Expectations

This morning we met with Dr. Waner and Dr. O for Josie's pre-op visit at their new clinic. It is just blocks from where we are staying but since we had never been to this clinic before the incredibly sweet social worker (Meredith) at Ronald McDonald House offered to walk with us and show us the way (seriously in love with this place). Our visit with Josie's doctors left me feeling very much at ease and reassured. I shared with them the frustrations I had with our insurance company and that my greatest fear is that one day we'll loose the battle and they'll deny us treatment from them all together. Dr. Waner reassured me with great confidence "that will never happen", I guess he knows the medical director at our insurance company and the director is "familiar with his work". I don't know if it was Dr. Waner's confidence or connections that put me at ease, but whichever, it worked. I'm choosing to have faith. 

What to expect from Josie's surgery . . .  her doctors will do an "extensive removal" of the tumor. In Dr. Waner's words "she will look quite thin" on her left side. She'll have a face-lift incision (an incision from in-front of her ear running down along her jawline (just like in her first surgery)), they'll also tuck her lower eyelid on her left eye so that it no longer droops (the droop was the side-effect of her last surgery) and there was discussion off raising her lip and tucking her nose. In addition to all of this they will also begin the reanimation procedure. For this she will have a nerve harvested from her lower leg; she'll have an incision by her outer ankle and they'll scope to harvest. To integrate the nerve into her face she'll have another facelift incision on her right side. They will connect the harvested nerve to the functioning nerve on her right side and extend it over to her left side. She'll also have another little incision by her nose on the right side. The nerve will then need to "hang-out" for 6 months to a year and become functioning before they will perform the second half of the procedure. It all sounds like so much for such a little girl and I struggle with being brave for her when I'm scared myself, but we have to choose to be brave, have faith, and be very thankful. This is life-changing and we owe it to her.

 On a lighter note, it was perfect weather here today and Josie had a great afternoon showing Grandma Cheryl around Chelsea Market and Chelsea Pier, then exploring Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, helping Grandma brave her first NYC subway experience, and last but definitely not least eating gelato in Grand Central Station. It was a pretty great day and everyone seems to be sleeping soundly now with the exception of me. Last night I could hear everything . . . the horns honking, the neighbor yelling loudly in Chinese at midnight, babies crying, dogs barking . . . I'm really, really tired. Fingers crossed tonight goes better.