Home Sweet HOME!!!!

Ahhh It's nice to be home!!!  Our flight home was pretty stressful.  Davin was not liking the idea of having to sit on a plane for 5 hours this time.  A lot of people have asked me if the flight bothered Davin's ear and the answer is no!!!  He didn't complain about it at all.  They pack the ear drum pretty good so there really isn't any pain, they say that there may be some pressure or fullness like we get but nothing too bad, but like I said Davin didn't say anything about it. 

Davin is feeling WONDERFUL!!!!  Part of post-op care is that he cannot really do anything a 3 year old wants to do, lol, and because he is feeling so well he thinks he can just run, jump, play like normal.  He is aware sometimes but when he does something he shouldn't I tell him to stop and he says, "I got boo-boo? Ooooooo".  It has been pretty nice out since we have been home so we have been outside for some fresh air, he really wants to ride his scooter and bike, and go on our swing and slide.  I told him that he can't to all of that yet, he has to wait until his boo-boo gets better.  His new thing now is, "boo-boo gets better, I ride bike?" or "I go on slide?", he's so cute!!  Over all he has been pretty good about listening to us, I freak out every time he does something he isn't supposed to though, but the doctors re-assured me that he will most likely be fine but to just try and minimize it all, which we have been doing.  Davin is somewhat stubborn but has been really impressing me by the way he is listening when we tell him he can't so something.  He really seems to understand. 

He can't get his ear wet so while we were getting Dustin's hair cut today we had Ms. Gloria wash Davin's hair for us.  We got most of it, other than by the skin graft site and the canal.  He liked it and it must have felt so good for him to have his hair washed.  Ms. Gloria has some of the bracelets that I had made for the fundraiser out on her counter to sell, she already had $45 for us!! :-)

Davin has not been wearing his hearing aids at all!!!  I am just really in awe that he can hear so well already.  Once his skin graft site heals I will have him wear one on his left side since that ear is not hearing well without it.  It's a great feeling to know that we made the right decision and it's all worth it!!!  Even Davin's speech has improved, he is talking more, and in sentences more and words are coming out clearer too!!!  Truly a miracle!!! 

Here is a pic from 5 days post-op, it was actually taken while were still in CA, after his last post-op appointment.

Catching up to date...the rest of our time in California.

Ok sorry I haven't posted since last week, we had a very busy week.....



Saturday March 12, 2011

We went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, what a great place!!!  The boys loved it, (and so did Chris and I), it was a low key place to be able to keep Davin in his stroller as much as we could.  We left around lunch time and walked around the town, we had lunch, then went back to the aquarium.  When we were almost getting ready to leave for the day Dustin started not feeling well.  Chris took him to the bathroom and he ended up throwing up outside the bathroom.  Needless to say we left and drove back to the hotel, he ended up doing it again as soon as we got off the elevator in the garbage can.  We relaxed in the hotel for the rest of the night.  I was so worried that he had the flu or something and that Davin would get it, but he was perfectly fine the next day.  It must have been something he ate.  Anyways Monterey Bay, is such a beautiful place!!!  I am glad we decided to go there, so pretty!!!

Sunday March 13, 2011

We started our day a little later today, we ended up going to a place near Santa Clara called Roaring Camps Railroad, and took a BEAUTIFUL train ride through the Redwood Forest.  Another easy laid back way to keep the kids entertained without Davin doing too much moving around.  After the train ride we drove into Santa Clara and walked around a bit but it was a very gloomy and rainy day.  Davin can't get his ear wet so we had his head wrapped (which we did whenever we would go out) his hoodie on and hid under the shade thing on his stroller.  We got ice cream :-) and didn't stay very long.  Went back to the hotel and just hung out the rest of the day. 

