It's me again....

Hi all. It's just me again. Don't worry, I don't have plans to sabotage my sister's blog too often, but sometimes I'd like to share with you about my day. You see, it was MY turn to have a visit with the doctor. Let me tell you how it all went.

First, my mom woke me up this morning. Yes, I always wake up this happy!

Then I listened carefully to my mom as she told me that the tables were turning and that this time I get to be with her and it is Keziah that will be dropped off at a friend's. I listen very intently as you can tell:

I was so excited!!! I couldn't believe that it was finally MY turn to be with just mom and to visit the doctor! I couldn't wait to see what a doctor was all about! It MUST be exciting, seeing as my sister gets to go all the time! My mom packed me up in my car seat, and off we went!

Well, my excitement didn't last too long. I figured out that the doctor is NOT a place I want to go! Do you know what she did to me??! She HURT me! Yeah, that's right and not only once, but twice!! In my legs!! Oh, I was not too happy about that, but I had to be a man about it and so I didn't cry too long.

The good thing about the doctor was that she weighed me. Oh yay!! My sister better watch out because I am half her weight!!! I am now 15 lbs 13.5 oz at almost 4 months! You don't believe me, do you? Do you need proof??!

I know, I know!! Look at those legs! I am so proud of them! My mom goes through a box of Cornstarch after all my baths! I fool people too with my size because my head is little. But then they pick me up thinking they are picking up some cute little baby. Nope!! They are picking up a tank!! I'm a boy and so I am proud of that!!

So today's lesson for me was I am now fine again for my sister to go with mom to the doctor's. I don't really want to go again. I'd much prefer to be the one dropped off so I can hang out with my buddies. Besides, I've heard lots of people are fighting over who will have me every Wednesday, and really, look at me, can you blame them?

Amazing!!

Yesterday has come and gone and with great relief it past without a hitch! We are so thankful to the LORD for granting to us what we needed: a co-operative girl. And really, should we be surprised that He hears our prayers?! Not at all! For He hears ALL of them. He may not answer them according to our will, but that is a good thing as He knows best. Yesterday, it was His will for things to go very smoothly, with the procedure only taking 10 minutes or so and then we were done! So hopefully I will be able to sleep better the next time, resting in the full knowledge and trust that no matter what happens, He is there. Aargh. I am such a slow learner!!

I will let the pictures tell the story of yesterday. There is a picture or two of the actual procedure so if you find those things queasy, I suggest you skip quickly over those. It also looks like there is blood, but it is the iodine. There was only a trickle of blood from the needle prick.

Here goes:

On the way to the hospital, showing her sassy self:

My brown-eyed beauty:

With the numbing cream on:

Walking with daddy and her froggy bag, full of activities to keep her busy

She is so thankful for these activities from her friends:

Ha! Can you tell he has a daughter?! He is SUCH a good daddy!!!

Teaching mommy how to play Angry Birds:

Laying ever so still, as the expander on her forehead is being filled. The cheek expander received 10 cc's of saline and the forehead expander had 15 cc's. I could see them expand!

And again. She was so brave!! Max and Ruby helped as a distraction as well. Many have asked whether it hurts her. No, it does not hurt. As it gets larger, he will be putting in more at a time and then for about 24 hours, it'll feel tight, but not painful. Phew!!

All done!!

Six timbits later :o) we were on our way back home:

Back at home, playing and carrying on like nothing happened. The following pictures will give you a bit of an idea of what she looks like. Not too much of a change but that's probably because we are getting used to what she looks like, and it's gradual.

Okay, mom. I know I am beautiful, but honestly, another picture?!

Sometimes we think they are hardly noticeable, and other times we are amazed that they are this big already, and we have 3 more months of weekly trips to go yet. So it'll definitely be quite large by the time it's all done. All of May is booked and we will be going in every Wednesday at 9. We'll see what June and July will be. Dr. Zuker is aiming for the next surgery to be late July or early August. Her birthday is August 6th; it could be a birthday she'll never forget!!

Just a side note on Dr. Zuker. He will be gone most of May, but not on holidays. He is heading with a team to India, the group known as Operation Smile. You may of heard of this team before. They perform surgery on those who have cleft lips/palates at no cost. Amazing, eh? And that is the kind of doctor we are dealing with, one who gives of his time to help those in need. He is fantastic!!

