Hakuna Matata: An update 8 months later

Has it really been 8 months? What a drastically different life we have had since Elijah's first 11 months of life! Hence the lack of cleft updates. But I have posted the highlights of these months in picture form throughout so that you will keep reading:) We have had a few appointments with the cleft team here in Indy these last several months but never any with post-worthy news.

OCTOBER

Cozy place to drink with Aunt Christina

Finally learned to crawl [in Sept @ 11 months] so he could wrestle with the boys

Here's a quick recap of where we left off in terms of cleft stuff...a few days after E's cleft palate repair, he developed a fistula (hole in the repaired palate) despite all we did to try to prevent it. We knew fistulas were not uncommon, but it was fairly devastating initially. I may have overreacted...what, me overreact?! never...(or always). Then later we found out he had a second fistula. Based on the size of one, we were pretty sure E would need surgery in a year to fix it which would be this coming August. The other one would be fixed at his bone grafting surgery around age 7 since it was adjacent to his gumline. Our few appointments since then remained unclear about if he would need the first one fixed. The hole seemed to be getting smaller, but Dr. Tahiri kept pushing off a decision until this spring.
MORE OCTOBER

Turned 1 and had a safari-themed birthday

We returned yesterday to see Dr. Tahiri and he could no longer see the hole! He was so thrilled. As was I. I think he was more surprised than I was, but I got a good look a week or so ago and couldn't see it. This means that E will get to be surgery free for at least another 3ish years, Lord willing. He does have a really short palate, meaning the roof of his mouth does not extend very far back. Dr. Tahiri is pretty certain that E will have to have surgery around 4.5-5 years of age to fix that. I can't remember the full name of the surgery, but it starts with palato....[insert something else here] and ends with pharyngeal flap. I have not looked into the details yet and probably won't for a few years because it is not something I want to think about yet. In the meantime, this means food (mostly liquids) will continue coming out of his nose because it comes up through the back and he will have a harder time figuring out how to make air come out through his mouth only instead of his nose for speech.
NOVEMBER

Started getting into EVERYTHING

Visited his future wife Margaret

I am so grateful to all of you who prayed for the fistula to close. God clearly listened and answered, and once again, I'm humbled and amazed that he would do this for us. We have asked for so much from him and he has not withheld. I feel like I always half expect him to [withhold]...not because I don't think he is generous and not because I doubt his power to perform miracles and answer prayers, but because I always think he is going to want to teach us something through a more difficult journey. And sometimes that is definitely the case. Through those times, I have learned a lot. But boy, how quick I am to forget and have to re-learn. This time, he answered tangibly and spared my sweet boy from another surgery. Nothing to say, but grateful. So, I will leave you with pictures because those are the best parts of the post.

DECEMBER