Iowa City Consultation

Zach had his first appointment in Iowa City on July 27. The day before we went to the Children's Museum in the mall. Zachary loved it! He loved playing in the pizza restaurant, grocery store, and farm. Think Godfather's would hire him???? After the museum we met some friends at our hotel and went swimming. Zach is a little fish. He loves getting dunked. He really wants to venture off on his own!

The week before the appointment we practiced opening our mouth and saying "ah" with the doctor's kit Grandma Karen gave him. We also practiced taking our temp, listening to heart and lungs, etc. The practice paid off! Zach was a trooper. He didn't cry when they took his temp and got his weight (now 27 lbs). He didn't like the intern doctor trying to look in his mouth, but he let the surgeon look. He had fun playing with the audiologists too, as he got a hearing test done. He eared an A+ on that test! We also met with a speech-language pathologist who said that Zach is doing very well with his speech and language right now. The surgeon suggested that we go ahead with his surgeries as soon as possible since this is a prime time for developing language. He explained that we don't want Zachary to get in the habit of incorrectly saying sounds, given his cleft lip and palate.

Zachary's lip will be repaired with one surgery now (Sept 10) and then another into adolescence to even out scar tissue. He will have his cleft palate repaired in March. That should be the only surgery needed on the palate. After permanent teeth come in, they will start working on his teeth.

Mom and Dad don't even notice the cleft lip when we see our little Zachary. All we see is his amazing smile. So many people tell us that his eyes even smile! What a gift of joy God has placed in his heart! Although we don't notice the cleft lip, he will still look so different after it is repaired.