A Little Glimpse

There is practically a blizzard outside right now....well, not really, but since I can't ever remember seeing snow like this, it really is something else.  This morning when we woke up the ground (and our car) was covered in snow and they already had snowplows out and about.  Snow has consistently been drifting about all day.  Unfortunately, we had to be at Dr. Bauer's office at 10:00 which meant we were going to have to brave the weather.  We went to Dr. Bauer's office today just expecting to get some tips on how to change Zac's dressings and instead we were able to remove two out of the three drains (there was one on on each side of his lower back because of the large incision).  Just a reminder:  Drains are put in because anytime you insert something foreign (the expander) or there is a good deal of movement, fluid wants to rush these areas.  The drains help flush out the fluids.
Our fabulous nurse, Susan helped take them out.  I can't say that Zac really enjoyed it - there was definitely a lot of irritation and he cried quite a bit.  But I was able to comfort him and he soon stopped.  It is fantastic to be able to get rid of two of them, not just because the drains are really gross...but they will also make changing his diaper a lot easier and I am sure that any time they moved back or forth it was irritating to my little man.

And now...for the reveal.  Nurse Susan was very happy with how the stitching was healing and thought everything was looking good.  Zachary still has one drain in underneath the expander and that drain will most likely come out next Monday before we do the first expansion.  So, for those of you who are interested, I have a couple of pictures that show the progress so far.  Keep in mind that we are not even a whole week from the surgery yet so everything is still a little fresh. For those of you who have a hard time watching ER - you may want to skip the pictures.
******WARNING, IMAGES ARE SOMEWHAT GRAPHIC***************
Look at how much of Wolfy Dr. Bauer was able to remove by 'advancing the skin' from his buttocks upward.

We also got a good look at the area where the tissue expander was placed and where the port is.  At this time, the expander feels like a deflated balloon under the skin.

Here you can see the tissue expander under the left shoulder/arm area - the incision and the drain and to the right of the drain, the little bump there is the port.

I know the stitches are a little difficult to look at but a couple things to think about.

• the stiches are on nevus skin and will eventually be removed with the other nevus skin.
• babies' skin heals quicker and better
• this is a work in progress as he will have many more surgeries to come

Thank you God for your modern miracles and for the phenomenal knowledge and guidance you give our fantastic doctor and nurses.  Dr. Bauer is such an amazing person and Mim and Susan, his nurses have been so wonderful to us.  We are so fortunate to have such a great team looking after us.