Friday, August 3, 2018: Chicago Day 2

We had the whole morning to explore the city so we took our time as we made our way to the hotel where the conference was held.

At the top of the girls must-see list was the American Girl doll store.  They were in little girl heaven.  They wandered the entire store admiring every last detail and dreaming big dreams!

We also hit the Lego store, another highlight for them.

The city is fascinating!

We had the opportunity to listen to a physicians lecture and then met individually with 4 different doctors in the afternoon.

*Dr. Russell R. Reid (Professor of Surgery, Director of Craniofacial Surgery University of Chicago - specializes in mandibular distraction (aka jaw reconstruction)) - We are unsure if Kambri will need to have jaw surgery as she gets older.  The joint in her jaw is significantly smaller & deformed on that side but it seems to be keeping up thus far.  This is something that time will tell so we just have to wait.  They don't recommend doing anything until she is done growing.

*Dr. Arturo Bonilla (Pediatric Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgeon in San Antonio, TX - specializes in Rib Graft Reconstruction) - His recommendation was to NOT try the Rib Graft Reconstruction a second time.  He said that it would be difficult to get different results with what has been done previously.

*Dr. Sheryl Lewin (Craniofacial and Pediatric Plastic Surgeon, specializes in Porous Implant Ear Reconstruction (“PIER”) Los Angeles, CA) - We were very impressed with her & with her work.  Her (patient) ears look fantastic! She thinks Kambri is a great candidate for the Pourous Implant.  It is a bit more risky because of what has been done previously.  The ear will not function.  She recommended that we close the ear canal.  She would implant the Baha at the time of surgery.

*Dr. Bradley Kesser (Otolaryngologist - Head and Neck Surgery University of Virginia School of Medicine, specializes in Atresia Repair) - He suggested that based on her CT Scan results, he probably wouldn't have attempted the inner ear.  He referred us to one of the top doctors in the nation...Dr. Shelton - our doctor who did the inner ear surgery. :)  The good news about that is it confirmed that her inner ear is just difficult and that our doctor was very knowledgeable in what he was doing.  Dr. Kesser recommended that we close the ear canal if it will not function because they often cause many unnecessary problems.

It was so convenient to meet face to face with some of the top doctors in the nation in one place.  We walked away humbled and so grateful.

We had some time between our appointments and the Meet & Greet so we made our way back to the American Girl store.  We surprised the girls and let them choose anything they wanted.  Kambri chose Tenney (she's been dreaming of an American Girl doll forever!) and Ellie chose a puppy with some accessories.  They were so surprised and so excited!

Next stop...dinner at The Cheesecake Factory.

Then off to the conference!

They had a little meet & greet so we could meet other families and mingle with the doctors & staff.  You can never go wrong with ice cream & balloon animals.  It was so good to rub shoulders with people in all stages of the game.  I love connecting with people who know exactly how we feel, who have the same questions & concerns that we have, and have the same desires to do what is best for their child.

Tomorrow is the big day and we can't wait to see what's in store!