Yesterday we met with Dr. Matthews, the first & foremost cleft lip & palate surgeon in Charlotte. He got a good look at Melanie's palate and declared, "I've seen much worse!" Guess that's good news. Since Melanie had her lip repaired in Kaz, though, the gap in her upper jaw has narrowed considerably, and Dr. M. said he couldn't get any instruments in there to close it. Therefore, we are to see an orthodontist next week who will take a mold of Melanie's mouth, and put in a palate expander to widen the gap. Seems like an exercise in futility ... close the gap, widen the gap, stand up, sit down ... not to mention that it sounds like baby torture: turning a key on a device in her mouth every night. Somehow I can't imagine that it tickles. Hope she has a high pain threshold. Hope I have one too ... This process takes about a month, and then she will have her palate surgery, probably around the first of the year. Then, it's off to speech therapy.
She seems to be catching up on her sleep ... she slept 12 hours Tuesday night and I had to wake her up at 8:30 to get her ready for the doctor. Then she slept 2 hours in the afternoon. Another full nights' sleep last night (and a very happy Mom) Today we visit the pediatrician to do a full workup of the rest of her, including bloodwork and other fun stuff. I'm curious to see what she says about her hip ...
Colin has a dental appointment at 4:00 ... why isn't my laundry washing & folding itself? Where is that "laundry salon" across the street when you need it? Scratch that: I would still have to hang it all out to dry and fold it too. I'll just go get reacquainted with my trusty Duet washer & dryer ....
Need to go roll some carcasses out of bed and get them to school ... Colin is up at 5:15 and out the door at 6. Shouldn't there be a law against sending a child off to school before the sun comes up???
POST SCRIPT: The pediatrician agrees that there is something fishy going on with Melanie's hip; we have a referral to a pediatric orthopedic guy the first week in December. She was amazed that it wasn't caught when Melanie was born; I suppose they were so concerned with her mouth that they didn't check her hip. It's something that is routinely checked in newborns in the U.S. The ped. even mentioned the "s" word to fix it ... this poor child is going to have a lifelong aversion to doctors and hospitals!!
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