Ethan working with a PT on gross motor skills. He also has a speech therapist.
Ethan's pre-op visit to Children's hospital went well. We signed consents for tubes to be placed in his ears and for the palate repair on November 28th. We met again with Dr. Jiang and other members of the cleft clinic, labs were done before we left. They are still not sure if his palate repair will take 1 or 2 stages, they are going to try for one. In Dr.Jiang's notes they describe his cleft palate as "very, very wide". Stage 2 would take place 3 months after the first surgery if needed.
Only his palate will be repaired, not his nose or his gumline (where your teeth sit). Those procedures will wait until Ethan is 6-8 years old. The urgency in getting the palate repaired is so that he can begin to talk.
A little time for reflection:
Ethan has been our son for only 2 months now and so much has happened in that short time. He is a different child than the shy baby they brought to the adoption registration office in Jiangsu. But, in many ways he is the same child only with more energy and weight. Our first days home were really rough and he didn't seem interested in exploring his new house, most likely because he didn't know it was home. Once he left the orphanage, the only home he knew, we moved him into 3 different hotels rooms and 3 different beds before arriving here. What a terrifying experience that must be for a child. I complain about my lack of sleep, yet he has traveled half way around the world with people who look, smell and talk different than his caretakers, basically learning to trust complete strangers. With all things considered I think he is doing very well and I need to remember that when he cries EVERY time I leave a room!
