Kolbe's Second Surgery!

We're so happy to announce that Kolbe has officially made it through his second big surgery! Kolbe had his palate repair done on November 7th at the Shriner's Hospital in Houston. Just like his first surgery, it was quite the whirlwind experience. Kolbe and I arrived on Wednesday afternoon and spent the night with my parents. The next morning we headed to Shriner's for his pre-op appointment. They told us to be there by 10am and we arrived just in time to find out that his appointments didn't actually begin until 1pm. I was certainly a little peeved, but it gave my mom, my dad, and me a great opportunity to visit the brand new cathedral in down town Houston, visit a Catholic bookstore, and eat some good bar-b-que! Thursday evening we picked up Mark from the airport and spent another night at my parents.

The next morning we all arrived back at the hospital at 6am! We spent about an hour getting Kolbe ready and they took him back around 7am. Poor guy, he arrived all happy and cheerful and had no clue what he was about to go through! We were away from Kolbe for about three hours while the surgery took place. After everything was finished, Mark and I spent about an hour in the recovery room with Kolbe trying to wake him up and just comforting him. We were finally able to go back to our room around lunch time. The rest of the day and evening was spent just cuddling the poor little guy and trying to keep him comfortable. We received a special surprise visit from Uncle Mike and Aunt Casey who drove over from San Antonio! Kolbe even let Aunt Casey hold him and fell asleep on her shoulder which was rare for that day!

It was a LONG night in the hospital! Kolbe only wanted to be held by Mama....with one exception! The hospital had a big red wagon in the hall way that Kolbe LOVED! We piled it up with pillows and blankets and Mark spent hours (literally!) pulling him up and down the halls! We were released from the hospital the next morning around 10am and headed back to my parents. The first few days after the surgery were definitely tough as well. With Kolbe's first surgery, he couldn't put up much of a fight. This time around he had PLENTY to say concerning what we put him through! (actually, we tried our best to convince him that Uncle Pat did it and got away before he had a chance to see him! Ha ha!) Since Mark had to head back to Midland, my mom and dad did a fantastic job of helping me out with the little guy for a few days!

Now that we're back in Lubbock, Kolbe is doing great! It's amazing how quickly kids bounce back. He's back to eating all the foods he used to eat and is working on trying out his "new equipment." He definitely now has suction in his mouth although I don't think he knows exactly how to use it. He still tends to "chew" on his bottle to get the milk out instead of sucking. He'll get better at it though! The other big difference has been with his nose. Previously, any mucus would just go through his hole and down his throat. Now his entire breathing pattern is different. He's not liking it too much! I guess the hole had it's perks! BUT, on a positive note, we've all but abolished his giant collection of bibs! The uncontrollable drooling has vanished! Hallelujah! We're starting to work on his speech now too. His "voice" definitely sounds different now and I think it's just a matter of time before he starts experimenting with the sounds and words he's probably been wanting to say for months!

Speaking of speech, we also should see some additional improvement in the weeks to come as we begin preparing for his ear tubes surgery. We meet with the ENT on December 9th and then will probably move forward with the surgery around the beginning of January. (hopefully before Mark goes back to school!) This surgery should definitely help with the hearing and structural problems in his left ear. We'll keep you posted on how Surgery #3 is shaping up!

Thanks again to everyone for all of the prayers and support for our little fella! He came through with flying colors! Two major surgeries before even reaching his first birthday!!! What a trooper! Mark and I couldn't be prouder of the little guy we've been blessed with! As always, we find ourselves asking, "How did two goons like us get picked to be the parents of this AMAZING little boy!?!" We pray that each of you find yourself just as blessed!!!

Here are a few pictures from the surgery:



At the pre-op appointment, we took Kolbe out on the huge playground that they had out on the balcony. He had a BLAST!!! Note: his last day to rock his signature bib!!!

This was on the morning of the surgery just after getting him dressed in his hospital gown. Our usual happy little boy! Poor guy! He has no clue what's about to happen to him!!!

This was taken just after getting back to his room at the hospital. The long black string coming out of his mouth was actually threaded through his tongue. (Yes, my son had his tongue pierced before his first birthday! Yikes!!!) Because of all the swelling in his mouth, this was done as a safety precaution so that if his oxygen level dropped and he was having trouble breathing, all they had to do was pull the string and it would draw his tongue out of his mouth, opening his airways. We were able to take it out by early evening the night of the surgery.

Thank God for the wagon and thank God for Daddy! This was our saving grace throughout the long first night with his new mouth. We definitely put some mileage on that wagon and Daddy definitely got his exercise!!!