Nathan’s appt at the Craniofacial dept was originally on Jan 3. Since Nathan is adopted, the appt was moved up earlier to today so that we can take care of the paperwork and a team of specialist can see Nathan asap. The appt took over 2.50 hrs! First we met with the receptionist who gave us the paperwork. Secondly, a nurse talked to us and asked questions about why we decided to adopt a special needs child, if Nathan is our first child, if we have information about his family history (since he was abandoned, we do not know his family history), how much we know about cleft lip/palate, where he got his cleft lip surgery, where and when we adopted him, etc. The nurse also talked about cleft palate surgery like what to expect, how long it will take, etc. Thirdly, we met with a Orthodontist who looked at Nathan’s teeth to make sure that his teeth are growing well after he had his cleft lip repaired and to see how many teeth he has. Last person we met was the doctor who will perform the cleft palate surgery.
Nathan’s surgery will be Jan 21. The surgery will take about 1 hr and 10 mins. One hour for the actual surgery on palate and 10 mins to insert a microscopic tube inside Nathan’s both ears. Due to Nathan’s open palate, there is some liquid inside both of his ears. Luckily, he has no ear infection. Since there is some liquid inside his ears, the nurse said that Nathan may not be hearing us properly. This microscopic tube will help drain the liquid out of his ears. The tube will eventually fall out on its own without surgical intervention. After the surgery, Nathan will need to stay at the hospital for 1 or 2 days and the nurse will make sure he will be able to drink liquids because for two weeks after surgery, he will only be able to eat liquid foods. No fruits, chicken, fish and rice for him until his palate has healed. The stitches in his mouth will dissolve on its own. Nathan will wear some type of elbow restraint for two weeks or until his palate has healed from surgery. The elbow restraint will prevent him from bending his elbow and touching his mouth after surgery.
After his palate is repaired, he will have a follow up appt with the doctor and we will meet another specialist who will work with him. I believe this other specialist will be the speech therapist. Since Nathan is adopted, there are special services that are free for him such as speech therapy. Since we live near Napa, driving to SF for Nathan’s future speech therapy sessions will be a hassle. I want to find a speech therapist closer to our home. The nurse told us that a new law was passed in which children born with cleft palate will be covered for orthodontic expenses. It is good to know what health coverage and free services are available for children who are adopted and born with cleft lip/palate. This will save us some money.
After Nathan’s appt, I did some last minute Christmas shopping in downtown SF. Plus we went to Safeway and Costco to get some things for our family Christmas party.