10/24/08

Good news and good friends


This really has nothing to do with today's subject, but we made a T@rget run the other day and found these wonky glasses in the Halloween aisle. I think they had something to do with Harry Potter...but it's hard to say. In any case, we had to have them in spite of the fact that we had to buy six at a time (anyone want some?), plus, they're all refractive around the edges and make you dizzy when you walk. QQ was not amused. It was really all about mommy and daddy...


In any case, we had a follow-up appointment with the surgeon this morning, and, though the appointment was brief and perfunctory, all the news was good!

Dr. Folk said that both the lip and palate looked good (based on a very rudimentary and non-invasive inspection).

We had been concerned about the normal things - fistulas and splitting sutures. Though we knew that the lip adhesion was intentionally partial, we didn't know how much give it was supposed to have. We had also been told that she would have a "rather large" space near the gumline in the cleft, due to the wideness of her cleft palate. When the packing dissolved, we could see the hole near the gumline, and of course it made us uneasy. We didn't know what sort of hole to expect, and whether it was normal or excessive. Apparently, the space was as expected, and no other fistulas are evident. Very, very good news!

As for the lip, the doc said it looked just fine, and that it could even split a bit further before the healing is done, and still be fine. This is a huge relief, since we had no idea what was expected. As I've mentioned before, the scar is irrelevent, since it will be cut out and reworked during the cosmetic surgey in the spring.

So...everyone's happy. Mom and dad are breathing a sigh of relief, and QQ is feeling better by the day. Her nights are still rocky, but I can't tell you the joy it gives me to see her old personality coming through by day.

I'm glad to see that she hasn't lost her joy, or her love of people.

By the way, the awesome vintage space t-shirt?
Well, yesterday we got a couple of bulky boxes in the mail from New York, full of some of the coolest clothes ever, thanks to Maia. Yes, some of you may have noted that there's another Maia commenting on some of our posts. It's not me, it's Maia Rossini, who lives not far from my birth-town of Woodstock, and who is the proud mother of FangFang, another little girl from the Chinese province of Jiangsu, who (in case you can stand yet another coincidence) also had a cleft lip and palate.

FangFang is just a bit older than QQ, and has passed down her incredibly cool wardrobe. This shirt was the first thing that I was unable to resist!

There it is, the first of the old QQ faces that she has pulled out again now that her mouth is feeling a bit better. Oh, how I love to see that spirit shining through!

A shout-out for mommy.

Here she is at the doctor's office for her perfunctory check-up.

This visit was much less traumatic than the last, thank goodness!

Rockin' out with daddy.

She does love to be upside-down.

Awwwwwwwww yeah!

After the doctor, we rewarded ourselves with a trip to Steve's Snappin' Dogs. Too bad QQ isn't down with solid food yet. She'll come around once her mouth is healed.

In the meantime, she read the newspaper. There was a good story about red pandas at the Denver zoo.

And she watched us eat hot dogs.

Oh, the humanity. Have I mentioned before how addicted I am to the fried green beans? Steve also makes a darned good kraut.

Back home, we thought we'd go through Maia's boxes of goodies. She assured us that she didn't need a fashion show, but....

...we kind of couldn't resist. So many über-cool clothes! Check out this James Perse shirt-dress!

And the autumn-colored silk jacket! QQ is very, very spoiled in the sartorial department. Wait till you see the rest......

7 comments:

M said...

Aw! I'm so glad to see things I loved on FF (that space shirt was one of my favorites too) now being worn with such panache by QQ! It's the joy of hand me downs! And I would be remiss if I didn't note that a lot of the clothes were originally handed down to us from my dear friend Linda, who is the mother to yet ANOTHER girl from Jiangsu - Lulu - who is as bright and beautiful as FF and QQ are! So there is a lot of excellent mojo in those clothes. I'm glad you (and QQ!) like them!

And I'm really glad that QQ is starting to feel better. It's so good to see her funny happy faces again!

Diane said...

Nice clothes. QQ looks great. You are still looking pretty skinny, but flawless nonetheless.

Vivian M said...

I have never heard of fried green beans! Is it a Denver thing? I will add that to my list of things to do before I die: eat fried green beans!
Flynn looks fabulous and as beautiful as ever. And I love hand me down clothes! Lucky girl!

Rebecca Lily said...

Oh my word.. what adorable clothes!! How lucky you are to get hand-me-downs like that!!!

I am so happy that QQ is feeling more 'herself' again - and that the dr's report was good!

xoxo

Cavatica said...

QQ looks more herself. I see her grin coming through - much of it was her eyes, I'm now realizing. Full facial grin, maybe. Love the clothes with great history, too!

Juliette said...

So good to see all these pics and read your girl is almost herself again.
Such a happy girl all the time, it's unbelievable.
I didn't take the time to tell you how much I love the new look here full of memories, trips, beauty.
I specially love that picture of you and QiuQiu in the left navigation bar with the little Xing Xing.
I hope you guys are having a wonderful weekend. Good night!

Yoli said...

Maia, has excellent taste of course she also has a very pretty name. I love seeing QQ smiling like is in those pictures. Her cuteness overwhelms. The clothes are delightful and I would have loved to have seen those glasses on her!!!

Come on tell us what you are going to have her wear for Halloween!