Post-Op Update/Päivitystä leikkauksen jälkeen

Two and a half weeks have passed since Mei Mei's cleft palate surgery. How is she doing?




She is doing remarkably well. We have been amazed at her resiliency, her courage and her acceptance of everything she has had to endure in the last weeks.




We had asked for your prayers for a few concerns, and I am happy to report God answered our prayers and even the ones we didn't think to ask for beforehand.

- We got Mei Mei's lab work done (it did take visits to three different labs, and on surgery day our cleft team didn't have the results, but by God's grace I remembered which lab it had been (!) and they were able to get the results online right before going into surgery).

- Mei Mei and our whole family stayed healthy, even though Mr T had been so sick, and usually these bugs go through everybody in the household.

- While Mei Mei figured out quick how to get out of her arm restraints, she tolerated them for the most part, and didn't suck her fingers! In the morning and after nap time when I would take her arm restraints off, she would always smile at the "no no-nos!". A funny story: one of the first nights at home Mei Mei went to say goodnight to daddy. She stood in front of him, pulled her arm out of the no-no, waved goodnight, and put her arm right back in:)
She is still not sucking her fingers, so this may have broken the habit!

- As far as the supernatural understanding for Mei Mei.. She definitely understood once she felt a bit better and was out of the medicine fog, especially when we got home. I think there were still a couple of days that were especially difficult for her. We are so thankful for God's grace that covers the difficult days...

- And all those details... There were many. Like our friends at the campground. God surely is in the details! (He even knows the number of our hairs on our heads.. Why am I surprised when He takes care of even little details??)




I took these (five) photos yesterday. She is totally back to her outgoing, energetic and fun-loving personality!




We are so in love with our little girlie! While in many ways it was so crazy to go back to China and bring home a sixth child, God surely has blessed our obedience to His call. I get all teary-eyed just thinking about missing out on this blessing. God is so good!




Ignore our funny expressions:)

Last week we had Mei Mei's post-op appointment. Huge thanks to Casa Flamingo - we stayed with our Flamingo friends the night before, and loved visiting with them:)

The good news were her mouth has healed really well! The surgeons thought she looked great! Soft foods for another week, which now means just another day or so, then we can go back to regular foods. We were able to stop using the no-nos that day, which was such a relief!




Mei Mei also saw our ENT doctor, and her ears looked good. In three months we'll need a checkup to see if the tubes are still in, and in May she will get another hearing test.

After these appointments it was time to do something fun! Yes, chocolate! Yes, chocolate ice cream! And while it looks like Mei Mei is devouring the entire pint, she did have help... This girl loves her chocolate:)




The short summary of this long blog post would be Mei Mei is doing very well, and has healed amazingly quickly. We did have some rough nights for a week or so, which makes this mama feel her age, but fortunately we have a lot of helpers in this crew.



We are back to normal routines, back to school, church and errands. Just in time for Christmas vacation:)

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Reilu kaksi viikkoa on kulunut Mei Mein leikkauksesta, ja pikkuinen on toipunut ihan uskomattoman nopeasti. Kun kurkistaa suuhun, se näyttää ihan tavalliselta suulta, enää ei näy tikkejä kitalaessa, ei ole turvotusta eikä punotusta. Ainoa ero on ikenen puuttuva hammas, ja pieni kolo siinä kohdalla.

Kävimme tarkastuksessa viime viikolla, ja kirurgitkin olivat tyytyväisiä kuinka hyvältä kitalaki näyttää. Saimme heti jättää käsivarsien no-no't pois, mutta pehmeällä ruokavaliolla pitää vielä jatkaa pari päivää. Seuraava tarkastus vasta toukokuussa, paitsi korvat pitää tarkistaa kerran ennen sitä. Uusi kuulotesti tehdään sitten toukokuussa myös, ja silloin katsotaan puheterapian tarve myös (tosin halkioäidit netissä suosittelevat, että puheterapia aloitettaisiin heti, eli saa nähdä - meillä on tässä joulun matkustamiset edessä vielä myös.)

Kyllä meidän pienellä Mei Meillä on sisua! Ihaillen olen katsonut vierestä kuinka tyttö on selvinnyt tästäkin kokemuksesta. Pieneen elämään on mahtunut jo paljon vaikeita kokemuksia... Me uskomme, että Taivaan Isä on pitänyt tyttöä kämmenellään nämä kaksi ja puoli vuotta.

Kiitollisia olemme meidän Pikku-Myy ilopilleristämme. Emme oikeasti voi kuvitella elämää ilman häntä. Niin paljon iloa Mei Mei tuo joka päivään. Ihan kaheliahan se oli meidän mennä Kiinaan uudestaan, ja tuoda kuudes (!) lapsi perheeseen, mutta onneksi kuuntelimme Taivaan Isän kutsua. Mikä siunaus ja onni meidän perheelle!

Nyt Mei Mei on toipunut niin hyvin, että olemme päässeet normaaleihin rutiineihin kiinni taas. Mei Mei nukkuu taas yöt hyvin (eka viikko, vähän toinenkin oli rankka). On kotikoulua Pikkuneidin kanssa, palasimme kirkkoon Mei Mein iloksi (ystäviä!), ja kaikki muut tavalliset arjen touhut sujuvat taas. Hyvä päästä arkijuttuihin kiinni juuri ennen joululomaa:)