Once Again, Very Thankful...

I was watching the Discovery Health Channel late this evening and came across one of the many shows on plastic surgery. I've found these shows to be pretty interesting considering we now are familar to the world of plastic surgery, especially when it comes to correcting birth defects, etc.

This particular episode was about a little girl, who was born with a facial deformity known as Micrognathia, an extremely small lower jaw bone that can affect breathing, eating, and speech. It was the story of her journey to making her face whole.

This little girls jaw was so small, it affected her eating. She had to have an eating tube. Her parents litterally had to pour her formula directly into her stomach through a tube, in order for her to get nutrition. :::sigh::: I was moved to tears and was reminded of how grateful I am that Rachel has had no problems eating. Many times, cleft babies have difficulty eating and gaining weight have to have feeding tubes. We've been blessed that Rachel hasn't had any problems eating and is gaining weight exceptionally well...maybe a little too well. LOL.

The other thing about this little girl's story that touched me, was her inability to make noise...she couldn't cry, she couldn't say any words, she couldn't make a single noise. Because of this, a baby monitor with video capability was placed in her room. If during her nap she woke up or became aggitated, her parents would have no way of knowing unless they could see it happening. The little girl couldn't cry for her parents or make noises to alert them to her being awake, etc. Once again, I am so thankful for the fact that both my girls can make noises, squeals, and yes...even cry. Many times throughout the day I become so worn out with Hannah's constant talking or noise making or humming, as it NEVER STOPS! But this story showed me how grateful I really am that she can do all those things, even if at times it grates on my nerves. LOL.

Once again, I'm very thankful for the journey I have been given, and not given what could have been a more difficult journey.