Getting ready to go on the train ride. As Davin would say "All-aboard"

Monday March 14, 2011

Today started out with a phone call to the doctor.  Davin's ear just didn't look right to us, they said to come on in and they would check it out.  The doctor looked at it and said it looked completely normal and we went on our way.  We had decided to go to the San Francisco Zoo today after we left the doc.  When we got there I looked back at Davin in his car seat and noticed something, took a closer look and his plug had popped out sideways.  I called the doctors again and they said to come back....so we got back in the car and turned around to head back to the doctors office.  He just ended up taking a pointy tool and carefully pushed the spongy plug back in place and told us that it should be fine until the next day, which was our scheduled post-op appointment, then he sent us on our way and said "now go see some animals".  So we headed back to the zoo for a few hours.  After the zoo we went back to Pier 39 one last time and walked around, watched a street juggler show, the boys loved that!!  

This is what the plug looked like when it popped out sideways...

Putting the plug back in, such a good boy!

At the Zoo :-)

This sheep is REALLY old!!

So close to the Lions and Tigers

Dustin's first animal word when he was a baby was "hippopotamus" and bald eagle.

 Checking out the hippos, another rainy day, had to keep Davin covered.

We got to pet the penguins, sooo neat!!  This is "Sparkle"

San Francisco @ night.

Tuesday March 16, 2011

Today was our last post-op appointment in CA.  The doctor that did the surgery (Dr. Roberson) saw Davin today.  He ended up taking out the old plug and checked out his ear canal.  We got to see the new canal since it was exposed, so neat.  I will be posting pictures at the end of this post so beware it's kind of graphic, but I think important to be able to see to understand what is going on with Davin, plus it helps other parents who read this blog that will be going through the same thing in the future.  Dr. R said that the canal looked great, and there was no damage from the plug popping out. I guess the new skin graft could have been damaged by that happening but he said it looked great!!  He ended up putting a new plug in and we talked to him for awhile asking him lots of questions, and he played with Davin :-)  Dr. R. was amazed as to how well Davin was already hearing, that's really reassuring that the ultimate outcome is going to be a good one!!!  While at the appointment Davin put two and two together and realized that Dr. Roberson was the reason he was hearing, totally awesome!!!!!  I really love Dr. R and his team, so pleased with our experience there!!

After the appointment we went back to the hotel and just hung out there.  Dustin ended up going swimming, ha, he was nuts, it was only in the 60's and sprinkling.  He wasn't in for that long but it made him happy because he had wanted to go swimming everyday that we were there.  

Davin and Dr. Roberson playing :-)

Peek-a-boo

Watching Dustin and daddy from our room. 

Davin and I had to come down to see him swim.  

****OK WARNING!!!!!  BELOW ARE TWO PICTURES OF DAVIN"S NEW EAR CANAL, GRAPHIC PICS!!!!!!!****

Ok get ready......

Davin's new ear canal, it's shaped like a funnel. They make it bigger on purpose because it will get smaller.

The hole goes down a bit to the drum. His ear drum is not in the pic, it is packed with packing around it and you still cannot see the packing, the "silver" color is just the lighting but its the white bloody gauze covering the tape on the outside of the canal.

Home Tomorrow!!!!!!!! (Wednesday March 16, 2011)

Out and about....or not

So after our post-op today we tried to go to San Francisco but the freeway was all backed up, I think it was related to the tsunami warnings.  We turned around and headed to San Jose, to the Children's Museum.  I have heard that this is the best hand's on Children's Museum around, so why not go and let the boys see some cool stuff right?!?! Low key fun....Well we get there and I freaked out, I was so nervous that something was going to happen to Davin, and paranoid of all the parents wondering what was "wrong" with Davin.  Well I was right about the parents, we got tons of bad looks and whispering and stares.  BUT we let them look around for a bit and tried to stay where there were less people, and I sprayed their hands with sanitizer about every 5 minutes lol. They had fun, but we were only there for about an hour because I was so nervous, it was nice just to let them explore and use their imagination for a bit instead of sitting in the hotel room.   I can't get over how good Davin feels, you would never know he had this surgery yesterday. I'm so proud of him!

We then took a walk in the park right by there, and walked by the Guadelupe River. 



Then walked downtown San Jose to find some lunch, Davin fell asleep in the stroller so he didn't eat with us.  We found a Johnny Rocket's, it was yummy!! 

Dustin's ketchup smiley face that the waiter made.

