8 days post-op

Just a little over a week after Mitchell's frontal orbital advancement and his progress is amazing!!  Chad took Mitchell back to Children's Mercy again on Monday to check the swelling /fluid build up on the sides of his forehead.  Everything checked out well and we will be back for another post-op appointment next week.  Soon I believe our van may just drive itself the 2 hours to Kansas City and Children's Mercy Hospital.....

It's hard to believe Mitchell's surgery was just 8 days ago!

Sunday during dinner, Mitchell was sure he was going back to school on Monday and couldn't see why he had to wait another week.  He has skyped with his class and also made a visit today to Marlatt as well.  The staff, students and parents have been so supportive of Mitchell and we appreciate all they have done for him during this time.  I think the hardest thing for Mitchell is knowing that when he returns to school he cannot participate in PE or recess for about 6 weeks.  He feels good and wants to return to being a very active 1st grade boy again. 

Cowboy Collin is home and working out his bucking bronco

We missed Collin so much last week and it is great to have the little ham back in the house. Anytime Mitchell has visitors over the past few days, Collin goes into full show off mode for them. 

No plans for a race for me in the immediate future, but I've kept up with my running routine to keep me going.  Hopefully we'll be able to run the 5 mile Turkey Trot in Kearney, NE over Thanksgiving and a 10K in December.  For now, the next 1/2 marathon will most likely be in late April 2012.

Even rockstars have an off day

Yesterday was a hard day for Mitchell. We had to get up and head to KC very early for our first post op appointment. And with all the car riding, pushing to get there on time and just not being home to rest, ice and take it easy....our rockstar patient was not feeling well at all.

September 24....5 days post op

His post op appointment went fine. They took out the drain and also removed some excess fluid that had his forehead and sides of his forehead very swollen. We are a little concerned because the fluid is back again today.

Thanks to Coach Sieben for the Manhattan Indians football stickers to complete our helmet!  Mitchell will need to wear this at all times during school or anytime we are out and about for the next 3 months.

After sleeping over 15 hours, Mitchell is feeling much better today and is acting like his old self again. We are very excited that my folks are bringing Collin home today from his week in Minnesota playing with them and cousin Daniel. He had so much fun and we are very grateful for my parents watching him this past week.

I was able to run a bit this week which helped clear my head.  I ran around the courthouse and government buildings in KC one day which was a very cool but super hilly run.  My quads and gluts weren't sure what I was doing to them by the time I finally made it back up another huge hill to Children's Mercy.  I was able to get in a quick tempo run and also ran a 10K distance long run yesterday which seemed very slow and was a bit of a struggle.  But it felt good to stretch my legs and clear my head after this very long week.

We are excited to settle in as a family again and will keep an eye on Mitchell's swelling. If it does not improve, we have been instructed to call Dr. Singhal's office on Monday.

Redo

Day 3 at Children's Mercy and Mitchell can still see (just barely. All the monitors are off and he only has an access line for IV's just in case. His progress is amazing!

Morning of Day 3

Many of the nurses and floor doctors we have talked to over the past few days have said "so Mitchell was here just for a redo, correct?"  or "today we are doing a redo on Mitchell".  I know they don't mean to at all....... but calling Mitchell's frontal orbital advancement just a redo seems like a bit of an understatement to me.  Dr. Singhal took out his forehead.  Then he reshaped it and all his orbital bones, and advancemed his forehead forward while putting in dissolvable screws and plates.  I'm not sure labeling it a redo does this procedure and his work justice?!

Spending more time in the activity room on day 3 playing Uno

Believe it or not, while I was writing this blog Dr. Singhal came to see us and has cleared us to go home TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think we are both still in shock that we are going home so early. We are getting fitted for a helmet to wear home and in the car, discharge papers, and our pain meds and antibiotics from the pharmacy. We will be back to see Dr. Singhal on Friday to get rid of the drain and check his progress....but tonight we will all be sleeping in own beds!!

The best medicine

Sometimes the best medicine doesn't come from a pill or IV.

