Ava's 1 Year Cranioversary

On 2/13/14 (yes almost two months ago), we celebrated Ava's 1 year Cranioversary (one year post op). If you read this blog you know that during that time all three of us were under the weather with sinus infections. But since then we've all gone back to being healthy and we've made our annual trip up to the St. Louis Children's Hospital for doctor's visits. This will be a trip we make once a year until Ava is in her teen's.

So we packed our bags and took off. We stayed with St. Louis friends Brian and Jennifer the evening before our visits, and enjoyed some adorable toddler play time. :)

Ava and Wyatt

This year's visit also included a CT Scan to take a good, in-depth look at that little skull to see how it looked and what the surgically placed plates were doing. I was very nervous about this part since A) it was supposed to be sedated and B) that's a lot of radiation (Ava's last CT scan was in October of 2012). So we arrived bright and early, with a thirsty baby, and were luckily told that since she didn't need contrast in the scan and was pretty calm that morning that we could try the scan unsedated. We were also relieved to hear that we only need this CT scan once every 5 years. Yay! Little Miss did great, with just a few tears that never spilled out when they wrapped her up swaddle style and scooted her under the scanner. Wynston and I were able to be right there by her side, comforting and reassuring her, while a nurse distracted her with some Mickey Mouse on an ipad. A quick scan and a juice box later and we were on our way out the hospital doors, easy peasy.

We made a morning trip over to Trader Joe's, then headed east to visit Wynston's sister in Illinois. We got to see her adorable baby bump, logged a LOT of good playtime with their dog Copper, played at an awesome park in their town, took Ava through her first carwash (hilarious faces on her part), enjoyed some delicious burgers and steak at Mike Shannon's and had a good night's rest.

Ava loves her some Copper.

Sigh...heart melts.

The expressions on her face during the car wash. So funny.

The park had swings with harnesses similar to roller coasters. Ava was a bit too small for these though.

Our final day up in St. Louis was a LONG one. Longer than expected. They call this visit a clinical assessment, and often refer to it as a team assessment. We didn't get much information about what to expect so I assumed the doctor's we'd be seeing would all be together...you know...in a team environment! Wrong! We saw each and every one individually. First plastics (Dr. Patel, Ava's Craniofacial Surgeon), then Audiology, then Dental, then Nursing, and finally Speech Pathology. For some reason this year we skipped ENT, even though they were on the list (and I'd filed for the PPO Waiver...but I won't even get into that side of things...grrr). We arrived that morning around 8:30 and left close to 2. With a sleepy, overstimulated baby, we were definitely ready to leave. But the good news is each doctor seemed pleased with Ava's progress and current state. We really weren't concerned at all, but it's always good to have a professional agree. Her plates should be dissolving now (that begins 12-18 months post surgery). All in all, a good visit, but one I am glad we don't have to do for another year.

Patiently waiting with other kids in the Craniofacial Institute.

Ava made this sweet friend while waiting to see Audiology.

Once again, I'd like to thank everyone who has sent prayers Ava's way during this last year. Without those prayers and the support we've been given, we couldn't have made it through this journey so smoothly. Life is just so darn NORMAL right now. 12-14 months ago, I could never have imagined that we would slip back into a good routine so quickly and that Ava would recover so well. We are truly blessed. <3