Preparing for the "Face-Off"

Pam and I have certainly hit the ground running since we've come back from our trip to Niagara Falls.  We were only home a couple of days before Jaida was off to California for a week.  She'll be home tomorrow and I know she had a great time but I'll let her tell you all about it later.  

Maya and Noah seemed so much bigger after only a week of being away from them.  Maya's vocabulary is getting so much better and Noah is quite the little man.  He loves to grab hold of Maya's chair and pull the whole thing closer to his seat.  The impressive part is that Maya is still sitting in the chair when he does it!  We also have to watch out when he's playing in our ball pit upstairs because he is strong enough to pull himself up and over onto the highest bars.  He loves to do that and then look over at one of us with his feet dangling so we can enjoy it, too.  He's such a funny little guy.  And Maya is such a happy little kid and so full of energy.  She can throw a crazy tantrum that is really a wonder to behold but she is also a very good big sister.  And Jaida is learning more everyday about the meaning of patience and understanding just by being around the two of them.  

Pam has been crazy busy with all of the above.  She recently coordinated a night out for the Marine Spouses and it was a big hit!  Pam was pretty nervous leading up to it but she made sure everything came together and I know there are going to be more of these as a result.  It's a great outlet for the families here.  

I have been getting back into the full-time therapy schedule again while coordinating other various treatments and scheduling upcoming surgeries at the same time.  The one on our plate right now is a big one.  Pam and I have always referred to it as the "face-off" surgery because that's essentially what it is.  A few months ago I had tissue expanders (essentially breast implants) inserted into my shoulders.  Since then I've been going in at least once a week to get them pumped up with saline.  What this does is stretch all of the unburned skin on my shoulders and produce an excess of good skin.  This excess can then be used to replace burn scar.  The doctor performing the procedure is a rockstar brought to BAMC specifically for the severe burn injuries here and surgeries required for them.  I've been fortunate enough to see first hand the results of his work and I am blown away (If it's okay for a burned guy to even use that term!).  The doctors are very pleased with how my "shoulder boobs" have been coming along and yesterday we scheduled both surgeries.  On August 11th they will remove most of the burn scar on my cheeks and flap the excess good skin from my shoulders to replace it.  The flap will remain connected to my shoulder for three weeks to provide blood supply to the flap until the vessels take hold.  On September 2nd the flap will be disconnected from my shoulder and the remaining tissue will be used to resurface my eyelids, nose, upper lip and chin.  It will be a major surgery but I have a really good feeling about it.  When we met for the scheduling and discussed the surgeries the doctor was almost giddy talking about how good he felt about the surgery.  He said that based on how my shoulders looked, how the expanders were coming along and his experience with other patients that he thought it was going to be a home run.  And if you knew this doctor as well as Pam and I have come to know him you would realize that he is hardly prone to false enthusiasm.  I think that's what I like best about him.  It will be a chaotic couple of months up ahead but hopefully all goes well.  I will be sure to post pictures ("shoulder boobs" included!) soon.  Thank you for your prayers and continuing support and God Bless.