And that's all she wrote...

We did it!  We made it through this round!  Well, technically, there is another week to go, but at this point any complication should not be cause for emergency surgery.  So, we dare say WE DID IT!!!

Mom and dad did my final fill of the round -- and hopefully my final fill ever -- tonight.  We waited a few extra days because these bubbles are pretty tight.  And the fill went about as expected.  Not a lot of volume, but it didn't matter because we had already met the 500cc goal in each expander, so anything more was just good, old-fashioned, scrumptious gravy.  And the final tally: 540cc in my right expander and 570cc in my left.  Well done indeed!!

Yup, I'm a sweetie.  Just hanging out
after my injections with my
all-time favorite possession -
my "Tiggy".

A whoppin' 570cc left and 540 right!

A real 'diaper thong'.  Check this out
Saturday Night Live (circa 2003)!

We leave for Chicago in just 4 days.  The relief is starting to set in.  Dr. Bauer will return from his 5-week vacation on Monday, and then we can definitely breathe a sigh of relief.  One of the thoughts hanging over mom and dad's heads the last few months was 'what if there is an emergency while Dr. B is out of town???'  Well perish the thought!

So this is it.  The time we've been waiting for.  The real deal.  The big one.  Which means, I really need your prayers right now.  This is going to be a rough recovery, ya know, given the location of where Dr. B will be working.  So please pray that I don't get sick between now and surgery, that surgery goes well, that I remain complication free for the remainder of this round, that I don't develop any infection pre or post-surgery, and that my pain is managed.  I am strong, brave, and tough... but I still appreciate the prayers and good thoughts.  My surgery is one week from today, June 13.

We've done our part, and done a good job with it.  I will return to Dr. Bauer with a lot of beautiful new skin.  And that is something he really likes!  We can't wait to see what he does with it.  We pray for God to guide Dr. Bauer's hands, and we pray that we finally, after over 2 1/2 years and ten surgeries, get to hear those three little words: "No more expanders."