Well, Here We Go Again!

I should have let everyone know a bit earlier, but late is better than never and seeing how much all of your prayers helped last time...we need you all on board with us AGAIN!

Miss Tessa Joy is going to be having another surgery this Wednesday (April 11).

Does it ever get easy? I just don't like this surgery "business". I know it's so good to get it all done early on, but this one...this one is going to be kinda big. Perhaps not for our surgeon, Dr. Urata, but for Tessa and all those who know her and love her.

Let me preface it this way...we have a typical 4-5 year old on our hands who LOVES to stare at herself in the mirror. Whether she's smiling, tilting her head a certain way, or practicing certain faces, she loves looking in the mirror and she loves who is looking back at her. This person looking back at her is going to look different after her surgery. How does a little girl deal with that? How does a mother prepare her daughter for that? Yes, I know this is the first of "many", but she's had her same "look" for 3 1/2 years now. It's Tessa. The way her lips look, the way that the tip of her nose is connected to her upper lip, her precious smile, you know the feelings you have for people you see all the time and love for who they are and look like. Ugggghhh. Change. I'm not big on change. It throws me for a loop. This one is going to be even more emotional seeing how I'm already dealing with so many hormones racing through my body being 30 weeks pregnant. Ugggghhhh. (But really, enough about me...it's Tessa I'm empathizing with here.)

God, I pray that this child of Yours is strong and courageous, I pray that she can put her vanity behind her and embrace these new changes to her lips and nose, I pray that her confidence in who she is in YOU will remain strong and perhaps even get stronger, I pray that the result of the surgery looks very natural, I pray for others to be able to embrace her new look and not look at her funny, I pray that Tessa doesn't even acknowledge the comments/looks that others might make, I pray for strength for Mark and myself that we will be able to handle this change with a peace that only comes from You. I pray for Dr. Urata, that You guide his hands and give him the ability to see the larger picture (I'm sure he already does!), I pray for a smooth recovery. Anything else you feel you want to add...GO FOR IT!

The Details:

*Surgery time has yet to be determined...I'm expecting a phone call tomorrow to let me know if she's the early time or if, perhaps, a younger child has bumped her back a slot. We are hoping for an early slot b/c, if things go smoothly, she MAY get to sleep in her own bed that night. That would be glorious!

*What is going to be worked on? Dr. Urata is going to do a secondary lip repair (he wasn't too pleased with how the first one went...with our previous surgeon). I guess a perfectionist surgeon is a good thing! If that goes smoothly then he is going to move on to her nose. I found this on a website dealing with bilateral cleft repairs:

"Getting a good initial lip repair and narrowing the very wide nostril base is what is obtained at this first phase. Around age 4 or 5, a secondary lip repair with columellar lengthening and further nostril narrowing is done."
She may have nose splints when she comes out, she may not...depending on what kind of conversing goes on between the surgeons in the operating room.

Again, we are placing Tessa in God's hands and know that He is in total control. He'll be in that Operating Room with Tessa and Dr. Urata, guiding his hands, helping him make wise decisions, etc. Obviously, we place her in God's hands EVERY day...this one is just a little bit bigger. ;)

We will be updating the blog the day of with more details and perhaps, more prayer requests.

Thanks for taking time out of your busy day to pray for Tessa. We so appreciate every single prayer!