Great Job Doc!

Recently Kaia had her annual checkup at Children's Hospital in Seattle. It's always a long day when we go there, because we have about four appointments each time we go. We stay in the same room while doctors come in and out at different times. Sounds easy, right? Try being in the same tiny room for approximately four hours with a 3 yr. old, right smack in the middle of nap time. Actually, Kaia did quite well. It was me who was going stir crazy!

Dr. Cunningham, Kaia's pediatrician there at the Craniofacial clinic, reminded us of how far she has come. When we first brought her in to her first appointment, she was about 9 months old. She was at the 5% for her height on the American growth chart, and didn't even make it on the chart for her weight. Now she is just over the 50% for her weight, and just under the 50% for her height. Wow!

We unexpectedly discovered that Kaia had an ear infection when the ENT was checking her out, so we will wait to take out the tubes in her ears in about 3 months. She is such a tough kid; she never complains of an earache. She also got a great report from the speech therapist, as she is right on target for a kid her age.

The last one to come in was Dr. Hopper, who performed both of Kaia's surgeries. He hadn't seen Kaia since her palate repair, which was 2 1/2 years ago. His first comment when he came in was something like, "Wow, what a great repair!" It was cute the way it came out, like "Wow, I did a great job," only it didn't feel like he was bragging, just admiring how beautiful she is. We discussed possibly doing an easy touch up to her nose next spring. We will reevaluate then, and if we decide to go forward with it, it will be a 15 minute outpatient surgery. Other than that, she will still have one more surgery around the age of eight.

Since I didn't have this blog when we adopted Kaia, I thought I would post then and now pictures of Kaia, so everyone can see what an amazing job Dr. Hopper did do! We are so blessed here in this country. We take it for granite that surgeries like this are so common place. If you are looking for a way to spend your Bush Tax Rebate, try donating to a worthy cause, such as Operation Smile. You have no idea how much you will be changing someone's life!