Updates on Jonah's Surgery

This week has been an amazing week ... a stressful, emotional, time-stopping, anxiety-provoking, awesomely-amazing week!  We are still in awe at how the timing worked out for us to discover two facially-different boys in China, commit to their adoption, be "pre-approved" by the CCCWA (China Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption) ... all just before one of our little guy's had life-changing surgery of which we were blessed beyond belief to virtually watch step-by-step!!!

We knew about Love Without Boundaries before but NOW we have such a deeper understanding of "who they are" and "what they do" and we are eager to participate in the difference that they are making for Chinese children.  We will never be able to thank "them" enough ... Dr. Tolan, Dr. Tollefson, Dr. Clinch ... all the volunteers, including David ... ALL THE MANY HANDS who had a role in this last week of my Chinese son's life.  He will always remember each of you ... we will make sure of it!   (A super-special thank-you and blessing for the very special family who sponsored his surgery ... YOU WILL ALWAYS BE SPECIAL TO US FOR ALL THAT YOU HAVE DONE)

In case you missed it, below are the updates provided by Love Without Boundaries.  

4/14/2015

Billy and Delia had a much better day today on the ward. He is so very sweet to his “mei mei” (little sister), and the two played so well together all day.

Billy has become very comfortable with our team, and he realized that down the hallway we have a room where the toys are kept. He worked up the courage to go down the hall to pick some toys for himself, and of course our team couldn’t refuse him no matter how many times he came back. And of course once Delia realized what was going on, she had to go down the hallway to get her own toy as well.

4/15/2015

David was adopted from China when he was 12, and he still speaks fluent Mandarin. He has been translating for us on the cleft trip as well as helping to keep the kids entertained while waiting.

He and Billy have really hit off, and today David explained the game of basketball to him.

Billy is getting very nervous about his surgery. He is super smart and sees the other kids leaving for the OR and coming back in pain, so he is understandably anxious about tomorrow.

Dr. Tollefson and Dr. Tolan were able to consult together today about his operation, and of course we all understand that it will be a very difficult one as his type of facial cleft is very rare. We are so grateful that we have such amazing surgeons here in Kaifeng to help this wonderful little boy.

4/16/2015

It was then time for Billy’s case to begin. As we have mentioned earlier, we knew his surgery would require both surgeons in the OR. When it was time for him to go downstairs to the operating area, he was waving to everyone when he left the room. Understandably when he got down to the pre-op area, he got very nervous and began to cry a bit.

Dr. Kathy Clinch is one of the anesthesiologists on this trip, and just like in past years, she has been doing everything possible to make the kids feel comfortable and secure in the OR. Because of Billy’s facial difference, the anesthesia mask didn’t fit over his face correctly, and so Dr. Clinch began cradling Billy in her arms while singing to him. She used her hand to try and cover both sides of the mask as best as she could, so that the anesthesia could be breathed in and he could gently fall asleep.

Once the operation got underway, the surgeons determined that there is actually a 1.5 inch difference in Billy’s jaw. His lower jaw goes too far back, and so they knew that in order for him to get the best lifelong appearance he will first have to have extensive work done on that area, possibly through orthodontics or by breaking and wiring the jaw.

The doctors then adapted their surgery plans to work mainly on the crease in his cheeks so it will look smoother and not be as alarming to people who see him. We hope this will help him get through his adoption with fewer public incidents like the one which happened the day he arrived (see our blog about Day Two). While Billy’s facial cleft wasn’t completely “fixed,” everyone who saw him post-surgery said his appearance was greatly improved. We all care so deeply about this special little boy and are hoping his recovery goes smoothly.

4/17/2015

And Billy…where to even begin? He is so well-behaved and polite, and he was already feeling so much better today. Before he had surgery, he always had a very difficult time eating as it was hard to get food to stay in his mouth because of his wide facial cleft. Today, he had surprise in his eyes that he was able to put food into his mouth and have it stay there without falling out, on every single bite! We realized this afternoon that Billy had not seen his face since the surgery, and so we asked him if he would like to see the way he looks now. Our incredible photographer on the trip, Sherri Cox, began showing him some photos she had taken on her camera.

The team said it was a very moving moment as Billy saw his new appearance for the first time. Everyone was telling him he was so handsome, and we could see that he was very affected by what he saw. He is usually very talkative and friendly to everyone who comes by, but today he didn’t want to speak at all because he was afraid of hurting his stitches, and he wants everything to heal perfectly.