there. Graeme's had his palate repaired on Tuesday the 19th. Everything went beautifully ~ thank God! ~ I was so worried about the pre-surgery waiting and he was so good, he was happy and we were able to keep him entertained, then he fell asleep in my arms about 10mins before I had to hand him over and he stayed asleep for them.... can't ask for more than that. Recovery was ok when he was coming out of it, then my husband and I took turns staying with him on the ward. He came home on Wednesday morning, he was "busy" for the nurses and kept setting of his monitors! So on the mend now and he's been sleeping lots and eating well. The whole procedure took an hour. We were disappointed to learn that they did NOT have any restraints for us to come home with so I had to MAKE my own... I'm pretty impressed, they turned out good! Couldn't even BUY a pair in the city.

Just thought I'd update you all. Dr Blushke did a straight front to back repair on the soft palate, I guess it came together really well, he said he was able to overlap it and he should heal very well. Anyway, that's where we're at now... healing. Thanks for the well wishes!

[Heide]

glad to hear all went well with the surgery and the recovery sounds like it is going fabulous. If you are interested, I am willing to check at home to see if we can find our daughter's arm restraints, if I find them, I could mail them to you - our daughter had to wear them for 3 weeks and it may make it a bit easier to be able to switch off between your pair and another. Heide

[nikkie8622]

Yay , so glad to hear all went well , your experience sounds sooo similar to mine , emotionally too ((hugs))

[HollyBee]

Yes, things went smooth BUT I think I'm paying for it now! It's literally been 2 days of hell now, I don't know what's up..... he doesn't want to drink... it's a huge fight to get him to drink, he's still peeing but he's not taking what he had been. THEN I see a hole in his mouth - I called and I was told that what I was seeing was normal and "not to look it there".... and I know that this isn't my department I'm not a surgeon but when Graeme is crying hard that's all I see! I'm slightly concerned! I have pictures that I emailed to them today that I captured while he was screaming and I just don't know. Has anyone else experienced this??? It's hard NOT to look in his mouth especially because all he's been doing is crying......

As for the restraints... the ones we made are working okay and supposedly all we need is another week of them BUT if you do have a small infant pair I'd gladly buy them off you.

Go to my site at http://www.babysites.com/sites/holy1976/ to see photos of "what I mean"... PLEASE tell me if you've had a similar experience.... I really hope that this is normal.... I may go see the surgeon on July 4th next week even though he normally won't follow-up until 6 weeks.


Holly

[Heide]

Hi Holly,
I hope your little one will feel better soon and will be able to rest. I will look for the restraints and, if I can find them, I will send (don't worry about buying them -they are of no use to us anymore (thankfully). I will check tonight after work.
I also wanted to let you know that with our daughter's palate repair (bclp) the surgeon left a "little hole" in front for growth and later repair, might that be what you are seeing. I can also add that after a few weeks the roof of his mouth will look completely different. With our daughter, now almost 4 mo. post op, it looks in color and texture just like the roof of my mouth - it is amazing.
Hang in there and, if possible, get some rest.
Heide

[jacksmom]

Holly, hang in there! After about 10 days things will start to get MUCH better! If you'll feel better taking him back to the doctor, go ahead! That's what they're there for! Let me know if you need anything---you know I'm always around to talk!
Allison

[HollyBee]

Thanks everyone, Today went better thankfully, I got out of the house for about an hour let dad look after the fort and they had a nap! I probably should've had one too! Graeme seemed to drink a "little" better today, still had a fight or two with him, he's stubborn, it's getting it in his mouth that's the problem, once it's in then he sucks and quits complaining!

He sounds quite nasal right now but I notice that he's making different sounds everyday that are getting clearer.

TTYL