Miah's Upcoming Surgery

Miah is scheduled for her bone graft surgery on July 5th at BC Children's Hospital. Many of you have asked what this surgery entails so I figured I would post a bit of a description.

Alveolar Cleft
The cleft lip and palate are repaired as babies, but the alveolar cleft when wide should be repaired at a later time to avoid growth disturbance. Usually this is done when the permanent teeth are coming in. The cleft surgeons work closely with orthodontists in preparing for the procedure so that the teeth and gums are optimally positioned for surgery.



The procedure requires taking bone graft (usually some bone marrow from the hip bone) to fill the gap in the alveolus or gums. After the procedure, the patient needs to be on a soft diet for ten days and be careful in brushing the teeth not to damage the healing incisions in the mucosa of the gums. It takes about 3 months for bone formation to show on an X-ray and confirm that the bone graft has taken. Once this is confirmed, then the orthodontist can resume work on aligning the teeth.

We were told that if the graft is 80% successful that they will be thrilled, if 50-70% of the graft takes, there is a chance that it will have to be redone, and anything less will require a second go at it.  It will be a long three months of waiting to see. Please pray that it will take the first time as this is not a very fun surgery to go through.

"A child born to another woman calls me Mom. The depth of the tragedy and magnitude of the privilege are not lost on me" -Jody Landers

I read this quote on a friend's facebook status yesterday in honor of Mother's Day.....what a profound and accurate statement.  I often find myself at a loss for words and inability to express how I feel about the honor I feel that I get to parent this sweet gift from above, and at the same time still can't wrap my head around the loss that has happened in order for us to be where we are.  The word tragedy is the only one I can think of...what kind of a world do we live in where a mother cannot keep their child? I don't know the reason for Miah's abandonment, but I'm sure if falls somewhere in between the family not being able to care for her; either financially or not being able to legally call her their own due to government restrictions.

This past Tuesday Miah fell off the monkey bars at school and broke her arm. As she lay sedated in her hospital bed, I was overwhelmed with emotions and the thought that her biological mother should be here...that her biological mother would want to be here. It saddens me as a mother that another mother does not get the opportunity to comfort their child in a time of need.

 

The result- a broken arm and 4-6 weeks in a cast.  I have one very disappointed little girl who can't go to gymnastics and swimming lessons for a few weeks.  We also found out this week that her bone grafting surgery is scheduled for July 5th. She might be taking two months off from all those extra activities....we might have to find her a new hobby...