When we were done with lunch we walked back to the car and went back to the hotel.  We hung out here for the rest of the day/night.  We get stir crazy towards the end of the night so we took our nightly walk outside around the hotel, only this time we walked it 4 times, and then around the pool too like usual.

Davin didn't want to go to bed tonight but he fell asleep fast. I wrapped his head with some gauze that I brought from home.  I feel more at ease with it covered during the night.  Hopefully he and I get better sleep tonight. 



First Post-op....removing the head bandage

Today was a big day as well, today was the day we were going to see our baby with some bad owies, and the physical beginning of our journey to get him his Big Boy Ears!!  Davin really just amazes me, he is so brave and strong.  We went to CEI to get his head bandages off and he just sat there while the doctor took a pair of scissors near his owie, no struggle at all, just still as can be holding his bear.  It didn't take long at all, she took the blue/purple bandage off first, then the white one.  It was hard to see the blood but I knew it was going to be there. 

People have been asking me how I do it, how I can be so strong, well Davin is the reason, I have to be strong for him as well as follow his suit.  I am no different than any other mom.  Any mom put in this situation would do the same, you just have to deal and do it, you have no choice but to :-)

Warning!!! Graphic pic below.  I am choosing to show pictures because I feel it is important to see to be able to understand what exactly is going on with Davin, not only for friends and family and people following Davin's story but it helps other parents that will be going through the same thing as us in the future.

Before:

After:

~From left to right~

~Skin graft area (covered), The skin graft is used to cover the inside of the new ear canal

 ~(Covered) tape that is over the incision that was made to expose the bone for the drilling

~Bloody sponge/plug that was put into the new ear canal, this is put in to keep the canal from closing up and will stay there for awhile.  It is expected to close somewhat that is why they make the canal bigger, about a size of a quarter.  

~Davin's little ear

FYI the ear drum is created from the fascia that covers the muscle below the scalp.

Amazingly, Davin has only asked for his hearing aids once, and that was when he first woke up after surgery.  He ALWAYS wears them, so this is a big deal, HE CAN HEAR ALREADY!!!  Obviously he isn't hearing perfect but enough for him to not miss his "Heeny's", aka hearing aids. 



A nice surprise...

I forgot to mention before that when we went to our pre-op appointment there was a package at the front desk for us.  It was from the Givens Family.  I am part of a few support groups and I met my friend Kim online on a Facebook support group for parents and adults with Microtia/Atresia.  I have been talking to Kim for a few months now, her son had the same surgery on his left side back in October.  It has been nice because they are only a few months ahead of us so I can see what to expect for us.  Her son Brennan just had the surgery that Davin will be having in July on March 1st, so we are able to keep up to date with what is going on with him and we can know what to expect with the next surgery.  Kim has been very helpful to me. 

We opened the package in the lobby and there were some presents in it addressed to Dustin and Davin so I thought it would be a good idea to keep them and let them open it all the next day after Davin's surgery.  Something fun for them to do that was when we were stuck in the hotel room.  That was a great idea because they opened them at a perfect time, they were starting to get stir crazy!!  She sent a bunch of things to keep them busy and entertained, like cars, books, magic color markers, stickers!!!  Here are a few pictures..... 

Thank you Givens Family!!!!

Surgery Day!!!! Right Ear Atresia Repair, Thursday March 10, 2011

We had to arrive at the surgery center at 6 a.m. however we got there about 5:45, we have been giving ourselves extra time for our appointments, we don't want to be late.  We signed in and then filled out some paperwork and waited for a few.  When they called Davin's name all 3 of us went back with Davin.  Davin was ok, but he was a little antsy, he didn't like being told that he had to stay on the bed and didn't really want his ID bracelet on, well actually he wanted to put it on by himself, lol.  The nurse spoke with us, then we were introduced to a couple nurses that would be in the OR with Davin.  The anesthesiologist came in and explained everything that he would be doing to Davin.  Then they had me try to give Davin the "loopy" medicine, yeah that didn't go over to well, he spit it out all over and we had to change his gown.  He kept spitting while we were talking to people, it was yucky, even the nurses and doctors agreed that it was. 

