Madison Update and Holiday Review

I can't believe I let a week go by without updating on Madison's status. Her nose is healing very well. Thankfully there has been no sign of infection. The sutures will be coming out next week and for the next year we will be focusing on minimizing the scar.

During the day she seems to be the same carefree, lovable kid but there have been quite a few nightmares at bedtime. She has also seen a few dogs that she has known this past week. She has had no problem petting them or being near them unless they start getting playful. Twice she began to cry in situations that would have never bothered her before. When I pick her up from school today I will be talking to the directors to see if they can recommend anyone for her to talk to.

I just realized that I don't have any updated pictures of her and she is at school right now so I will have to post them later.In spite of the dog bite we had a very nice holiday season. Christmas Eve was spent at Justin's grandparent's house with lots of extended family. Christmas day started at exactly 5:05 am. It was so much fun experiencing childhood through Stella and Madison's eyes! We spent the rest of the day with my parents. New Years Eve was spent with our friends Jess and Kal but somehow I forgot my camera. I'm blaming it on the "incident" 'cause I've kind of been out of it ever since it happened. Here are some of my favorite pics. Enjoy

"But I Don't Want To Wear This Stupid Bow"

Take Two

Christmas MorningA New baby doll and a pork roll sammy. Does Life get any better?Madison with our Christmas guest. Thankfully we found him a home other than ours.Daddy and Stella Christmas day.Tired and Tubbied (is that a word? It is in our house.)

The Unthinkable

Just like most of you the past couple of week have been crazy here in our house. My first post back from "Christmas" was going to be all about how much fun we had, the hysterical pictures of Stella throwing a tantrum while I was trying to take pictures of her and Madison all dolled up and how we found an adorable kitten 2 days before Christmas and were able to make one little boy very happy by giving it to his family on Christmas day. Life had different plans though.

Two days after Christmas we were visiting some family members when one of my greatest fears happened. A dog owned by someone in my husband's family was allowed near Madison and it bit her. At this time I am not up for sharing all of the exact details of the incident but what I can share is that her nose was badly bitten but thankfully able to be stitched back together by a plastic surgeon.

Right now the biggest concern is that the wound may get infected. So far it is doing well but the risk is still there. If this were to happen the sutures in Madison's nose would have to be removed. The nose would have to heal on its own and she would most certainly require reconstructive surgery later on. If the wound stays healthy we are hoping scarring will be at a minimum and no future surgery will be required.

Madison is doing great. Other than being a little more sleepy than usual she is playing and acting like her normal bubbly self. Keeping her low key and protecting her nose from being bumped by Stella has proven to be a challenge but one that we are thankfully willing to take on. For as bad as the situation is Justin and I are all too aware of how much worse this could have been.

If you could please pray that our little girl's nose and spirit (which includes and absolute adoration for all critters )heal and stay healthy we would really appreciate it. Thanks so much!