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.
Go Clark Go!!
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