Oh, and not to be forgotten, here is Lincoln telling me all about his stay with his friend, Jasper:

Just as we are getting used to her face the way it is, it is about to change again. On Wednesday, April 25th, we will be heading back to Toronto to have both expanders filled. We have to be there by 9, which means leaving bright and early as we join the hordes of people that are heading the same way. An hour before her appointment, I will be putting on Elma cream onto her ports, and then cover them up with a special band aid/tape. This will have the skin numbed for the needles that will be inserted into the port. We do not look forward to this appointment. Since her surgery, she has not let anyone come near her face. Even we aren't allowed to kiss her "owie" cheek or forehead. Keziah is very protective of her face now. We shall see how Wednesday goes.

The last week or so, we've continued on with normal life. We became used to her chipmunk cheek very quickly, as well as the goose egg on her head. We took her out for groceries, went to a birthday party and even went up to Owen Sound for the weekend to see some good friends. She is becoming very aware of us talking about her face and we've noticed she will stop what she is doing, move to the other side of the room and just stand there, looking unsure. We are doing our best to not talk about it with her around, so if you ask a question and she's nearby, we may very well ask you to read the blog or we'll talk later. We'll see how long it takes her before she realizes that people stare at her. I know that as the expanders expand, it will really attract attention. Part of me wants to protect her from all this, yet the other part of me wants to be factual, with a "no big deal" attitude, helping her to see that outward appearances don't count (I know, she's young to understand this...). But we'll take it week by week to see how things go over for her.

Like I said earlier, for us we have become used to her face, before the expanders and now. What is hard is the fact that her face will change again on Wednesday, and will be constantly changing. Everytime I go onto the blog and see that big picture of her at the top, my stomach drops and it hits me again and again that she will never look like that. That makes me sad. That's the face we know and love!! And just when we are used to it, it'll change again! So it's a process for us to deal with. Walking into the recovery room the other week to see her, we both were stunned at how she looked, not prepared at all for the amount of swelling etc. We looked at each other with tears in our eyes and instantly questioned what we were doing and if it'll be worth it. I am sure as the expanders get bigger these questions of "what are we doing" and "is it really worth it" will come up again in our minds.

Onto pictures of the last few days:

This is becoming a favourite pastime of hers:

Up visiting friends in Owen Sound. Anya and Keziah are 3 months apart and got along fabulously!!

Cheeky grin!

The LARGE forehead expander:

Her goose egg:

My heart is FULL! (and I just noticed...so is my family room of baby stuff!)

Aw, his smile can't help but make me smile!! Mr. Lincoln will be going to be with his friend, Jasper, while we head to Toronto. Those two don't know it yet, but they are going to be best buds!!

Move Over!

Alright, alright, alright. Enough is enough, dear sister! It is time I have my OWN blog post! You see, it's not all about you, Keziah. I am on this journey, too! It's ME that's being dropped off here, there and everywhere while you go and get to be with mom and dad.

Usually I am okay with this, as I am a pretty laidback kind of guy, but when I keep hearing about how beautiful you are, I worry about it all going to your head. So as the considerate brother that I am, I thought I would protect your head from swelling (and I don't mean this literally as I know it IS going to swell in the next months) by posting some pictures of me. I may not be beautiful, but I know I am cute. Look, here's proof:

Oh, and here. You can't tell me I am not cute here! And the bonus is that I smell nice and clean, too! Being a boy, that's quite a feat!

See? I can even be cute without my favourite fingers in my mouth!

And although my eyes are not sparkly brown like yours, they sure are a mighty blue! (please tell me that having a double chin is cute, too!)

So, there, my dear sister. I just felt I needed to be heard. Now that you understand that we both are going to share the spotlight, I'll let you in on one of the pictures.

You would never know.....

...other than the way her face looks, that this girl had surgery 5 days ago. On Friday, she came home not only with stitches and tissue expanders, but also with attitude! I'll be honest though, I'd rather attitude than a miserable child on my hands.

