Life Has Its Own Schedule
July 13, 2008 8:00 PM

What an intense rollercoaster this summer is turning out to be!

The summer began very peaceful and even a bit boring. Kendra had two weeks of camp, football, and soccer. This was her first time actually playing football other than with the boys at school. She is hooked and wants to play on a team in the fall. As long as she is active and doing something healthy, I guess I can't complain.

We began our summer trips the last weekend in June. We went to Myrtle Beach, SC, for our very first craniofacial retreat. We had an absolutely fantastic time. As Nurse Jeanne noted, the retreat was put on by Children's Craniofacial Association. We had the honor of meeting some really incredible families. It was so awesome to see all of the kids interacting with each other without anybody judging them or staring at them. I am guessing that there were about 85 families attending this year. We made some new friends who we will definately be staying in touch with. We are already planning our trip to Dallas for next year's retreat.

The following week after we returned home we went to the dentist. Juliana had another x-ray to compare with the one from a month prior. She had significant bone loss within the month. The dentist and orthodontist both recommended that we go to see Dr. Wolfe, ASAP. So Juliana and I made a trip down to Miami on Sunday, July 6, to see the doctor on Monday. He was also concerned and we ended up scheduling surgery for Aug 20.

This is a procedure that we were already expecting, but not until next summer. He will be transplanting some skin from her upper back area to her cheeks. It is a bit more complicated than it sounds. The skin will be separated from her back, but not completely. That skin will be attached to her cheek area and also to her back at the same time (one end to each area). We are starting with her left side and will do the right side at a later date. It has to be done this way so that the skin always has blood flow to it. Because of the way that this has to be done, her head will be turned to the left for approximately two weeks while the vessels attach and heal properly.

When Dr. Wolfe feels that it is time (approx. 2 weeks), she will go back to the O.R. for the second half of the procedure. This will be to separate her cheek from her shoulder. I hope I explained this in a way that it is understandable. It is difficult to understand without pictures or being able to physically show it.

The documentary crew will be accompanying us to Miami. We are looking forward to seeing them all again. They are such a great group of guys and of course do an amazing job at capturing our journey.

Our next adventure for the summer will be our trip to Illinois. I can't wait! I feel like a kid going to Disney World. I don't know what I was thinking booking an early morning flight. I am never on time to anything. Kendra suggested that we just spend the night at the airport! I have already started my packing list. Juliana's supplies and equipment are my biggest worry, of course. I can't just run to the store if I forget something. It will all work out I'm sure of it. I just take life one moment at a time. Things don't always run smoothly in our lives, but we have learned to just roll with whatever is happening.

Needless to say, Juliana will not be starting school in August (it starts on the 18th). We were all looking forward to a normal school year. She deserves that! But, this surgery can't wait any longer. Hopefully she will be able to attend between the left and right side surgeries.

I will update again as the little diva allows!

—Tami