My daughter's surgery

[Admin]

Firstly thanks for the PMs of concern about my daughter's (Caitlin) surgery today. Just been told that she is in recovery so that is a nearly 7hr surgery. She went in at 7.30 this morning and they have just finished.

 

What she is having done is in 3 parts...

 

The first part which is fairly simple, so they said, was to remove her bottom jaw, twist it and re attach with plates at a different angle, in the center of her face and in a more forward position.

 

The 2nd part which was the most difficult was to cut her entire top jaw away from her skull, cut away some bone and reposition it further back and to the center of her skull with plates.

 

The 3rd part was to clean up the skull at the back of her nose.

 

In the preceeding weeks they have had to take moulds of her head, jaws and mouth as they needed to do a couple of practice runs to make sure they knew what to expect.

 

She will be in for a long recouperation period and jaw sensation may take a couple of years to come good again but why do all this...hopefully Caitlin will be able to breath, eat and talk much better and as a side benefit they said she will end up with a chin.

 

For those of you that have followed the plights of my daughter will know that she has had the worst life so far but finally we are at the end of all the trauma and with our love she will look forward to a new great life ahead. Incidentally with all the troubles that have impacted her education she is attaining credits and distinctions in her uni degrees of Criminology and Criminal Justice and has set her sights on a cadetship at Interpol...I tell you she is one incredible person and always looks past the blows that she is contantly dealt...she could teach us all

 

 

[octave]

Firstly thanks for the PMs of concern about my daughter's (Caitlin) surgery today. Just been told that she is in recovery so that is a nearly 7hr surgery. She went in at 7.30 this morning and they have just finished.What she is having done is in 3 parts...

 

The first part which is fairly simple, so they said, was to remove her bottom jaw, twist it and re attach with plates at a different angle, in the center of her face and in a more forward position.

 

The 2nd part which was the most difficult was to cut her entire top jaw away from her skull, cut away some bone and reposition it further back and to the center of her skull with plates.

 

The 3rd part was to clean up the skull at the back of her nose.

 

In the preceeding weeks they have had to take moulds of her head, jaws and mouth as they needed to do a couple of practice runs to make sure they knew what to expect.

 

She will be in for a long recouperation period and jaw sensation may take a couple of years to come good again but why do all this...hopefully Caitlin will be able to breath, eat and talk much better and as a side benefit they said she will end up with a chin.

 

For those of you that have followed the plights of my daughter will know that she has had the worst life so far but finally we are at the end of all the trauma and with our love she will look forward to a new great life ahead. Incidentally with all the troubles that have impacted her education she is attaining credits and distinctions in her uni degrees of Criminology and Criminal Justice and has set her sights on a cadetship at Interpol...I tell you she is one incredible person and always looks past the blows that she is contantly dealt...she could teach us all

What an incredible procedure to have to go through. All the best to her for a speedy (as speedy as possible) recovery.

 

 

[yampy]

Thank you Ian for putting us all in the picture . I know I speak for all of us here when I say Caitlin is an inspiration to us all and with your love and dedication she will not only make a full recovery , but shine in life in whatever she decides to undertake . Please accept my sincere thoughts of goodwill .

 

David C

 

 

[Admin]

I am sitting here in ward 9 here at St Vincents hospital waiting for her to come out of recovery and brought up to the ward...they say it will be another hour or two...it brings tears to my eyes thinking about all the obstacles she has overcome in her short life so far

 

 

[prwood]

I am sitting here in ward 9 here at St Vincents hospital waiting for her to come out of recovery and brought up to the ward...they say it will be another hour or two...it brings tears to my eyes thinking about all the obstacles she has overcome in her short life so far

My thoughts are with you & your family Ian, all the very best to you all.

 

 

[Admin]

[bexrbetter]

I am the father of 3 Daughters and 3 Grand daughters, this wells me up, and I can't come close to imagining what you're going through.

 

There ain't no words.

 

 

[Admin]

She actually looks a lot better than I thought she would...they said they would try and access everything from inside the mouth but if things didn't work out there would be incisions in the lines from the nose to the mouth but it looks like everything went well as she looks really good considering

 

 

[Admin]

It's quite funny, my son Lachlan has just come in and because both Caitlin and Lachlan are experts in Auslan due to their developmental verbal dyspraxia they are having lengthy conversations with each other but I have no idea what they are talking about.

 

Caitlin's mouth is wired shut and they must have gone up through the nose as well because there is all dried blood up there. Pain is starting to kick in now though

 

 

[turboplanner]

[ATTACH]60860[/ATTACH]

Looking good already!

 

 

[IBob]

As Bex said, there are no words.

 

Thinking of you and yours.......

 

 

[Guy s]

Not easy being a parent at times and i can't imagine what your going through Ian. Your daughter is lucky she has such a wonderful and dedicated father and i hope it all goes well One day she'll look back at this moment and think it was all worth while as she gets on with making the most of her life, she sounds like a real inspiration.

 

 

[Head in the clouds]

Best wishes for you and Caitlin and the rest of the family, Ian.

 

 

[Blueadventures]

Ian Best wishes for you and Caitlin and your family. Best regards

 

Mike

 

 

[Admin]

Doc is really impressed with the amount of swelling as he expected there to be a lot more. Caitlin has been using an ice pack which has helped. I know the pic doesn't show it but the bruising is starting to come out especially down her neck. She will be in hospital for the rest of the week. She has asked me to thank you all for your well wishes

 

 

 

[facthunter]

Hope it turns out real good Ian. They are very clever these days, but she may well feel some pain, with all that work. Best wishes from ME and mine. Nev.

 

 

[Admin]

I had to laugh today, after parking my car in the multi storey car park here at St Vincents Hospital I got into the lift and noticed braille next to the buttons in the lift...now if anyone needs braille to get down in the lift after parking their car then boy, housten we do have a problem and it really is safer in the skies

 

 

[BirdDog]

Thank goodness she is on the mend and it went well. All the best mate.

 

 

[bexrbetter]

I had to laugh today, after parking my car in the multi storey car park here at St Vincents Hospital I got into the lift and noticed braille next to the buttons in the lift...now if anyone needs braille to get down in the lift after parking their car then boy, housten we do have a problem and it really is safer in the skies

The term "parking by braille" comes to mind!

 

 

[planedriver]

Which I suppose is another form of "touch and go".

 

 

[Marty_d]

Don't laugh, where I park on the side of the road there's often a young bloke in a beat-up Corolla parks behind me - by rolling forward until my tow bar puts yet another dent in his number plate.

 

 

[Deskpilot]

D'you park on a hill? If so, I'd assume he has no efficient park brake and is using you a chock. Try driving away and see if his car rolls down hill.

 

 

[Marty_d]

D'you park on a hill? If so, I'd assume he has no efficient park brake and is using you a chock. Try driving away and see if his car rolls down hill.

Nope, on the flat. He just parks by braille.

 

 

[eightyknots]

Hi Ian,

 

I hope that Caitlin's recovery is still progressing well. Thinking of you and the family.

 

 

[Admin]

She is going really well now. Starting to eat soft foods and learning where her teeth and jaws are now