Getting Ready for Surgery #3

Wyatt's palate surgery is bright and early tomorrow morning.

Dr. Lacey is taking a staged approach to Wyatt's cleft repair and we knew before he was born he would have 3 surgeries during his first year. He had a lip adhesion in February, his lip and nose repair in May and now will have his palate repair.

Here is the technical part in case you are interested... To repair the cleft palate Dr. Lacey will reposition the tissue and muscle to close the cleft and rebuild the roof of the mouth. Incisions are made on either side of the cleft and a specialized flap technique is used to reposition muscle and the hard and soft components of the palate. The repair is then stitched closed. This will help Wyatt with eating and speech development.

After tomorrow we should get a break from surgery for at least a few years. This makes me so happy. Both Mike and I are in agreement we just want to get this over with. For some reason I thought things would get a little easier with each surgery but I feel like it gets harder. Each surgery becomes a little more involved and requires a little longer recovery. Wyatt just gets more and more active and understands more and that makes it harder too. We had preop yesterday and the nurses and doctor couldn't even look at him without his bottom lip sticking out. 

All this hasn't been easy but we face each challenge as it comes and keep moving forward. This journey has been made a lot easier with the support of our family and friends. I ask again for you thoughts and prayers as we get ready for surgery tomorrow.