It comes from a skype session with your 1st grade class! :)  Mitchell was able to have a brief chat with his teacher, principal, classmates and other support staff this morning.  He is very tired and a little out of it, but he loved it and afterwards said softly "that was awesome."

Mitchell's first skype session with Marlatt....so neat!

Mitchell's surgery went very well yesterday was finished in 4 1/2 hours. We were very surprised as we had been told to expect a 7 to 8 hour procedure. Everything went well and Dr. Singhal was pleased with the results. We were reunited with Mitchell in the PICU around 3 p.m. last night. Chad's folks stayed with Mitchell so we could get out of the hospital for a bit during supper and as we returned from our meal....we learned they had moved him into his own room! The PICU was very full, Mitchell was among the healthiest patients in the unit so we were moved to a room just outside the PICU. He still had PICU care all night, but I was relieved that I could spend the night with him and we didn't have all the restrictions that come with being in the PICU.

Our night had it's ups and downs. Mitchell battled some pretty severe nausea and around midnight finally threw up. I can't imagine what that must have felt like after having his forehead removed just hours before. But he simply laid back and commented how much better his tummy felt...amazing. We struggled a bit with pain control off and on during the night so I was up a lot with him, but this seems to be better this morning. We have made it over the hurdles of getting rid of the cathater and central line and now we are slowly drinking more so we can switch to oral pain meds (which should be better coverage for pain) soon.

Mitchell is still able to see out of a tiny sliver with each eye. Dr. Singhal expects that his eyes will most likely swell completely shut today. He is doing well, all things considered. Chad and I are planning to get out of the hospital this afternoon and go for a short run together around the area as long as Mitchell continues to do well.

Thank you for keeping our brave little man in your thoughts in prayers! All the love and support we have recieved has truly been a gift.

And now we wait

Today has been a very hard day. As I write this, it is 11:30 and Mitchell has been in surgery for about 3 hours so far.

The Bunger Men with matching do's

We said good-bye to Mitchell at 7:30 a.m. this morning.  Chad and I would both describe this as one of the hardest things we have endured to date.  As they wheeled Mitchell away, he was very calm and holding on to both of his stuffed animals.  He was thrilled that they could accompany him back to surgery and they both wore matching bracelets just like the one Mitchell has on. 

Playing on the giant piano outside Children's Mercy after bloodwork yesterday.

They called at 8:30 a.m. to let us know that surgery was underway.  The nurse told Chad that Mitchell did great and was even telling everyone in the operating room jokes until he went to sleep.  Mid-morning we moved up to the Ronald McDonald Family Room which is much more comfortable and quiet than the chaos of the same day surgery waiting room.

Watching a video from his class while having his last snacks and drinks last night

Our last update was at 10:45 a.m.  Surgery was going well and Mitchell was very stable and hadn't needed any blood products at this point.  They will call to give us another update in a few hours.

The waiting game continues.  Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.

Almost time

We will head into Kansas City tomorrow after church. But before that time is here, we have had a great weekend cheering on KSU with family!

Mitchell before heading down to the field for Jr. Wildcats

KSU Cousins

It will be hard to say good-bye tomorrow when my parents take Collin along with the Drake's back to Minnesota for the week. Mitchell will need to have more blood drawn and a quick pre-surgery
check done at Children's Mercy tomorrow and then we will plan to swim at the hotel and find some fun activities in KC for him. Ready or not, it is almost time for surgery.

Pre-surgery Do's for the Bunger Boys

Mitchell sporting his new military mohawk!

Mitchell has been asking when he can finally gets a mohawk and tonight he got his wish.  Mommy is not a huge fan of this hair style, but I can live with this pre-surgery "mohawk for a day."

Our last shot with hair!!

Thanks to our friends the Courtwrights for coming over for supper tonight and a very big thank you to Briana for Mitchell's pre-surgery mohawk!!  Tomorrow is crazy hair day at Marlatt...and while I'm sure staff will think we may have went over board for this event, it sure did work to Mitchell's advantage to keep this new hair cut (even if it is for just one day before we buzz it all off).

