Caleb's 4 months post surgery follow up/update!

It's hard to believe that four months ago we were barely on the other side of Caleb's skull surgery.  We had just celebrated Thanksgiving and were trying to find a rhythm to life.  And I was most certainly starting to get a little stir crazy from being home all the time.

Four months ago, we watched as God's hand took what was suppose to be a long and rigid ride and made it a smooth sailing recovery. We had NO clue that Caleb would heal as well and as quickly as he did.  He had no clue, honestly, what to expect of him as he recovered.  {He was pretty delightful -- all things considered and took recovery like a champ!}

Right before surgery 11/19/2015 ~ Follow up appt 03/22/2016

God is faithful. God is kind. God answers prayers.
Never, ever stop believing that!
And Caleb will always be a brave soul and a little hero to me.

As a recap:  
*We were suppose to be in the hospital 3-4 days, it could have been up to 6. We were in the hospital for 48 hours.  Literally, we were driving away from the hospital 48 hours after I first stepped foot into the recovery room to see Caleb post surgery.

*Caleb's head and face didn't swell like it was suppose to.  He had minimal swelling the day after surgery and we were told it would get worse before it ever got better. We were prepared for Caleb's eyes to swell shut for a few days.  But that never happened. His swelling only went down and got better by two days post surgery!

*Caleb needed nothing more than tylenol to ease pain at home.  And that was only for five or six days.

*The area on the back of his head that retained all the fluid post surgery {which we affectionately called the "water bed"} was suppose to take around 8 weeks to reabsorb into his head.  We watched that little pocket of fluid dissolve completely by 11 days post surgery.

*Caleb's scar is so light! It's healing so beautifully.  Once his hair grows in a little more, you may never notice it.

L/R: immediately after surgery/one month before surgery/
both bottom pictures March 2016, 4 months post surgery

We saw Dr. Yaun last week and she was so delighted by Caleb's healing! She was also pretty delighted by Caleb himself :) Prior to this visit, she only knew Caleb from being 2-4 months old.  A seven month old is way more fun!

She commented on how well he is healing and that he seems to have NO developmental delays so far. She gave me some interesting stats on other types of craniosynostosis. I found out that, for whatever reason, saggital craniosynostosis rarely leads to delays. I was so glad to hear this and grateful that God was moving in Caleb's development.

Caleb's head does still have a little "point" to it in the back.  Obviously that wasn't the area of the skull she focused on removing, so there wasn't as much room for expansion back there. You would probably not notice, but I do.  I am aware that I will most likely always been more sensitive to Caleb's head shape and what it looks like than anyone else.

Dr. Yaun saw the "issue" I brought up and said we could do another surgery, but it would only be cosmetic.  That's clearly not something we want.  She also noted that as he grows, his head will likely expand a little more and it may become completely unnoticeable.  She also said his hair would hide more than just his scar :)

We go back in six months for another follow up and to make sure everything is healing and growing the correct way still.  It's so humbling to know this whole circumstance -- to know it in it's fullness and to know it as a memory. It's humbling and comforting to know grace so deeply and so abundantly.

God amazes me as He alone can heal and shape Caleb's head. He is worthy of all our praise.  His delicate handiwork on our sweet Caleb was no mistake and is not ever a defect in our eyes.  Caleb's craniosynostosis was a gift -- a hard and humbling and overwhelming and faith-filling gift.

Just a few recent pictures of Caleb so you can see how his head is changing and growing!