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June 2, 2006
Adios arch bars
The infernal arch bars are gone. We just returned from our latest visit to Dr. Park's office. The procedure took about 30 minutes, and was pretty uncomfortable, but Courtney is thrilled to have all of the metal out of her mouth. It turns out that they are indeed "wired" and not stitched through the gum and above the molars. She has some other stitching in her mouth from where they went in surgically for the other repairs that will eventually fall out on it's own. Initially, I wasn't sure if that was related to the wiring of the jaw or not.
As it turns out, we AREN'T going to do another surgery on her eyeball. Dr. Park was concerned that any "futzing" with the eyeball could easily upset the level, and cause double vision. He said that usually a sunken eyeball is also lower, so the procedure does two things at once: move the eyeball up and out. In Courtney's' case, the eyeball is only sunken and not lower. Also, I guess it's pretty difficult to force an eyeball to move forward against the will of the eye muscles, and there's a good chance that it won't work. Given that likelihood, and the possibility of creating residual issues, it was a pretty easy decision. If they had done the surgery, the reason for doing it sooner rather than later is that the muscles in the eyeball will contract to the new sunken position and be much more difficult to move later.
Regardless, we aren't going to do the procedure, and are perfectly happy with the results. While I'm sure Dr. Park would have preferred to not have a slightly sunken eyeball, he's VERY pleased with the overall results of his first surgery. As he was leaving the exam room, he took a look back at Courtney and said something to the effect, "Sorry, I'm just patting myself on the back -- she really looks fantastic." That really helps to underscore the nature of the reconstruction and how far Courtney has come.
We're allowed to schedule a teeth cleaning and an x-ray with the dentist, but he's not allowed to do any extractions, impressions, or other invasive dental work for 3 weeks. We forgot to ask about when Courtney can start chewing again, but I'm betting it will coincide with that time frame. I'm planning to give them a call.
We're going to see Dr. Park in 2 months, and he mentioned that the next step with him will be some minor cosmetic procedures on two of the scars - the one on her lip, and possibly one on her nose. He seems pretty happy with the big scar over her eyebrow. I'm not really sure how soon that will be.
Courtney has continued to open her mouth more and more, but she can still only open it about 30-40%. She is concerned that she might not be able to open it fully, but I think we'll get there eventually. It was somewhat disappointing to know that they can't correct the eyeball depth, but knowing that we don't have another surgery and that there isn't the possibility of any setbacks from the surgery, is a welcome consolation. Courtney continues to get stronger and stronger every day. She's still experiencing some dizzy spells, and doesn't really trust her right eye yet, so she's pretty far away from driving.
Posted by mark at June 2, 2006 11:49 AM Subscribe (FeedBurner)
Comments
thanks, Mark. We miss you guys, but are glad that things are working out so well considering the nature of the accident. We are sl glad that Courtney is still with us and so healthy to boot!
See you soon.
Posted by: Nate at June 2, 2006 2:36 PM
Yeah! Glad to hear things are progressing along. We love you guys!
Posted by: Kara at June 2, 2006 3:52 PM
Doctors should have, should not have the permission to end the life of a terminally ill patient
Posted by: software at September 1, 2007 6:49 PM