Here is a picture that Dustin took in the pre-op room

It was now time for Davin to go back, they had me carry him to the doors into the OR and I handed him off to the anesthesiologist.  I was fine up until that part, then the tears came, however I was at peace because I knew that he was in the best hands possible and God was watching over him.  I had been updating my friends and family on Facebook, I will be putting the exact status updates below.  Just to let everyone know, my reasons for involving Facebook, I have a lot of friends that were counting on being able to keep up to date on Davin.  A lot of people out there love and care so much for him and have supported our journey so far, so it's only fair to continue that for them.  Some may not agree with my choice in doing so but we have had many discussions about it and found it to be just fine for our situation, the same reason I have this blog.

Davin's surgery started @ 7:07 a.m. 

Facebook Update @ 8:34 a.m. "About an hour ago a nurse came out and said that Davin went to sleep good & his IV and breathing tube was in. She said he didn't cry after I left him, he was saying "HI" and talking to everyone, yup that sounds like Davin. :-) We have been talking to another couple who's son is here for a revision surgery, he had the same surgery as Davin 4 years ago."

Facebook Update @ 9:48 a.m.  "One of the doctors just came out, surgery is over and everything went great. His middle ear bones looked great which means it's the best case scenario for hearing!!! Now we wait for the main Doctor to come out, and then for him to go into recovery then I will go in with him. Praying that Davin doesn't freak out, he is pretty "stubborn". lol"

Davin was out of surgery at about 9:45 and I was able to go into recovery with him at about 10.  He was still asleep. 

Facebook Update @ 11:46  "Davin's still sleeping, on me. Waiting for him to wake fully (he's woken up briefly a few times), if he doesn't wake up in about 15 mins they are going to try & wake him."

Facebook Update @ 1:55  "We are back at the hotel. Davin had a fever so we had to wait to make sure it went down. Crazy enough we can already notice a difference in his hearing and he's all wrapped up with stuff in his new canal. We are elated, and so overwhelmed with emotions, good ones! Thank you everyone for keeping us in your thoughts & prayers, it really means so much to us!"

After he woke up

At the hotel just a few hours later...amazing!!!  Sitting with his bear and froggy, they had surgery too :-)

Here is an amazing video of Davin, he can hear me talking to him in a quiet voice without his hearing aids on!!!! I may sound loud to you because I am right by the camera but I am definitely speaking in a lower than regular voice. I LOVE Dr. Roberson!!! This makes everything worth it, and it was only 7 hours after his surgery. :-)

Pre-op Day, Wednesday March 9, 2011

We had our pre-op appointment at 9:30.  First off they gave Davin a hearing test.  I was worried about this because he gets really bored with hearing tests at home but they did a really great job at keeping him interested, they really know what they are doing.  Since he is bi-lateral (both ears with Microtia/Atresia) they can't test each ear individually, but what shows in the tests is that at least one of the ears is functioning.  We do know from the CT Scan that both of his ears are a good candidate for restoring hearing but the test just can't decipher between the two, so all we need to do now is get that sound in!!  Here is Davin during the hearing test...

Next we met with Dr. Service, he is another Doctor that works with Dr. Roberson.  He went through a lot of the surery, which I pretty much already knew from all of the research I had done, he also talked about Davin's CT Scan too.  As stated above there is a good chance for a normal range of hearing outcome for both ears, but a better chance for the right.  Then the nurse came in and went over some things with us as well.  Lastly Dr. Roberson came in and talked to us too.  I left there feeling at peace with the next step...surgery tomorrow @ 7:00 a.m!!  For those who don't know, this first surgery is to create a right ear canal and ear drum. 

Good patient!!

Davin and Dr. Roberson!! He loved him too, kept giving him hugs and putting stickers on his coat.

California Ear Institute

After the pre-op we went into San Francisco and walked around Pier 39, Fisherman's Warf and took a Trolley Ride.  It was a great day!!!

We have to go back to get Dustin this, it's all he has been talking about for two days now.

Sea Lions

My little tree huggers

Davin having fun running!!

Trolley Time

I wanted to get photos done of me and Davin before his surgery but we never had any time to do it, so we took some in San Francisco, I love them!!!