Two Weeks Ago

Two weeks ago, I experienced the longest hour of my life as we waited on Josie's surgery to be completed.  This post I want to show you all the progress she has made since then.

Elijah and Josie waiting for some real food.  Hanging out, holding hands.  They are beginning to discover their own hands and feet as well as each other's. 

The next pictures are before and after pictures of Josie.  I will do my best to explain.

                                         

                                                                                            

Before surgery

Notice high forehead with peak at top; temple regions go inward

2 weeks after surgery

It is hard to tell in this picture, but her forehead is not as peaked and her head is wider at the top

                                                                                             

Before surgery

Notice the "scaphoid" appearance of her head-long and narrow head.  You can see the narrowing of the head in the next grouping of pics.  Prominent forehead is called "bossing".  Notice that her forehead is almost in alignment with her nose.  This is not a good thing.  Prominent occipital region-back of the head.  

2 weeks after surgery

Overall the length of the skull decreased by 1/4 inch.  The frontal bossing is less.  The forehead is much more behind the nose and the face is starting to shape outward.  The occipital region is not as prominent

Before
Long, narrow scaphoid shaped head

2 weeks after surgery
Notice the scar on the top of her head and at the back of the head.   These are the only two incisions from the surgery.  They are 1.5 inches long.  Notice the width of the head is greater in these pictures.  This is the goal: the head will shorten and become a lot wider.  Great progress so far!  

Too cute!

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

for his steadfast love endures forever!

I Chronicles 16:34

O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever

For several weeks now, I have been looking forward to writing this blog entry.  The entry to tell everyone that we are back home safe and sound with a perfect little girl!  Thank you, Lord!!

This is a picture of Josie in Waxahatchie when I told her we were heading to Arkansas...

Last night we stopped in Arkansas and stayed with my dad.  Here are some photos of his first look at our beautiful Josie.  Nothing makes me cry more than seeing my father cry.  A true man of God, his faith and wisdom have been a great influence throughout my life.

Last night Josie did not rest well.  It was her first night in the orthosis (helmet) but she continued to be fussy even after I removed it for a little while.  Come to find out, Elijah did not rest well either.  They knew today was going to be a big day!  The interesting thing is that this happened all throughout the trip, especially the night before the surgery the babies (and parents) were restless.  Even though they cannot speak, their actions speak for them.  They knew something was going on even before we left to go to San Antonio, and they have been looking forward to this day just as much as we have.

This morning came and we left Arkansas at 0800 and made one stop in Memphis to feed and change Josie.  She slept from Memphis all the way home.  When we neared the exit, I was texting my Mom because she said Noah wanted to be ready for us.  I texted her every turn we made in town.  When we came around the corner in the neighborhood, there was Noah standing in front of the sidewalk with a hand full of flowers he had picked for me.  He started jumping up and down with such excitement.  I don't think Josh had even turned off the van before I was out and giving Noah a huge hug.  He peered over Josie's car seat and started talking to her and loving her.  She was happy when Pap-paw got her out of the car seat, but after that she became very upset.  It all began when she saw me holding Elijah.  So I had to hold her to calm her down and reintroduce her to the house and everyone.  It took a good while before she would let anyone else hold her.  Through the past few weeks she did become a momma's girl.  

After she calmed down, we were able to get some good pictures.

Family time!

I don't know who was more excited, me or Elijah!

Josh's grandparents and both of our mothers

Janice Webb (Nana) and Elijah Webb

Mary Ellen (Meme) and Josie Ellen

How cute!

All the Keith kiddos

Happy Josie!

A kiss on the orthosis (helmet) is just the same...

After lots of hugs, kisses and a bottle, it was nap time.  Here is Josie in her crib hugging her new dolly that Grandmomma made while we were gone.  Thank you, Grandmomma!

This was a very nice booklet from Gina at Curves in Tupelo, where my mother in law works out.  

She had this out for everyone to see when they came in and then gave this to us to keep.  

Thank you, Gina, and everyone at Curves who prayed for baby Josie!

And then I got to rock my baby Elijah to sleep for the first time since we left.  

This was very special to me.  Noah came in and took some pictures, and I am glad he did.

This is a picture above both of their cribs.  I took this picture and then took a deep sigh.  

My heart is now complete.  

Thank you, Lord, for your many blessings since the last time I had both of my babies sound asleep in their cribs.  

And a fun fact- the background for my blog is from a fabric pattern in Josie's crib. 

And then Josh and I proceeded to take a long nap as well.  

It was the best rest I have had in many days.

Play time continued after nap time...

Even the cats were glad that we were all home

And Granddaddy came over after work.  

He was so happy to see his baby girl!

We took the orthosis off for a minute to show everyone, and Elijah went in for the smooch. 

I didn't have any pictures of his initial reaction to Josie in the helmet.  His eyes got really big and he had a look of inquisitiveness.  Then his brow relaxed and he realized it was just his sister. 

And more kisses from Noah...

After baths and the twins were put down to sleep, we went through mail and opened more letters of encouragement and prayers from many more of you.  I cannot write this without becoming emotional.  You all have touched our lives deeply and forever with your kindness and selflessness for praying for our family and little girl.  God is good and he has done a great work in Josie and us during the past few weeks.  We shared with my family all of the other letters and cards that we had received from my brother and sister-in-law when they came to San Antonio.  We were all in tears again.  

