1 Year post - Right Ear

July 9, 2014

1 Year Post - Right Ear

Ok, so this post is long over due, but I wanted to document it anyway.  This summer marked the 1 year anniversary of Sam's right ear.  Everything is healing nicely and looks great! 

Post-op with Dr. Reinisch

February 10, 2014

Post-op for the 12/23/13 surgery

We are so lucky that Dr. Reinisch is up in the Bay Area once a month to do a CAM surgery with Dr. Roberson.  We get to see him often so he can check things out in person.  He is happy with the way the ear is healing and all but one of the sutures is out.  The one that is left is stubborn.  It's not on the ear itself, but on the skin more at the back of the ear/neck.  I will continue to work on getting it out.  I spoke with him about how the right ear is still more projected than the left and he told me that he didn't bring it in all the way to match the left one because he thought that as Sam gets older she may want to put hair behind her ear.  If there isn't a little projection, so most likely couldn't do this.  I hadn't even thought about this...the man seriously thinks of everything!  Her left ear is pretty flat to the head now, but we can address that later if we decide to.  She wore the ear mold on the left side for 5 months, so for some reason it "settled" more after that.  I will just encourage Sam to sleep more on the right side now and hopefully it will "settle" in a little more over time.  Overall, we are really happy! 

Right ear comparasion - this ear is 6 months old, with a revision done on 12/23/13

Front view

Back of ear - still healing from surgery on 12/23/13

This view Dr. Reinisch likes to see for alignment.  You can see that the right ear is still more projected than the left. With her hair down, you can't even notice.

Happy Birthday Left Ear

February 2, 2014

1 year post-op Left Ear

It's hard to believe it's been 1 year since we started this ear reconstruction journey.   Samantha couldn't be happier and wanted to mark this milestone with a party for her ear!   Any excuse to have friends come over and eat some treats!  We invited over her close friends and had a fun play date.

Before and After - Pretty amazing!

Group pic of the girls, Sam's "Deaf friends" as we call them.  Two girls wear Cochlear Implants, 1 wears hearing aids and Sam with her Baha.  We met this wonderful group of friends through Sam's Auditory Oral school when the girls were all about 6 months old.  It's so amazing to see how far they've all come.  Sweet little girls!

Sam and her chocolate "ear".  Dr. Roberson so kindly gave us a few chocolate "ears" to share at the party.  I couldn't decide if they were creepy or fun.  The kids seemed to love them, so I guess it was ok!

Teddy Bear Tea

January 10, 2014

Today was the Teddy Bear Tea at Sam's school.  She chose to bring and share her bear that was given to her by Dr. Reinisch and the Small Wonders Foundation after her first ear surgery.  It was cute to hear her tell her class about the bear and where it came from. 

Right Ear Adjustment

12/23/2013

Right Ear Adjustment

I haven't blogged in a bit, so I'm going to play a little catch up, so please bare with me.   We ended 2013 with another ear surgery for Sam.  On 12/23/13, Dr. Reinisch did an adjustment on her right ear.  It was sitting a little lower than the left on and was projected out much further as well.  It didn't "settle" in as much as the left on, most likely due to the different bone structure on the right side of her face.  We were pretty happy with the left one so we asked him not to touch that one in surgery.  

Just as Dr. Reinisch said this surgery was pretty short compared to the others.  It only took about 2.5 hours.  No skin grafts were taken so the recovery was pretty minimal as well.  She also didn't have to wear a protective cup over it either.  Right away, we could notice a difference in the ear placement, so we were excited to see how it heals over the next few months. 

You can see that there is minimal swelling 2 days after surgery.  This will continue to get better over time.

3 month old right ear/ 8 month old left ear

October 1, 2013

3 months post-op right ear

8 months post-op left ear

Dr. Reinisch is still happy with the healing progress of the ears. 

Left ear - 8 months old

Right ear - 3 months old

8 week old ear

Tuesday September 3, 2013

8 weeks post-op Right ear

7 months post-op Left ear

Today we are 8 weeks post-op for the right ear and 7 months post-op for the left ear. Hopefully Dr. Reinisch will think the ears are still healing nicely! 

right ear

right ear

 

 

 

right ear

left ear

Ella is 3!

August 31, 2013

Ella turned 3 today!  We had a family party plus her BFF, Ruby and her family.  When we asked her what she wanted to eat at her party she said, "Salad, cake and "black" olives!"  So we went with a taco bar and salad finishing with a 3 layer purple cake!  

Happy 3rd Birthday to my fun, spunky, loving girl!

This girl loves cake!

Ella and her friend Ruby

Ella goes to Preschool

Wednesday August 28, 2013

Today Ella started preschool in the 3 year old class wearing a crown and carrying a wand! 

 

 

First Day of School 2013

August 27, 2013

First Day of First Grade

Today Samantha starts First Grade.  I have to admit, this was harder on me than her going to Kindergarten last year.  Kindergarten felt like such an accomplishment for both her and me.  Kindergarten was such a magical year for Samantha.  To me, First grade means she is really growing up...I mean she has a real desk and will start homework!  Samantha loves school, so she is super excited to get started.  

