Gotta love our little terrorist...we sure do!

Where oh where to begin on the little man...

Here's the funniest part: I scrolled back through the blog to find out where I'd left you on the Z updates, and I was seriously laughing out LOUD at the last entry. Go back and read it. Just for kicks. It'll brighten your day. (To be clear...I recall that day like it was yesterday...with no fond memories, I can assure you! But sometimes...or always...ya just gotta laugh! Maybe it's so when he's smearing poop all over the car, I can think, "Hey, at least he's not terrorizing an entire hospital right now! Nope. Just me." (That story is for another day. I'll give you plenty of warning.)

Anyhoo, I thought the quickest way to get back in the swing of things would be to update you on Zane's mouth/surgical recovery, since that's where we left off in his story!

For the most part, Z healed nicely from the surgery with the mouth closing nicely. Unfortunately, that same spot where they removed the pit continued to be stubborn (shocker) so Dr. K had to do the needle-less injection several more times to convince the scaring to just chill and obey. More pain for the little dude, more strapping down for the 'rents. 

We began working on the following vocab word: KARMA. So far so good. Pretty sure he's gonna get that one on a tattoo instead of the "I love Mom" one that we had planned. Whatev.

The biggest concern in regards to the mouth/face surgery is nerve regeneration. Oh the things you learn about the human body when yours doesn't perform the way it should! As always, here's the Eva-version of the state of affairs: Apparently the nerves that allow you to control the function of your mouth, run down the side of your face. You might say, "DUH!", where someone else (yours truly) might say, "Interesting!" So these nerves...

In order to close the side cleft properly so that Zane would be able to completely control keeping food and drink INSIDE where it belongs, they had to "weave" those nerve fibers right into the muscle tissue and lines they created. Therefore, it looks great...until he smiles and you realize that side of his mouth (where once the Grand Canyon resided) doesn't "open" the same as the other side. In effect, it initially appeared like they'd made a mistake and closed it too much. But the true culprit is...say it with me, class...nerve regeneration. It takes time for that to happen so that his smile and basic mouth function appears balanced on both sides. The only distressing element here...it may never return. So they chose the lesser of 2 evils, so to speak, and we began watching and waiting to see if it would gradually come back. If it doesn't come back fully by 6 months or so, the "damage" is permanent. Bummer. And so we waited. (The benefit of my prolonged blog absence is that you no longer have to wait for unfolding details! That's how much I love you.)

As it now appears, Z has regained some, but not all, of the nerve sensation on the right side of his face. Most people cannot tell as it's definitely less noticeable at this point. 

I may or may not have told Chris that I regretted the surgery, after a month or so, because I missed the gigantic smile of Zane's. Yes, it was that big because of the gapping side of his mouth...but, man, did he have a great smile! He still does...I love it...it's just a little smaller. 

Good thing his personality makes up for that! :)

It's time.

Yes, it's time. Time to re-enter the land of the living...or the blogging, as it were. 

You'll notice that you haven't heard or seen me around the blogging world since Zoe's birthday, the end of April. I thought I'd keep you updated through those following months, but truth be told, it was more difficult than anticipated...and I was thinking it was going to be a nightmare, so...

Although I would never claim to be on the other side of grief...is there such a thing?!?...I have been able to process through a great deal of heartache over these past several months so I'm grateful for your patience with me. 

There are a million updates on Zane's antics, plenty of family updates, and even some specifics thoughts about the anniversary of Zoe's death. I've been saving all these for you...until I felt strong enough to share them. Thanks to my longtime friend, Christina Widup, for the courage to allow you to grieve and pray with us.

Ready or not...here I come.