Ani update

Sean posted a comment in our last post about Anikka’s first surgery and, while I was replying to that, I realized that others might be interested and that I should go ahead and just make that reply a post in and of itself. (Thanks for the question, Sean!)

Anikka’s doing very well. There was a bit of stretching at first that concerned us a little bit, but that’s mostly gone away already and her facial features (eye, nose, mouth) have returned to their pre-surgery shape.

The stitches have all dissolved and, while the scar is still pretty obvious, it looks much better. Of course, since subsequent surgeries will remove that scar, we’re not too concerned about how it looks as long as there isn’t any infection, pain, etc.

Mentally/emotionally, she’s tough as nails. As I mentioned in the last post, the initial site of it when we got back from the hospital was a bit of a shock for her, but she grew used to the scar pretty quickly and doesn’t think much of it now. She would, at first, examine it in the mirror but it seemed like it was more out of curiosity than anything else.

We went to her followup appointment a couple weeks after the surgery and our doctor was satisfied with the progress. Our next step is to head back up for another checkup at around the six month point (late November), at which time we’ll all decide whether or not the skin has stretched enough for the next surgery.

Again, all in all, Ani is fantastic. She’s dealt with the whole thing like a champ, and doesn’t get upset even when she sees pictures from the day of the operation. She wasn’t at all uncomfortable during the followup appointment when we went back to the hospital, either, so we don’t expect her to be too upset when we go in for the next procedure.

And, frankly, the fact that she’s so tough makes it a hell of a lot easier for us, too.