Surgery Pictures

Right after we got him home. Still a little swollen.

You can kind of see the rubber bands ... They look exactly like the ones used for braces. And there's the start of his palate in there too...

Oh, how he loved those drugs they gave him :)

His stupid little arm restraints

Mad at the world!

Surgery (#1...)

Rocky went in for his first surgery today! They called yesterday afternoon with a time, 8:45 am and they asked us to be there at 7:15 am. The whole surgery itself took only about 20 minutes. They gave him anesthesia and so he was pretty out when we first saw him. When he woke up though, he seemed like he was in a bit of pain, so the nurse gave him some meds through his I.V. The Pain med they prescribed him works well. (He's been asleep pretty much the whole day)

It was a bit of a shock for me at first and hard to take in. He looks like a whole different person. His nose is a lot flatter and wider, and with the knob on his nose more centered, his face shows a little more, which I think makes him look a lot older! They put in the prosthesis and it looks like they put hooks through the sides of his mouth, where his real palate is separated. There are also hooks on each side of his "knob", connecting to the other ones with rubber bands. It's a little hard to explain, and with his mouth being so sore and swollen today, we weren't able to get a real good look yet. But he's hanging in there. He is a trooper, that's for sure. They also send him home with some Pain in the ... arm restraints. He's like a little robot it them. They are made so he can't bend his elbows. He's got active hands and they don't want him to catch his finger on the bands.

We tried to feed him with his bottle in Post-op, and you could tell he was trying to figure it out, but he couldn't quite get it. So when we got home, we put a feeding tube down to his stomach again. Hopefully it's not there for long, and he can figure out how to adjust to eating with a bottle again.

I will get pictures up soon

Maxillofacial Orthodontist

Rocky went in to the maxillofacial orthodontist today to get his mold taken for surgery on Thursday. We had been waiting for about 45 minutes when he had an accident ... a really big one. We have been thinking Rocky might be constipated the last couple days. Well, if he was, whatever was blocking the way is gone now! So there we were, sitting peacefully, in the nice quiet waiting room ... and BAM! He serenaded everyone in that room for about a minute straight :)

When we finally got in to see the doctor, it was a simple, quick procedure. He did just what he would do on any other patient needing a mold. They use a rubbery sort of solution that sets when mixed with water. I did lots of them when I interned at offices. After they mix the solution, they put it in a mouth tray and than stick it in for about 5 seconds. It was a pretty tight fit, so he didn't like it very much.

We won't know until Thursday, how often we'll need to go in to get it adjusted, or who will be adjusting it. Most likely both doctors will need to, at least for the first little while, until it is centered. We're getting pretty nervous (well ... I am, Kyle is putting on a tough face :)) Poor little guy is going to have to go through so much. I also just realized that for his second surgery, August 30th, Kyle will be at school. So Kyle won't be there to hold my hand! I don't know how well that will go down ... I'm sure Rocky will keep me strong :)

Best news is ... Kyle will be able to give Rocky a blessing before he goes in for his surgery! And, for those who would like to join us, we will be fasting on Wednesday.

Thank you all for keeping us in your prayers!

Priesthood!

Kyle was ordained an Elder today!! It was such a neat, bonding experience. My dad set him apart (Gerry is still gone at work). There were beautiful things said in his blessing. He is such a strength to me. The spirit he had with him afterwards was overwhelming! This has definitely not been an easy road for us, but things are finally starting to look up.

Since Rocky had been born, things have been moving along a lot faster and smoother -- as far as progress with the bishop goes. I can't believe i'm saying this ... but The next step is getting interviewed for temple recommends and than our sealing date!! I am soooo anxious to go to the temple. Ever since Rocky has been with us, my heart has just been jumping to get there. We are thinking of getting sealed and Rocky blessed the same weekend, shooting for the first weekend of July (Gerry will be home for a few days then). But nothing is set in stone yet, so no one go spreading any rumors. :) It might even be a month - month 1/2 because of how busy the temple is in the summer.

Rockys surgery is coming up in the next couple weeks, so we're doing what we can to keep him away from any sickness. The doctor won't give him anesthesia if he does, and it's near impossible to reschedule. So we didn't go to sacrament meeting today. Kyle talked to the bishop about it at his setting apart, and the young men came over after church to give us the sacrament. So that was a neat experience as well.

It is amazing how a little 8 lb. 21 inch little guy can bring such joy to a family. We are loving every minute of him ( ... well ... ALMOST every minute...) He has been acting like he's got acid reflex the past couple weeks, so he's been fussy pretty much anytime he's awake. And than all through the night. So that's been fun. ;)

Cousins

We got to watch little Brealynn the other day. She was cute with Rocky, she kept trying to hold his hand. --Judging from Rocky's face in these pics, I'm not sure if he enjoyed it as much as she did ;)

Memorial Day Fishing

We woke up with the birds Memorial day morning. Rocky had to eat at 4 am so we just got up from there and got ready and left! We went to Deer Creek, we fished for 3 or 4 hours and got Nothin!! Not even a bite. It was definitely a fun trip though.