No mohawks for Collin or Daddy, but all the Bunger boys will soon all have matching closely shaved heads. Surgery is now less than 4 days away.

Two pillows, an entire queen sized bed....

We took a very quick but equally fun trip to Kearney, NE this weekend to meet our special nephew Wyatt.  We even got to stay in a hotel for the night which thrilled both boys.  And of course, I took lots of pictures as every aunt should. :)

Chad with his sister Christa, Collin and Wyatt

Meeting Wyatt for the first time with Grandpa Bunger

Grandma Bunger snuggling baby Wyatt

One of my favorite shots of the day!  Not sure Wyatt was a fan of his cousin holding him...but Mitchell was so proud he was big enough to hold him.

 The next few shots are from our fun at the Holiday Inn pool in Kearney.  Chad was the manager of this facility when we were at UNK, so it was fun to visit again.  Mitchell loved the water slides!

and one pillow with less than a 1/4 of the bed used! :)

My last picture and caption should help my title finally make sense to you.....who knew I was such a teaser?!

After our whirlwind trip up and back to Kearney, NE in less than 24 hours, I got out and completed my 40 minute easy run this evening.  Saturday morning I turned my alarm clock off and didn't get up nearly as early as I had planned to run.  I woke up in the night and was up for quite a bit before I could finally return to sleep (an all too familiar trend).  Someday when Chad and I are both able to sleep like normal people again....we will be dangerous!  But I still got out on Saturday and also ran just over 5 miles.  It was another great weekend filled with lots of memory making for our family!

June 13, 2005 vs September 19, 2011

To start this post let me say this. I don’t make this post or include these pictures to conjer up sympathy. Of course we continue to welcome prayers, support and good thoughts for Mitchell always! :)

When Mitchell had his first surgery at 9 months, we had not made many of the close connections that we have now. We have had many people ask us questions about the surgery and what it was like the first time around. It’s so hard to explain the abrupt change in appearance from this extremely invasive major surgery. So I found these pictures on my parents computer that can give perspective more than my rambling words ever could.

Mitchell's 9 month portraits about a month before his first surgery

The hard part about dealing with Mitchell's diagnosis of metopic craniosynostosis (which was also a blessing) was that he was an active, thriving infant with absolutely no delays or other concerns/ issues.  He had no syndromes (again, a true gift from GOD) showed no signs of ICP and the day before his surgery he was inches from taking his first steps at 10 months of age.  He was just our sweet, happy, active little guy with bright closed set eyes and a ridge on his forehead.  The diagnosis was more like knowing of a large shark, lurking in dark waters that you are swimming in.  It can not be seen....but you knew it was there and eventually it would most likely be a life threatening and immediate issue if not dealt with.

Out of PICU on June 14, 2005 and into a room one day after surgery

Thank goodness for our binky and blankets that smelled like home (and Mommy) while we couldn't see!

The first time around, we had no idea what to really expect from Mitchell’s surgery.  The doctor’s and nurses talked with us, I  had talked with other mom's on the wonderful on-line connection of CAPPS,  but I remember going into things just wanting to be on the other side.

Our first day back home after surgery....June 16, 2005 which was also our 4th anniversary.  Up and wanting to play!

Maybe it is because we have done this all before, but this time I seem to have the opposite feeling.  I just want to live in the moment and enjoy Mitchell and our family and dread September 19th.  Many people say to us wonderful words and we often hear well intended comments like “don’t  you just want to it be here and over?”  And while I probably should feel this way….I do not.  It’s hard for me to want to hurry up and do this to him again.  Even though I know he needs it now because of his ICP and I know he will bounce back like the great little boy that he is.  It’s hard for me to wish to hurry up this surgery on him when I am not the one who has to actually endure it.  It is hard for me to wish the date to be here sooner to again slow down this giggly, amazing, bright, caring, funny 7 year old.  Once again we are blessed to be totally symptom free, doing great, thriving and loving life.  But now once again that shark has found it’s way back into the waters of our lives that must and dealt with.

