We wanted to let everyone know that Griffin’s first surgery (left ear canal construction) with Dr. Joseph Roberson WAS A SUCCESS!!! We have one surgery down and hopefully only 3 more to go (right ear canal, left medpor ear construction, right medpor ear construction) if all goes well to complete Griffin’s journey to a new set of ears.

Our left ear canal journey began with a plane ride for Griffin and myself (dad Colin) on Wednesday, March 21 from Phoenix, AZ to San Jose, CA.  Griffin and dad flew up early that day for the Pre-Op appointment at the California Ear Institute with Dr. Roberson.  They did a basic hearing test and gave us the timeline and information needed for the surgery scheduled at 7:30am the following morning. Kristin (mom) and Jillian (little sister) flew in later that evening with Aunt Kym Ott. For dinner that evening, Griffin requested Spaghetti, Tomato Sauce, Marshmallows, Garlic Bread, and Mint Ice Cream…WE LOVE THAT GUY!

We woke up early on Thursday, March 22 and got Griffin checked in at 6:30am. We walked into the Pre-Op area and Griffin was given some “sleepy” medicine to help his nerves (mom and dad’s too) prior to going in for surgery. Aunt Kym and Jillian arrived later in the morning and we were all anxious on word from Dr. Roberson. The surgery itself began around 8:30am and was completed around 10:30am and we were allowed to go back and see Griffin in the recovery room about 11:00am. He was still “sleeping” but looked great and had a big purple bandage wrapping his head. (See pic above) After about an hour in recovery, we were allowed to bring Griffin home! Simply amazing stuff!

We got back to the hotel and immediately had a bit of a scare as Griffin, in his groggy state, actually pushed up his bandage and managed to pull out his ear plug that was holding up the new canal and skin graft. We rushed back to Dr. Roberson’s office and he told us that if anything came loose, he may have to put Griffin back under to repair any damage. Those were a few VERY TENSE MOMENTS for mom and dad. After a few minutes of examining Griffin, Dr. Roberson smiled and informed us that he didn’t know how Griffin did it, but there was no damage and all he had to do was replace the ear plug!  I am sure everyone in the waiting room heard our sigh of relief with the great news:)

Griffin had a follow up appointment on Tuesday, March 27 which went great! Dr. Roberson did a trim of the ear plug and skin graft bandage, gave us some words of encouragement that everything looked great and told us to call or email if we ever had any questions. He also said that it may take a few months for Griffin’s hearing to develop as the healing process is key to good hearing.

During our trip, we were very fortunate to have Aunt Kym fly up to help with any and everything. We were also able to stay with relatives Shane (Colin’s cousin) and Ali Malone who live in Los Gatos, CA, about 15 minutes from Palo Alto, CA. Griffin and Jillian had a REALLY GREAT TIME playing with their second-cousins Josie, Peter, and Audrey and it couldn’t have been a better weekend. We are looking forward to staying with them again on our next trip up to Silicon Valley in a few months!

We have scheduled Griffin’s right ear canal construction with Dr. Roberson for Thursday, May 17, 2012. We really appreciate your thoughts, prayers, and support and will keep you posted on Griffin’s progress. He is really doing great and wanted to send you all a BIG HUG and some KNUCKS! o()()()()

Thanks again!

Colin, Kristin, Griffin and Jillian Oas