Boston--Day One

We left Atlanta bright and early this morning and arrived in Boston around lunch. Riley did so great on the flight and slept the whole way!

We just got back to the hotel from meeting with Dr. Mulliken. He says that her cleft is not as bad as he had initially thought from looking at some pictures I had sent him. He said that he *might* have not even done the surgery in two stages if he had seen her in person prior to now, but says that she will have a "superior result" from the surgeries. He plans on doing the lip adhesion on the left side, gum line closure on the left side and may even do a small lip adhesion on the right side and get both sides as even as possible. Surgery is scheduled for 7:30am on Thursday--Riley will be the first case.

We also got some more good news. Our pediatrician said that Riley had a submucous cleft palate, meaning that there is a cleft in her palate but it is covered by the tissue/lining of her mouth. Depending on severity, submucous cleft palates can require surgical repair just as if it were an open cleft palate. Dr. Mulliken says that Riley has a "very minor" submucous cleft and was very impressed that our pediatrician even found it. He does not feel that it will require surgical repair, although we won't be completely sure until we see how her speech develops (around 2 years old).

Please remember Riley in your prayers--especially Thursday morning. Thanks everyone...