 

 

7 week old Right ear

Tuesday August 27, 2013

7 weeks post-op Right ear

We are 7 weeks out and we saw Dr. Reinisch in Palo Alto today.  We so fortunate to be able to see him in person so often.  Even though the appointments are 5 minutes long it makes me feel so much better for him to see her ears in person.  

Giving back

Sunday August 25, 2013

Today we had a garage sale.  Sam has been asking me for months to do a lemonade stand, so I told her that when we did the garage sale, she could set up a stand.  As the garage sale date approached, she came to me with an idea all on her own.  Instead of selling lemonade, she wanted to bake and sell cookies and give the money to the Small Wonders Foundation.   Small Wonders is a foundation established by Dr. Reinisch.  

Small Wonders Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that provides financial assistance, information, help and encouragement to families of children with congenital and acquired deformities of the face and body. Started in 2005 to support the work of world-class pediatric plastic surgeon Dr. John Reinisch, Small Wonders Foundation has so far changed the lives of children born with microtia/atresia and large facial birthmarks.

Children born with facial deformities or birthmarks are oftentimes the subject of teasing and ridicule and may have low self-esteem due to being treated differently. Sometimes it gets in the way of their learning or ability to make friends. Dr. Reinisch understands the emotional as well as the physical needs of his patients and their families. Small Wonders Foundation, working with Dr. Reinisch and the patients' families, seeks to provide these children with the opportunity to live full and happy lives.

We were so proud of her and understanding the importance of giving back.  We ended up giving her the earnings from the garage sale to add to her cookie sales.  She was able to send $250.00.

6 week old Right Ear

August 20, 2013

6 weeks post -op Right Ear

Here we are 6 weeks post-op and the ear is looking good.  Dr. Reinisch is happy with the healing thus far.  The ear still appears to be a bit more projected than the left side, so most likely Dr. R will do an adjustment in the Spring.  This can happen when doing both ears.  

6 month old ear (left ear)

August 1, 2013

6 months post-op (left ear)

I thought I'd post some pictures of Samantha's ear 6 months post-op.  It looks great! 

3 week Right Ear

Tuesday July 30, 2013

3 weeks post-op Right Ear

Today we saw Dr. Reinisch in Palo Alto at California Ear Institute.  We are so lucky that Dr. Reinisch is up our way at least once a month and he can check on Sam's ears in person!  

Here are some pictures of Sam's ear 3 weeks post-op.  Dr. Reinisch is pleased with the healing so far. 

In the picture, you can see some of the "dead" skin starting to scab and peel off.  Between week 2 and 3 (the week immediately following the dressing coming off), you are asked to just gently wash the ear with soap and water with your hands.  It's hard to get some of that "stuff" off with just your hands.  I was waiting for Dr. R to give the "ok" to start washing the ear gently with a cloth.  In the bath later that night, I was able to get most of that off.  

 

 

In this view, you can see how Sam's face is asymmetrical.  The right ear looks a little bigger, but we are still in the healing phase, so it will settle down in a few months.

In this shot, you can see that the skin graft taken from the back of her head is healing nicely and the hair is already growing back.

Big Ear Reveal (right side)

Tuesday July 23, 2013

2 weeks post-op

2 Big Ears! It's still hard to believe. 

This ear is a bit more swollen than the first one was 2 weeks out.  It's totally normal though.  Sam's first ear had the least amount of swelling of any ear he has done that early on.  I'll be honest, it's harder for me this time around because the ear looks so different than the first one.  I know it takes approximately 6 months for the ear to heal, but of course, I want results now!

American Girl LA

Thursday July 11, 2013

Today is Sam's first post-op for Dr. Reinisch to just clean up the little bit of drainage and take the Nike cap off.  Since our appointment isn't until 4:30, I decided to take Sam out for a little Mommy/Daughter time, since she was feeling a little better.

 

Ever since the first ear surgery, Sam has been talking about going back to American Girl.  I wasn't planning on lunch this time, but once we got there, Sam was feeling pretty good, so we did it!  She also got to do a little shopping for her dolls thanks to Grandpa Sam and Grandpa George!

Big Ear #2

July 9, 2013

Big Ear #2 (right side)

I can't believe the time has come for Big Ear #2.  It has been 5 months since Sam had surgery for her first big ear.  Dr. Reinisch kept telling me that this time should be easier because I will know what to expect.  He was right that I knew what to expect, but I can't say it was any easier on me!  As for Sam, she handled it like a champ...even getting a piggy back ride on the Anesthesiologist back to the OR.  

Here is the last picture we took of her little right ear.  We always called it her "little heart" because that's what the little tab looked like to us.  

Family picture (minus Ella) as we head into the Surgery Center.  

My beautiful little girl.  Cool, calm and collected as she waited pre-op!

Surgery went well.  It was a little shorter than the first ear surgery, but still a very long day.  We were the first ones in the surgery center and the last to leave! 

20 week ear

June 21, 2013

20 weeks post-op

Here we are on the longest day of the year, soaking up the warm sun in California!  Sam's ear is looking good and I'm now noticing the difference in the skin on her ear from applying the RetinA.  The skin does appear thicker and the color looks really good.  

We are 2 1/2 weeks out from Sam's second ear surgery.