Many of you have told me that you cannot read my blog without becoming tearful.  I will tell you that I become tearful every time I write an entry.  My prayer is that the story of my family has touched your life and has helped you to see the grace of our Lord more clearly.  If this story helps one to become closer to Christ, then I would do it all again.  May the Lord bless you all.  

Keep following us because the blog will continue.  It has been so therapeutic for me that I must continue it.  It will be more about our family in general with updates on Josie.  Our next follow up with Dr. Jimenez in San Antonio will be the end of September.  

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;

You have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,

that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. 

O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.

Psalm 30: 11-12

Happy Half Year Birthday Josie and Elijah!

Yesterday morning started out with us packing the van.  When you get comments from the front desk person about how much stuff you have, it makes me think I didn't pack efficiently...
I now know that next time I travel 2 weeks with a 5 month old, I may not need as much stuff.  Oh and don't forget those Outlet Malls that tend to fill the other empty nooks in the vehicle...

After Josh forced all of the doors closed on the van (really it wasn't that bad), we started our final drive to the University for our final appointment with Dr. Jimenez and the team.

Up to the fifth floor we went again...



Through the double doors...



Into a world full of kids just like Josie.

Now we new a few of them, as we had met 2 of the other 3 families going through the same thing as us.  One couple was from Minnesota who had a beautiful 2 month old girl who had the surgery.  We also talked with one mother of 3 from Nebraska, who had a 2 month old  boy who had the surgery.  He is her second son that Dr. Jimenez has operated on for saggital craniosynostosis.  She was so pleased with her experience with her older son that she said she would go nowhere else.  Her 5 year old son was with her and he was as normal as any other child with a beautiful head.  We all joked that this was his old stomping grounds, but the truth is that he remembers nothing of his surgery or time in the orthosis (helmet).  The same is true of Josie.  The only memory she will have of this event will be the pictures that we have taken and all of the stories that we will tell her.

Dr. Jimenez and the team came in the room to talk with us.  He upset her by pulling off a small piece of skin that was at one of the suture sites.  So, she was not happy the visit, and I didn't get any pics with them.  Anyway, Dr. Jimenez was very pleased with the results so far.  When Darren told him the difference in the cranial index pre and post surgery, he had a look of "wow" on his face.  He mentioned nothing else about not achieving perfect results with Josie :)  PTL (Praise the Lord)!!!!!

On the way out we took a picture with our new family.

We left San Antonio and headed to Waxahatchie.
We stopped along the way at a different Outlet Mall-I'm telling you they are everywhere down here!

Josie had a great time.  Here is a picture in the Disney Store princess castle.

It is interesting the responses we have received when people see her with the orthosis (helmet) on.  Most people will just stare and not say anything.  This annoys me because there is absolutely nothing wrong with her except she is wearing something on her head.  For these people I have thought of having a Onesie made that says "Just Ask" or  "Beware of Biting Baby" or  "My Mother Did NOT Drop Me On My Head!".   A fair number of people will acknowledge her, smile at us and walk by.  For them, the Onesie will say "Thank you, but you still need to ask".  And a handful will start conversation with "What a cute baby! and How old is she? " before getting to "Why does she have to wear the helmet?".  To those, we get to educate them about saggital craniosynostosis and this wonderful treatment.  For these people, they need no Onesie logo because they are very kind and honestly inquiring.

Here are a few pics of her during the drive.  I had the ribbon in the room off of the flowers that Angie gave us and I thought it would be a perfect addition.  Plus, I couldn't fit it into any of the packed bags ;)

And again a tuckered out little girl...

We are waiting for Josie to wake up from her nap and then we will be heading out to Arkansas!

The great thing about July 20, 2011 is that it is Josie and Elijah's 6 month birthday!  They are half a year old!  What a great birthday present...

Josie's New Bling

I was posting this last night when a storm blew through and knocked out the internet service.
It even happens in San Antonio...


Yesterday we returned back to the STAR Cranial Center of Excellence to have Josie's orthosis (helmet) fitted.

We met with Darren again.  He had a person shadowing him to learn his technique.  She is from Mayo Clinic and she is in San Antonio to learn from the best!

Josie was very happy this morning.  Here we are waiting in the clinic.  Thank you, Susan, for Josie's beautiful dress!



Darren and his helper came in and started fitting Josie's orthosis.  He would try it on and then mark where he needed to make adjustments.  She never fussed or cried during this entire process.  While he customized the orthosis, Josh and I read over the care instructions for it.

Marking the orthosis for adjustment.

Moving her head in different directions to check for fit.

Sitting back and taking a look.

More adjustment around the ear.

And then Josie started showing off her bling.

And Josie's seal of approval...

Here are some more pics. You can see the orthosis from many angles.

How does she like her new addition?  Seems to like it just fine...

Today is the final appointment with Dr. Jimenez to determine how Josie is doing and to determine when the next follow up appointment will be.  We have been so very pleased with this entire process.  It is scary enough, but all of the staff we have been working with have been so helpful and have made this process much easier.

We have decided that after this appointment today we will be taking this show back home.   We are loading up the car now.   We are so excited to come home to friends and family who have been our prayer warriors during this whole process.  

The Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;

the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Numbers 6:24-26