"Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy."
Quote by: Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh

Friday, October 01, 2004

NAM Appt. 24 & 25 (pictures)

NAM Appt. 24 & 25 (pictures)

Emily had what was supposed to be her final NAM adjustment on the 24th. Dr. Brecht elongated the nasal stents on the inside to try to get a bit more differentiation of the columella from the prolabium. Unfortunately, the adjustment was a little too aggressive. In 24 hours, Emily was in agony. I thought she had an ear infection because she had boughts of inconsolable crying and she was pawing at one ear. She didn't try to take the NAM out though, so it didn't occur to me that the NAM was the problem.

Here's me (looking goofy) and Emily with Pat Chibarro, Nurse Practioner and Team Coordinator


Emily's best friend at NYU is Shelley Cohen, Speech Therapist, Feeding Specialist and Team Coordinator.


From left to right, Carter and Madeline (Madeline is 7 days post-op for her lip repair and looking fantastic) and Colleen (holding Emily). I met Carter and Colleen on www.cleftadvocate.org, an online support group. Colleen's son Zachary has bilateral cleft lip and palate (he's not in this picture because he's fast asleep).

Anyway, so Emily was miserable and I took her to the doctor, but her ears were clear. I took the NAM out to show the doctor how it worked (he wasn't Emily's standard pediatrician) and when I did I noticed blood in her nose, plus she screamed in pain when I took it out. It turned out both nostrils were very irritated and bleeding on the inside by the tip of her nose. We ended up taking the NAM out from 3 am until 8 am this morning because Emily couldn't sleep (she slept with the NAM out though).

We went back to NYU today - we drove in and took Ana - and Dr. Grayson adjusted the stents so they are much more rounded and shorter. Anyway, she's a happier baby (hooray) and her nose seems much better since we kept the NAM out for so long. I missed Ana so much because of Wednesday's trip that I asked Jim if we could all just drive into the city instead of taking the train. It turned out to be a great trip - only two hours - and very easy to get into the city from the NY State Thruway. Dr. Grayson's office was empty of patients because they are preparing for a two day NAM seminar which takes place Sunday and Monday. Emily will be the grand finale - the baby they perform the surgery on and they have asked us to come in Sunday morning to talk to all the visiting orthodontists and specialists about the NAM from a parent's perspective (so exciting!)

We're almost there!

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