John Paul has only visited the Craniofacial Center at UNC one other time (which probably puts him in strong contention for easiest cleft child ever). In November 2013 Dad and I took John Paul to meet the Craniofacial team and we were jet lagging and Matt was home in China and most of what I remember was John Paul charming every single person he met, and also feeling like these UNC doctors, they know what they are doing. I was so impressed then... but the details got a little fuzzy and Thursday's visit felt familiar, but also new.
And way way better because Matt was there. And I'm still impressed with everything about the UNC cleft team.
John Paul rocked it. He actually did better and better as the day progressed (even though the morning went on and on and on.... almost 5 solid hours of waiting rooms and hallways and small confined spaces and lots of listening to adults talk). He started the day nervous but ended confident and talkative and just plain easy, despite an arduously long hearing test that had me squirming and restless.
We will hear the official report early this week, but I already know what some of it will entail.
His palate repair is gorgeous, functioning perfectly and a success in every way.
His speech is crazy good given his rough tough start and he does NOT qualify (!!) for speech therapy because he's just too accomplished already.
There are more surgeries in his future (two, actually, but one is at least a decade away so no need to worry about that). Surgery #3 (on the horizon - maybe just two years out?) will graft hip bone into his upper jaw and provide a way for his mouth to continue to grow, and especially a spot for his adult teeth to anchor.
His mouth is a wreck but it looks "just like it should" for a cleft child and no doctor/ENT/surgeon/orthodontist/dentist seemed the least bit concerned :)
The one bigger question is some mild hearing loss, and I kinda pushed for this additional testing because he passed the initial hearing test but my momma heart just felt like something was going on and.... well.... trust your momma heart, right? I'm curious to see what the team will do with these hearing results, but not worried.
So we finally finished up and Matt picked Moe's for lunch and John Paul discovered a love for root beer.
"I can't stop drinking this!" said the morning's rockstar.
And we cleared up a little confusion (after listening to mom and dad and doctor voices talk about surgery all morning long he thought maybe he had already done the surgery!) and promised him many many gallons of post-op root beer when the time comes!
This boy's life is a story of God's healing and redemption and I'm am so proud and so thankful he calls me Mom.
1 comment:
That's all great news!! Will's favorite is root beer too! I bet he'd love a root beer float!
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