Before & After

Clark's surgery went well.  We were in at 7am and on our way home around 9:30.  Very quick business and seemingly, a success.  As you can see in the pictures, he had 2 extractions.  They also placed caps on the two remaining front teeth on the top.  The teeth there were weak, but weren't abscessed or as degraded as the two they removed.  His doctor also put sealants on his back molars on the top to protect them from decay.  All of his bottom teeth looked great.

Clark slept most of the day and has been eating his soft diet well.  But he won't be able to drink from a bottle (his milk concoction) for several days.  Please pray that we don't lose ground with his weight gain.  Again--thank you all so much for the prayers.  Everything went smoothly today and we know it was because God was with us.  <3

Baby, you're a firework.

Clark's 2nd birthday & cowboy themed party, was a success.  We all had a blast and ended our night by shooting fireworks.  The cake was done by Viola's Custom Cakes in Killeen, Texas.  It was perfect and delicious!

 

By the time some of you read this, we will be in Austin for Clark's surgery.  I'd like to request your prayers and ask you to send good thoughts Clark's way for a successful surgery.  

The teeth

Clark is scheduled for surgery on January 18th, the day after his 2nd birthday.  Last year, on his birthday, he had surgery to remove the body cast.  I was hoping that this year we could turn a new leaf, one with no surgeries and fewer medical issues.  One can dream, right?

The reason for the surgery is extraction of the two teeth you see above.  They have no enamel and have abscessed.  Clark has just come off a round of antibiotics to treat the abscess, but the infection is still there.  He will likely have to have another round.

We love Clark's dentist.  I searched hard for a great one.  Yes, we have to travel about 120 miles round trip to visit him, but it's well worth it.  He's been selected as one of Texas' Super Dentists 5 years in a row and he really is that awesome.

The surgery will be done at Dell Children's Hospital in Austin and hopefully, this 3rd time will be a charm for us at Dell Children's.  So far, we're 0-2 with our visits there.  (The NG tube fail & the ER trip for the abscessed teeth.)  Not that our experiences were necessarily negative, they just weren't successful.  This time, we really can't afford for it NOT to be a success.

He will be put under general anesthesia, which is a big deal.  Especially when you only weigh 20 lbs.  (Remember when I was saying this back when he only weighed 4 lbs!?)  I am reassuring myself by saying "At least he weighs 20 lbs!".  But, I take comfort in (1) God and (2) This is a children's hospital with nurses and anesthesiologists who are accustomed to working with children.  All of that said, of course, I'm still nervous.

In other news:  Clark is 20lbs 12oz!!!  This is HUGE.  Huge-er than huge.  It's a really big deal.  The P&P (prayers & pediasure) are working!  The "pediasure" is actually now a 337.5 calorie middle-of-the-night cocktail of Peptamen Jr 1.5, Peptamen Jr w/ fiber and Duocal, but either way---it's working!  At this rate, we might see 18-24m clothes sometime this summer.

As always, we appreciate every prayer you send up on Clark's behalf.  He wouldn't be here without them.