Leah got her helmet!!

I am late getting this posted, but I adjusted the date to show the date she actually got her helmet (May 28). As of today (June 7), she has been in her helmet 10 days and has actually already had an adjustment appt. since then (yesterday). Leah has adjusted to her helmet well....no issues whatsoever....which is a HUGE blessing!! She doesn't seem to notice when it has to come on or off. Leah has to wear her helmet for the next 3-6 months for 23 hours a day. She sleeps in it and takes all her naps in it. Some have worried how that must feel for her, but her therapist showed us the soft foam lining inside her helmet that cushions her head. Honestly, Leah really doesn't seem to know she has it on...I am surprised myself!

I went to Michael's to get stickers to decorate her helmet. I'll include some pictures of Leah in her new helmet. The stickers came off after a few days even though I used the tip of painting over them with clear nail polish. I have to get some more and redo her helmet.

Everyday Leah gets an hour break from her helmet. I take it off for about 40 minutes sometime in the late afternoon and clean it with alcohol and set it in front of a fan to dry. I make sure to get a lot of snuggle time in with her sweet little noggin during this time. Then at night, Leah gets another 20 minute break while I give her a bath. Leah sure does love her bath time! She seems mesmerized by the water and smiles a lot! Leah is 4 months old in these photos.

Leah right after she got her helmet

Leah happy in her helmet!

Leah in her decorated helmet - she LOVES her thumb!

One Month Post Op!!!

Wow....sorry I haven't updated in awhile! It is unbelievable how fast time is flying now. We are back to living a "normal" life and I was in shock when I realized this past Wednesday that we are now ONE MONTH post op!! I am SO glad surgery is behind us!Leah's scars have completely healed. Obviously you can still see them, but all her stitches are gone now...the last bit came off yesterday.

I have been meaning to post about Leah's post op appts from May 5th and May 6th. Plus, I took pictures of her with both her surgeons at those appts. If I don't get a chance now hopefully I will soon. Leah is napping and once she wakes up I won't be back online for a bit. Then LIFE will swallow us up again. We've had so many other things crop up this past week or two:

1) Our a/c broke a week ago this past Friday. We were blessed to have it attended to and fixed within a few hours by a friend of Ken's from his Bible study!!

2) Our kitchen faucet is leaking (barely a year old) and we discovered it was leaking below the sink. I've called and they are sending a new one free of charge (of course), and Ken will replace it when it gets here. In the meantime, at least he was able to rig it so we could still use it without it leaking. Otherwise, no running water in the kitchen and that really would be a pain.

3) I had an ear infection which never happens and had to fit in a doctor appt for me (in our already busy schedule). It was very painful. And it came after a cold that I had for a few days with full blown symptoms. I felt horrible! I am usually quite healthy.

4) Ken had to fix our slide out trash can cabinet. He's become quite the handyman!

5) A full day we couldn't get our computer to boot up. Thankfully, my mom was able to get it working.....THANKS Mom!!

6) Ken was out of town for 4 days last week and will be traveling again tomorrow for an overnight trip.

7) They called to reschedule Leah's helmet appt. It was supposed to be this coming Thursday May 22 and because they are relocating their office Leah won't get her helmet until Wed. May 28th. We'll be driving to Ft. Lauderdale instead of Hollywood. I was completely bummed about this because the sooner we get her in the helmet, the sooner she gets out. Now we are delayed a full 6 days!

In addition to these things we've had normal life:

The girls finished up their AWANA year and we are finishing up our 2nd year with our Keepers group (similar to Girls Scouts) this Tuesday with our end of the year Tea Party. Sarah will be awarded with the pins (badges) she's earned for the year: candle making, soap making, counted cross stitch, latch hooking, first aid, watercolors, sign language, and a couple more I can't think of at the moment.

We signed Sarah up for a 4 week writing class with a published author. She is enjoying it.

Well Leah is up....I'll post about her appointments soon! Hope all is well with everyone! Drop us a comment if you have the time.

Slideshow Updated!!

I couldn't resist...I have been wanting to get it done. I've updated Leah's surgery slideshow below. Now the pictures go all the way until she gets home. The song will end before the slideshow has ended...you can scroll down to the bottom and restart the song. I haven't figured out a better way to do it.

Time is really flying now.....

Wow! I can't believe we are almost 3 weeks post op (tomorrow)....it is unreal. I have been meaning to update for some time now. The first couple weeks home Leah's sleep patterns were all out of whack. She is doing much better with that now! The surgery seems like a lifetime ago and her scars are already looking so much better.

We are seeing her doctors this week...tomorrow we have an 11:15am appt with her neurosurgeon, Dr. Heger, for a post op check. Then on Tuesday we have a 3pm appt with her plastic surgeon, Dr. Stelnicki. I am pretty sure she will be getting her head measured for her helmet. He said once they take the measurements...it is all computerized and her helmet will be ready in 7-10 days. I can't really picture her wearing the helmet and dealing with it since we were so focused on the surgery. Hopefully she is still young enough that she won't mind wearing it. We were told she would be wearing it for 3-6 months...it is an orthotic device to help shape and mold her head. I'll post pics when she gets it!

Leah is ALL smiles these days and starting to laugh more. She's 3 1/2 months now and really getting more and more interested in the world around her. She smiles at us all the time. I will post some recent pictures soon. I am also going to update her slideshow so that it takes you all the way through to recovery pictures....just a matter of finding the time.

Sometimes I feel like I walk around in a "dream", a dream that the surgery is now behind us...it is a wonderful feeling and one that I don't ever want to forget. At a most trying time in my life....God showed up in a huge and powerful way....He walked beside me and took over in moments I felt weak and couldn't do it. I've had people tell me they could never go through what we've been through with Leah's surgery...that it is unimaginable to them. I've told them it is God that took me through it. When we are at our weakest, He is at his strongest. His power and courage and strength worked through me and in me and as a result I feel loved, blessed and amazed at His love for me!!

*I added in a post entitled "Day 3 Post op" below the slideshow in order to better preserve our memories of the week.