Best-Laid Plans
September 02, 2008 8:00 AM

It's been a couple weeks since Juliana went to Miami Children's Hospital for a major surgical procedure which we were looking forward to and dreading at the same time. To augment what Tami talked about in her last post:

What happened was that Dr. Wolf did a different procedure than the one we were expecting. He found that there wasn't enough tissue to do what he wanted (reconstruct her upper gum and lip), so he inserted a "tissue expander" into her left scapula area (left upper back). Once this incision has healed we will start the process of injecting a small amount of the prescribed fluid into the port, which will gradually fill the reservoir that Dr. Wolf placed under her skin. This will cause the area to gradually expand and stretch the skin, similar to how the skin stretches when we gain weight. When this process is completed there will be extra skin and tissue for Dr. Wolf to use, and he'll do the next surgery.

What Juliana has been through with this sequence of events so far has been quite painful for her. She resists having the bandage changed, etc. But she remains resilient and forgiving, ready to hug and play.

Just before the trip to Miami the film crew was here taping, and they also went to Miami to tape there. They may be able to return to include the next step of the surgical reconstruction in the documentary, but they definitely plan to be here filming when Thom returns from deployment in December. Knowing that, don't expect the finished documentary any time soon. But at least it's begun, and is in the works! Juliana loves being filmed, and is ready to pose at any time.

—Jeanne ("Party")