We are very excited to announce that Griffin has a new RIGHT EAR CANAL! Our journey to Griffin’s right ear canal construction with Dr. Joseph Roberson began on Wednesday, May 16, 2012…on the bench at Phoenix International Airport (PHX) eating Cheetos. Destination Palo Alto, CA! (See above pic left)

The flight was uneventful and Griffin loved every minute of it as always! We arrived at our hotel and unpacked for our two night stay and we were off to Griffin’s pre-op appointment at the California Ear Institute. The appointment went smoothly and they filled us in on the timeframe of the surgery in the morning. We also found out that Griffin’s new left ear canal was already hearing at just below the normal range and will only get better over time with healing. Dr. Roberson is hoping for normal hearing levels from the left ear over the next few months…REALLY GOOD STUFF!

Thursday morning we woke up early and checked Griffin in for his surgery at the Waverly Surgery Center at 6am. Mom and dad were again very nervous but Griffin was once again his very cool self. He was given the “sleepy” medicine again and we left him in the hands of Dr. Roberson. The canal surgery itself took about 4 hours and we were informed by Dr. Roberson that it was a success! Everything went great but Dr. Roberson discovered that Griffin is missing a tiny part of his stapes which is needed for hearing. Doc said that Griffin will need to have another surgery in about 6 months in order to achieve optimal hearing on his right side and he has done the procedure many times with great success. We couldn’t have been more relieved as our goal has always been for Griffin to hear normally without the use of a hearing aid. And on a brighter note, Dr. Roberson mentioned that we may be able to combine that surgery with Griffin’s right ear construction in November! You know what they say…when life hands you lemons, make margaritas:) We will keep you all posted on that surgery when we learn more on the process and schedule.

It’s truly amazing to us that a procedure of this magnitude is an outpatient surgery and that Griffin has bounced back so quickly following both surgeries…we definitely have one tough little dude on our hands! Above middle is a pic of Griffin and Kristin shortly after he woke up from the surgery.

Following our two night stay in the hotel (nearer the hospital), we were once again blessed to stay with the Malone family (cousin Shane, Ali, Josie, Peter, and Audrey) in Los Gatos, CA through our follow up appointment on Tuesday, May 22, 2012. Griffin and Jillian both had a blast playing with their cousins and it once again made for the best part of the trip. We love spending time with the Malone family and will hopefully see them again when we return for the implant procedure in the fall if all goes well. Above right is a pic of Griffin at the Malone house cutting off his bandage from the surgery…love that smile:)

We want to THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR GENEROSITY & LOVE SHOWN TO GRIFFIN during these first two surgeries. We couldn’t have gotten here without you and it really means the world to us! We still have a long road ahead of us with at least 3 more surgeries this summer to complete our journey to a new set of ears for Griffin so please continue to keep him in your thoughts and prayers. We are also planning a few more FUN-draisers in the near future to help offset some of the medical expenses and will keep you posted on the dates and details of our upcoming events. Please call, email, text, facebook, or tweet us anytime.

Griffin sends you all a big hug and some knucks o()()()()

Thanks again-

Colin, Kristin, Griffin and Jillian Oas