As usual nothing less than EXTRAORDINARY 5-22-18

Today is 11 days post-op and she had her first check up with her orthodontist.  There has been a lot of movement and change going on and we were anxious to hear what he had to say.  Going into this surgery her nasal passage was about 95% blocked by bone and she could barely pass any air through her left nostril.  Well as of today I am happy to report that she was starting to move more air through the left side.  He said that it is still pretty swollen so we should see a little more improvement on that as the swelling starts to decrease.  He then had her open her mouth and he was amazed at how much space she had!  We went into this appointment expecting to turn for  4-7 more days and come back in a week for another progress check-up but her progress has been so amazing and she is where he wants her to be so we get to stop turning and don't have to come back for a month!!! All we have to do now is sit and wait for the bone to grow and fill in which should take around 4 months with a check up being done once a month.  Then sometime in September we will be removing the expander.  

Before and after

Before and After

Each surgery is hard for the obvious reasons but I think one of the hardest parts is knowing that your child's appearance is going to be different than when she went in.  We love her just the way she is and we  don't ever want her to change so we have to remind ourselves that each surgery is to help her have a better quality of life and is for the best.  What we have noticed most with this surgery is her smile has changed. It is bigger and more open.  It has changed and it is beautiful just like her as was her old smile.  Just something that in the near future we wont' even notice is different anymore.  We will miss that old smile but we still have our amazing Braylee and that is what matters the most. 



We will not fear change for change can bring amazing things