Saturday was filled with visits from Uncle Pete, Aunt Lynne, Jasper and Kate, as well as Oma and Aunt Jackie. Keziah's face was still a bit swollen at this time and so was her attitude: she had thrown all her toys off the couch and onto the floor. Being the mean mom that I am, she had to clean them up. Well, she didn't like that too much!! I left the room to let her figure it out. After a few minutes I hear her crying "my owie hurts!". I dropped everything and ran to her, cuddling, hugging and wiping her tears away (as well as trying hard not to cry myself for her, thinking it was her face that hurt!). I then asked her where it hurt and the stinker points to a small scratch on her foot!! :o)

She also saw herself in the mirror on Saturday for the first time and she was not impressed, saying "I don't like it. The hosible painted my face!". She was pointing to the pen marks the doctor had made on her face. She never pointed out the expanders, just the pen marks.

Sunday she woke up with her eyes almost swollen shut and yellow bruising around them, and on her forehead. She was quite the sight! But it didn't stop her! And she didn't seem to be in any pain.

Today, the swelling has gone down some more. There is now bruising on her cheek and under her jaw.

Her incisions need to be cared for twice a day, washing with Q-tips and then Polysporin is put on them. The first night she kicked and screamed, which left me and her in tears. The second time went better and it has gotten better ever since, to the point that now I can clean them without daddy even holding her. So there is progress!

We are so thankful to see her running around, playing, singing, and smiling like nothing happened. Despite her attitude (which shows she's like any other 2.5 year old), she is a lot of fun and that sparkle is back in her eyes.

Here are some pictures of the last few days.

She looks like she has a cheek packed full of food, but no, there is nothing in her mouth. This was taken on Saturday.


You can see the cheek expander here. The port for it is right above her ear, under the skin. When they do the fill ups, they will numb the skin and then insert the needle right there. The other port is in her hairline. You can't see either one on the picture, but there are two lumps.


This was taken today. The forehead expander is popping out and it looks like she's has a good-sized goose egg.


Sometimes I have to hold the urge to just give those cheeks a pinch! They look so squishable! That is, until you touch her left cheek, which is rock hard!


Her colourful jawline



See why she has her daddy wrapped? Who could resist that spunky-full-of-life expression?


Her first fill up will be on Wednesday, April 25th at 9 in the morning. Just when we are used to her face this way, it'll change again! But like many pointed out, her bubbly personality is still the same, and that is what counts!

At last, some pictures

This post will mostly be pictures of the last two days. It will give you a bit of an idea of how these days have gone, and what she looks like now. Now that the swelling is down, her head doesn't look like the size of a 12 year old. She's always had good-sized cheeks, but now, chipmunks will for sure be jealous over the one cheek! :o) Both expanders already have some saline in it. There is one picture that will show her incisions. It is not gruesome, but I just thought I'd warn you in case stuff like that makes you uncomfortable.

In her new pajamas from the hospital


Even Patches has a nametag! You just can't see it, it's around his neck.


Ahhhh, the "10 beer" medicine starting to kick in


Each incision has about 8 stitches that are deep and will disolve on its own


Her first visitor, Uncle Arie, who brought her a cheetah (lion/tiger to her) and a Winnie the Pooh balloon. Later that night, at 3:30, Keziah declared to me that her lion was her favourite and she loves him :o)


A rough afternoon and evening which meant lots of snuggling


Slept away most of the visit from Opa and Oma, who brought her lots of activities that will keep her busy for the next few weeks. They also brought us some Swiss Chalet!


Feeling MUCH better this morning! The expander on her forehead is the largest, with it going from above her right eyebrow all the way past her hairline by about 2-3 inches. Her cheek expander goes from her jawline up to just below her eye. The second picture was taken two days ago. This is just the beginning of the changes!



Chocolate milk!!! Brings the gleam back into those eyes (and that mischievious glint?)


Finding the Play Room



"I don't want to go home, mom! I like the special TV!!"


Her day ended with a visit from Oma and Opa, who came bearing gifts, which included KFC!


Next week I will post about the next steps on this journey, but for now I am going to bed, looking forward to a quiet night without any IV alarms going off. Thank you once again for all your prayers and comments. We were clearly held in God's hands and were given the strength that was needed. The amount of prayers going up before God's throne on our behalf has left us feeling somewhat overwhelmed. What would we do without the communion of saints? That in itself is such a blessing.