After W&H we went back to the waiting room. Ella played with an etch a sketch and said that is what she wanted for her reward. You see I thought she was also going to be getting a new retainer so she could start with the night guard again. Ella's upper jaw has totally gone back to what it was before the first night mask and we thought today was the day to start. That process totally sucks for Ella but turns out Mom was wrong about today's agenda. More on that later.
Soon we were called to see Dr. Wood - I have always thought he was a great surgeon but after today he is the best in the galaxy. We had an awesome meeting with him. He looked in Ella's mouth and tried chit chat with her but she went right to the questions - how long did my surgery take? Why do you wear masks in surgery? How am I doing? He was patient and answered all her questions - about 20 minutes - wear masks to protect you during surgery so we don't put bacteria in the air, you are doing great! Then Dr Wood said you know what, I think you should be a doctor and come work on my team. Ella thought that would be cool. We also had Ella's Social Study homework with us. It was to interview a worker about their job. Ella had originally wanted to ask Dr Wood but I said he was probably too busy and maybe we should find someone else. Today I decided we should go for it and asked him if he would have time for questions. He said sure. And answered all her questions. I wrote his replies down because I can write faster than Ella but she will rewrite it tonight to use tomorrow in Social Studies. Then Dr Wood went on to say let's get you some documents and other papers in case you need it for class. By spending all that time with Ella he let a little girl know that she matters to him. Ella told him this was the best day ever and then Dr. Wood said she made his day. At that point Ella went and gave him a huge hug. I will be sending a thank you card to Dr Wood and team for all the love they always show Ella. Ella can't wait to work with Dr. Wood when she is done with grade school, high school, college and med school. He thinks he will still be there too. :-)
From there we went back to the waiting room for our appointment with the pediatric dental team led by Dr Cermain. We had a bit of time to wait and were reading her book club book on the ipad so we found a quiet spot. We were sent back to the dental area, but actually had to wait in another waiting room. Then they brought us in to the room and looked at Ella's paperwork. The assistants asked when Ella was getting her teeth cleaned and that appointment is next week with her regular dentist. Then Dr Cermain came in and said I hear we are starting braces. I was like ummm no we are getting a retainer for a night mask. She gave her staff a look and then said yes, that's right. From the looks of the dental rooms it was a busy day for them. Turns out that Ella was going to have spacers put in first before the goop and retainer/butterfly. That was a new one for Ella. Elizabeth had that done for her ortho stuff but not Ella. But I am all for it. If it makes the goop/butterfly appointment easier on Ella it will be wonderful. This whole process will take awhile but it is very important that we are faithful with the night mask. Ella's upper jaw needs to move in line with her lower jaw or she will have to have another surgery. So we are going to work hard at what they tell us. Correcting Ella's jaw will make it easier for her to say s sounds and maybe make more airway for her. So far that isn't a problem for her but it won't hurt to make more room. Ella was all prepared for the goop stuff so when there was a change she was a little stressed by it. But in true Ella form she rallied and handled it fine. The inner core of this child is humbling. She continued to let them work on her mouth even though she was stressed. God Bless You sweet child. In a few weeks we go back and Ella has the goop appointment. After that one I will get her an Etch a Sketch if that is still what she wants.
After that we ran to speech. Dr Wood wanted an update from his team and that was an add on appointment today. So I ended up having to cancel my eye appointment but I will pick another date soon. Anyway, the speech team tested Ella and she is doing great. They could tell all the work that Ella has been doing in her various speech programs at Yinghua and then at St Marks. They also tested the nasal breathing to make sure that was balanced and it was. They also took time to answer Ella's questions with thoughtful answers.
I cannot say enough about the quality of care at Gillette as well as the level of care given to my sweet child. Thank you Gillette.
Update 3/21/14 - Ella finished her Social Studies project last night and we took pictures of her with it. I hope to send it to Dr Wood and again I wish I had thought to take a picture of Ella with her doctor. Next time - if I remember.
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