LA Appointment - Dr. Magee

Last Thursday we did the 4 hour commute to Los Angeles (2 hours each way) to consult with a new plastic surgeon by the name of Dr. Magee.  Dr. Magee works out of Children's Hospital of Los Angeles (CHLA) and comes highly recommended from our circle of cleft friends. Dr. Magee is the son of the co-founder of Operation Smile - an incredible non-profit organization performing cleft surgeries all over the world....you've probably seen infomercials on television about their amazing work. Anywho, our purpose in meeting with Dr. Magee was to gain some more insight on our road ahead.  Ryder Jeremiah's palate holes are limiting his speech and oral development so we are trying to figure out next steps and the best way to navigate through this journey. Dr. Magee was able to evaluate Ryder and confirmed what other doctors have told us thus far- there's not much we can do right now as far as "correcting" his palate holes.  His palate skin is still healing and performing another palate surgery is too risky and may potentially create new holes so for now....we wait and see how his speech/oral development continues. Dr. Magee did suggest exploring a retainer-like device (aka an optertator) that would act as a temporary palate and cover the roof of Ryder's mouth allowing him to suck from straws and close off the palate hole which is limiting his speech. This suggestion wasn't new but comes with its share of concerns and challenges. One being that this device would have to be adjusted a couple of times a week (Ryder's mouth is constantly changing/growing so weekly adjustments will be needed to ensure the opterator is fitting properly). And as you can imagine, having a retainer-like device in a 19 month old's mouth can create a bounty of challenges - keeping the retainer in properly, cleaning it after every meal, possible infection and those bi-weekly adjustments probably won't be awesome. We also have to find a local orthodontist who has experience with opterators for children with clefts and that can be a huge challenge. So for now we do some research, continue with oral and speech therapy, patiently wait but most importantly continue praying for God to lead and direct our steps as we travel through our cleft journey. We tend to get so bogged down with information and different "routes" we can take (this surgery, that doctor, this device, that speech therapist) that we feel like shutting down but just like any parent, we want the absolute BEST for our baby and will do everything in our power to make sure we make the best decisions for Ryder Jeremiah's overall care and development.  We are confident that God will continue guiding our path as long as we continue to seek His direction...afterall, before Ryder Jeremiah was in my womb, He knew him and He has set him apart - Jeremiah 1:5. 

We got to spend more time with daddy on the morning of our LA appointment. 

Waiting to be called back for our appointment....checking out this cool aquarium and trying to find Nemo. 

Daddy makes everything fun! Even doctor appointments. 

Peekaboo! 

All smiles! 

Some more waiting but this time we are in a room. 

Ryder was entertained by the TV for all of 10 seconds before he decided to climb up and down these steps. 

After an hour and a half of visiting CHLA we were finally on our way back home. It's a good thing Chester was along for the car ride! 

Chester has been with Ryder to every cleft appointment since he was born - he's the best buddy a boy can have!