Mitchell and Dr. Singhal the pediatric plastic and cranio facial surgeon that will perform his second FOA in less than two weeks.  Dr. Singhal is also the specialist who diagnosed Mitchell and did his initial surgery at 10 months old.

Today we spent the day at Children's Mercy for pre-op appointments, blood work, and meeting with the anesthesiologist.  It was a long day filled with lots of waiting and adults talking but Mitchell was a trooper.  Surgery will be about 7 hours long.  Mitchell will be in PICU for one day and then be moved to a room after that.  We are hoping to be home by Thursday or Friday that week if all is going well.  We also learned that there is a possibilty that he can go back to school (starting with 1/2 days) earlier than the 3 to 4 weeks we were initially told if he is doing well.  Mitchell was very happy to hear that he will be able to participate in PE and recess (no contact sports or tag however...not sure how that will work with this very active boy) after 3 weeks.  He will have to wear his protective helmet for 3 months after surgery while at PE, recess or anytime he is on the go.  I asked him tonight what he heard today and one of the things he said right away was "that I can play t-ball and soccer next summer and I can do swimming lessons after 3 days!"  I was quick to correct him that he could return to swimming lessons after 3 months.... :)  Then he asked "what's a drain and why do I need one after surgery?  Is it like the sink?"  Good dialogue and I learned that he heard more than I thought he did after all today.

He will do great.  It will be fine.  I do truly pray for and believe in this.  I think this time around Chad and I just know too much.  Again, I do not write this blog as a pity party.  It is just where I am at right now on this journey .  I have read so many blogs, facebook pages and posts from other cranio parent's who have been so honest about their thoughts and feelings. I can only hope maybe my posts on Mitchell's second frontal orbital advancement can help someone else in this experience like others have helped us.

2 cream can suppers in 1 weekend

 This weekend we treated our Kansas family and friends to not one but TWO cream can suppers.  The first happened while tailgating before the KSU game Saturday night and Sunday we had our 2nd annual Bunger Cream Can supper with friends from both of our work places joining us for the event.  I had never experienced this south central Nebraska cuisine until I starting dating Chad over a decade ago and it is fun to watch Chad prepare this meal for our friends and family in the Manhattan area.

About to head into the stadium.  We have tailgated with my parents and many other family and friends in this same church parking lot since before Mitchell was born.  My Uncle Blaine said it best this weekend sitting under the shade of the large oak tree "there just isn't a better spot to be!"

The Bunger family ready for the 2011 KSU Football season

 The next few shots are some candid photos during the game of the boys.  They both had a great time and Collin was a trooper and stayed well into the 4th quarter.  But he and I were sure to leave before the much dreaded fireworks show started. 

Mitchell taking a picture of his view during the KSU Game Saturday night.  The tickets Coach Synder gave us were great!

The gal that made our great experience for Mitchell @ KSU happen....thanks again Angie Messer!

I was forced to take a week long break from running after pulling a muscle in my left calf last week during a 40 minute easy run.  Since I am not training for any immediate races at this point, I decided to not push it and give it some time while stretching and icing each day.  I was anxious to get back out for a run with the cooler temperatures finally arriving in northeast Kansas this weekend and took out this morning on another easy 40 minute run.  It was a good run, my calf felt great for most of the run and was just a little tight at the end of the just over 4 mile run.  Even though I am not training for anything specific at the moment, running has been a great stress relief and way for me to clear my mind.   My body needed to rest, but shutting my brain off at night was even harder than usual last week with no running to wear me out.

Two weeks until Mitchell's surgery.  We head to KC on Wednesday this week for pre-op appointments with Dr. Singhal and the anesthesiologist .

The many loves of Collin

From cement mixers, to horses and now airplanes!! Collin still plays with his trucks, will still put up his vast heard of horses, but lately he is crazy about imaginext airplanes.

All the Imaginext toys get in on the action when we break out the airplanes.  I'm not sure how the Batcave and Samurai Castle fit in with the airplanes...but batman always seems to need the help of a giant hook on a plastic airplane.  Collin's imaginary play is so fun to watch and you can't help but laugh when you listen to his very animated dialogue.