Miles had his second surgery in San Antonio in October. He had stage 1 again on his other side and stage 2 and 4 on the first side that already had stage one. Since we had already been through one surgery, we were somewhat prepared for this one, but each surgery has proven to have its challenges and this one was completely different than the first. Still up to this point I don't think the ears have caused a whole lot of pain or discomfort, but the drains and the rib surgery have done more than their share. I think Miles is relieved to know he won't have to go through the rib grafting again. His recovery the second time has been much slower, but he is finally back at school and will have his stitches out tomorrow. I will post more pictures after this weekend. Both ears are healing well and Miles is finally feeling more like himself again. We will go back to San Antonio for the next surgery in January, but for now we are taking a break and going to enjoy all of the holiday activities.
Getting ready to be released from the hospital:
Picking up some groceries a few days after surgery:
Stage 1 on the second ear. His small ear remains in place until the next surgery where the doctor will utilize the skin and cartilage from it before removing it and attaching the earlobe:
First side that had stage 2 - earlobe and stage 4 - tragus - little piece of cartilage in front of the ear opening:
Unfortunately the kids had to celebrate Hallloween in San Antonio a few days after Miles surgeries. They were good sports about it and got dressed up anyway. We found a local mall doing trick or treating within the stores and took the kids with Miles' wheelchair to trick or treat and make sure they could still get candy. Even though Miles didn't walk, he was still pretty worn out by the time we were done. The kids actually made out pretty well and I think they seemed to enjoy themselves. Miles wore his costume from the year before, for convenience, since we didn't know if he would even be able to go out and Avery was Ariel. These are a few pics from the hotel room before we left.
After the anxiety ridden drain removal, Miles felt good enough to share his video games with his surgeon, Dr. Bonilla. He is not only a brilliant surgeon, but he is fantastic with kids.
Once we got home, I was able to remove the chest dressing after a week and take a picture. The redness around it is just a skin reaction to the adhesive. This didn't happen the last time, but the doctor says it is harmless and at this point it has almost disappeared:
