Whew, That Was a Big One!

Here we are again, in the great city of Chicago.  The weather is actually kind of nice to us Phoenicians, despite temperatures that are high for the folks living here, and we are enjoying our visit.  We rolled in Wednesday afternoon, and Thursday morning at 6 a.m. I was back at Highland Park Hospital.  The routine was the usual, except that they also gave me a new medicine before taking me back.  The nurse told us that it was an anti-anxiety med and that they typically give it to children over the age of one.  It was a good idea, because mom and dad could tell that I recognized the hospital and figured something was amiss.  It turned out that this med - Versed - is a little wonder drug that produces effects along the lines of being stoned.  It did the job it was supposed to for me, and gave mom and dad a few laughs at the same time.

Not too happy about being back at the hospital.

A little better...

"Super Josh"

Mom and dad did not have any particular hopes for the results of this surgery, because they were just uncertain how it would turn out.  My surgery lasted about 2 hours or so, and when Dr. Bauer came out to report, he advised that everything had gone well overall.  He explained that the flap which had not expanded very well did not stretch as far as he had hoped, but nonetheless, he was able to remove more than half of the remaining nevus!  That alone was great news.

To put things in perspective, he took out a pen and drew a picture on the pant leg of his scrubs.  He drew what looked like a "W" shape on the picture of my body, telling mom and dad that the remaining nevus is in the center of my back, off to the sides, and from the bottom down.  He was unable to do any "advancing" (manual manipulation, stretching and removal) from below this time as he had originally intended because of the way the skin was behaving.  As a result, the next expansion will require FOUR expanders -- 2 in my back and 2 in my legs.  Oh boy.

Although I was very uncomfortable when I first came out of surgery, our stay at the hospital was rather short-lived because I perked up by the afternoon and we were discharged.  I had a dose of Tylenol 3 around 5 p.m. and then off we went.  As usual, I got into the car seat without fussing, and by evening time, I was able to sleep in my own bed.  I even slept for a 9-hour stretch without waking for pain meds.  Yup, I'm a champ!

Feeding myself in recovery

I may be a superhero, but I still gotta show my true colors now and then.

Yesterday, we went in to Dr. Bauer's office to actually see the results for the first time.  Wow.  Just wow.  First, mom and dad were a bit overwhelmed by the length and number of the multi-directional stitches all over my backside.  But getting past that, they were truly amazed at how much Dr. B did remove.  It was more than they had imagined based on his description in the hospital waiting room.  They also saw that he was able to remove two troublesome satellites, so that was a bonus they didn't expect.  They were also surprised that my back was kind of lumpy, but Mim was not concerned and said it should level out once the swelling and fluid goes down.  She was very happy with the condition of the new skin and said everything looks simply fantastic.

Now, I know you're all wondering, so here are some before and after pictures.  They are graphic, but this is me in all my glory right now.  It looks terribly painful, but I assure you I am doing great despite these traumatic changes to my body just 2 days ago.  The stitches will be removed 2 weeks from Monday, and we know from experience that the scars will probably be thin and light.

December, 2010, just before the very first surgery

July, 2011, just before this surgery

August 5, 2011

August 5, 2011

August 5, 2011

Now, it's time to RELAX for a little while.  I'm going to take advantage of the next few months and play like a one-year-old should play.  Mom and dad can actually forget about germs and bacteria and falling and just let me be a kid.  Around the beginning of November, we will start quarantining again because my next surgeries are scheduled for December 8 and March 1.  We pray that this will be my last round of expansion, and that I don't need any additional surgeries.

I will  post updates from time to time on my healing progress between now and then.  Please help me pray that my recovery goes well and that infection doesn't occur.  We are taken aback, just a little, realizing that we have actually done a full expansion and that we are seeing so much progress.  This is amazing.  This is surreal.  This is a gift for which we are entirely grateful.