A New Chapter

Josie modeling her custom made skirt (gifted to her) on one of her first days to school

The weeks have flown since Josie's surgery and today we find ourselves just past the 1-month mark. Her swelling has continued to decrease and her pain is very minimal (mostly just little shocks and zings from healing nerve endings).

The past two weeks since we've returned home have been busy ones. Josie was not released to begin school until this week, however; we cheated a little. She attended school 3-different mornings last week, just to ease herself into the 4th grade and the new routine. This week she is a full-time student again and as always, is loving school. She has been blessed with wonderful teachers throughout the years, this year is no exception. Her teacher has managed her absence and her return to school seamlessly. We couldn't be more grateful as parents.

Immediate next steps? Once Josie's transferred muscle heals and movement begins (2-6 months post-op), she will begin therapy to train the muscle in its new job. We have been referred to Jackie Diels who is an Occupational Therapist and a leading authority in her field of facial neuromuscular retraining or NMR. If you would like to learn more please visit Jackie's website... http://www.facialretraining.com/about-jackie-diels/.

 Sept. 8th

I want to leave you with this sweet note from Josie. While she was recovering in the hospital Dr. O brought her a gift one morning as she was making her rounds. The gesture itself meant so much. The photo below is the thank-you note that Josie wrote to Dr. O. 💗