Last Post-op Visit

Miata and I started our day with a stop at the wetlands part of the Bay which is about 7 minutes away. We spent most of our time at the duck pond located within this very large area of wetlands. Miata enjoyed feeding the various kinds of ducks and also the pigeons & seagulls.

After the duck pond we made our way to the Children's Library which we have visited many days while we have been here. It is a really nice library filled with only children books and also has many different rooms containing different types of books, themes, and activities. I sure wish all cities had a Children's Library! These are the two favorite chairs by the fireplace that Miata and I continue to sit in and read books together, so I thought I would take a picture on this last visit before leaving tomorrow.

Later we finally made our way to Miata's last post-op visit with Dr. Brent. He removed the bandage from her ribs first. I was amazed that the cut was as large as it was, although it should just leave a small hairline scar. Finally she will be able to take a real bath! But no showers for a few more weeks. Next he removed the bandages from her ear and we (Miata and I) were finally able to see it. Miata didn't like it much. She thought it looked a little scary. Dr. Brent told her there is so many wrinkles in the skin because of all the bandages on it but that would go away along with the additional swelling soon. He then re-bandaged the ear (not the ribs) and she was released to be able to go home.

Oh yea, I did ask about the rib cartilage and what happens. The answer... It does not regrow! That area will always stay without cartilage but the muscle that had to be cut through to get to the cartilage will continue to heal and strengthen so the missing cartilage is protected. He said that when the child is thin and petite that lots of times they can suck in their stomachs and you can see the indention where there is missing cartilage. This is true also if the child grows up but is still thin and petite.

Anyways while we were in the waiting room we met yet another family plus again saw the ones from Saudi Arabia. The new family we met was from South Dakota. They were there for their daughter who was having Stage 2 surgery done tomorrow. The unbelievable part was that they also had their son with them who had previous been a patient of Dr. Brents!! Yep that's right!! He too had been born with the same ear deformity as the daughter!! He was about 3 years older than his sister and he had already completed all 4 Stages of this surgery! I commented to the mom that that must be extremely rare to have two children with the same deformity and she said indeed it was the chances of it are only 1 out of 20!! Well the son was most proud to come over and show us his completed new ear! Miata looked at it carefully and commented that it didn't look just like the other. I had to later explain to her that it will not look exactly the same rather it will always look a bit different but it is a functional ear!

Dr. Brent really really likes Miata and thinks she is such a funny and special girl! He had a lot of fun with her and her silly comments and funny faces as he was working with her ear! I have a wonderful picture of the two of them together but unfortunately cannot post it until I get home. Speaking of home, tomorrow is the day! Well actually the day we leave! Arlene will take us to the airport probably around 8:30-9:00 but we will not actually leave until about 11:30. We should arrive back in Raleigh around noon. Please pray for safety as we travel home just in time for Thanksgiving.