Family Update

What a long and exhausting week!!! We started to see a slight improvement in Grace over the weekend, teh expressions were still not there but she no longer has as much droopiness in the face. I think this is directly because of the steroid. We took the trip to UVA, and glad we did so. Grace saw a head and neck surgeon, but unsure of what there official doctor name is...starts with an "O". They did not perform any tests but did observe her throughly. It felt so good to have people who know what they are looking for to be looking at her. Plus, we got to see 3 people, a student, resident and teh doctor! They understood what we were explaining to them and agreed there were problems. But all of us, espcially the docs, noticed above her left eyebrow some movement and around her nose. The doctor was encouraging and explained that is telling him a signal is going through teh nerve, but it is very weak. He feels that one of those main cranial nerves was hit just right causing it to be damaged and weak. He explained it takes TIME to gain its strength back and he can't give you a timeframe. He suggested to go ahead with the MRI to ensure there is nothing there we would never guess. Like I said, you have to eliminate everything because of her age and inability to tell us things. He felt if we don't see a big improvement by mid-month we should come back. He has also requested to review the MRI images himself. We were happy when we left and feel confident in their report. We headed to Forsyth in Winston on thursay morning, leaving home at 5am. How wonderful a place. Grace did wonderful and never cried. They said she went to sleep easily and woke up easily. We actually went home about 30 minutes after her being put to sleep!!! (I mean 30 min after she woke up) The MRI is clear so that brings us back to simply a weak nerve. We have seen some improvement over the last few days. She has finished steroid so we will see how that affects her recovery. Both eyebrows are moving and she has a slight crease in her smile, just a little. Her eyelid is keeping up with the good one about 50% of the time and still closing during sleep time. All of that is awesome! God has provided wonderful caregivers to Grace over the last 2 weeks and we are extremely thankful for them. We pray she continues to regain strength in teh nerve and gain back that beautiful smile God gave her. As for Kayla, she knows we have had to take her to special doctors this week, as we left her behind everytime we went. She is more excited for this week as it is big....she starts pre-school again (4 half days per week), ballet and we are headed to Disney! Yes, you read that right. We leave for Disney end of next week. I'm telling you..when it all happens - it all happens!!! Thanks again to everyone.We are extremely grateful for prayers during this time!