Post treatment #17 Healing

Hi all! It will be one week tomorrow since Elliot's treatment. It's healing pretty nicely, though there were about 10 that scabbed (some very light, some heavier). We have been keeping Eucerin cream and a non-petroleum natural jelly on them to prevent them from scarring badly.

Elliot is about a year older than he was when he received his last full treatment. He has expressed that it does hurt when I rub cream on it (though he didn't today). I've been told by many people that it feels like a sunburn. It definitely hasn't slowed him down any LOL. He and his big brother, Ethan, love to wrestle and Elliot hasn't mentioned any pain other than when I am applying the cream. He also said the Lavender oil was burning when I attempted the first 2 days so we've stopped that. I think I will attempt it again on Friday once it's had more time to heal.

The first picture is from Monday night (5 days post-op) and the second is from tonight (6 days post op). The full treatments do take longer to heal.
*The deeper purple spots are where there are scabs.*

Post Op #17-Day 1

Elliot woke up with some swelling today. I expected this since he had a full treatment, including the eye area. His eye was swollen shut when he woke up but quickly opened. We had a very lazy day that included binge watching Animal Mechanicals and eating chicken noodle soup. I'm very blessed to be able to be home with him during this time!

I always find it fascinating to see the spots and their differences after. If you notice, along the outside of his face those spots are more white in the middle than the deep purple spots. This is part of his mark that has faded the most through treatments, thus not destroying as many capillaries during the laser therapy. The spots of his birthmark that are darker show the deep purple spots. I just thought that was interesting and wanted to point it out. :)

*This picture looks much darker than it did on my phone. I will get a clearer picture tomorrow, but you can still see the swelling. 

Laser Tx. #17

Everything went as planned! The weather was a little snowy on our trip to Ann Arbor but nothing we couldn't handle. Elliot woke up healthy and well enough for his procedure. We arrived at 9:45 for check-in and he was in the operating room by 10:10 am! Talk about speedy service! No pre-op med again and he did very well. This helps his post-op recovery so much and we were out of there in a blink of an eye. We did a "full treatment" this time meaning the maximum joules that he can handles and the entire Port Wine stain area. Since we were not diligent with the sunblock this summer I felt that it was best to get a full treatment, rather than just a blend.

We, of course, went to Chipotle afterwards. That's become our "thing" and he really looks forward to it. Usually Elliot orders a kids meal and eats a little of my burrito. This time he wanted his own burrito! If you've never been to Chipotle..you need to go! These burritos have to weigh 2 lbs by the time we're done filling them, haha. He ate nearly the entire thing (just a little shell and rice left over) plus some chips.

Aunt Lisha went with us like always. :)  I enjoy getting to spend the afternoon with my best friend and she's the perfect support I need. We stopped by Toys R Us on the way home (and by "stopped by" I mean we spent an hour browsing the entire store!). He was thrilllllled until we discovered they didn't have the one thing he was looking for...go figure!

I will post some follow-up pictures as his "spots" heal. I'm also going to test out the Lavender oils on a small part to see if it helps the spots fade quicker. I've heard this has helped others and it's worth a try! Elliot will be missing a couple weeks of school while the spots fade.

Pre-surgery

Picking his stickers before leaving!

Elliot's burrito the size of his head!

All ready to head back!

Snuggles with Mommy at home <3

Laser Surgery Tomorrow!

Elliot is scheduled for his treatment tomorrow at Mott's Children's hospital. Fingers crossed that nothing comes up between now and then! Today we are gathering his school work for the next two weeks since he will be missing school for recovery. Stay tuned for pictures tomorrow!

Treatment #17 postponed

Elliot was scheduled for laser surgery on Wednesday, however he was sick. Our appointment was canceled and he's now scheduled for January 20th. He was actually quite bummed....he really looks forward to that Chipotle, and the fact that he was going to get a longer Christmas break, haha. 

I hope everyone has a very merry Christmas and a happy new year! We really do appreciate all of the support from our readers!

Looking for makeup?

Hi everyone!
Whew...it's been busy around the Thorp household! I didn't realize I haven't posted since September...the time is flying by!

I had to share this real quick with all of Elliot's followers. Makeup is not something we've considered, or are considering yet, though it may be in the future. A month ago I signed up as a Younique presenter because I personally love the the makeup.

One of our best sellers this month is the Liquid Mineral Touch foundation. I personally use this and love it but after seeing numerous posts about "watch it cover ____" I decided I wanted to see how well it covered a Port Wine Stain. Most makeup for PWS is very pricey so I was hoping we were embarking on a cheap option!

Well lo and behold...it disappeared before my eyes. Elliot was a trooper and let me test my foundation out on him (for $$ of course haha). I used 3 drops of my Velour Mineral Touch liquid and my jaw dropped.

I just wanted to share because if you're someone who has a PWS and are interested in a foundation to cover it...I wanted you to know there is an affordable option. Feel free to message me if you're interested in a color matching!

Elliot goes in on Dec. 16th for his next treatment, and I'm going to "guinea pig" him again to see how it covers the laser spots. Stay tuned!

If you're interested in the foundation visit www.JenasBeautyBoutique.com

xoxo,
Jena

Elliot's in Kindergarten!! Say What?!?

I cannot even fathom how the years have flown as fast as they have. One minute I was nursing my beautiful baby boy and the next I was walking him to his class on the first day of kindergarten! It is so cliche to say but they REALLY DO grow up so fast!!

Elliot is really enjoying kindergarten. The first couple of days he shed some tears, as I expected. But now he jumps out of my car every morning like champ. His best friend Aislee is in his class and I think this has really helped him to adjust.

One of my biggest fears of sending him to school was how others would react to his port wine stain. In preschool it wasn't AS scary because he was only around kids his age. However, since our kids attend a charter school he is surrounded by all ages of students. I asked him after his first week of school if anyone had asked what his birthmark was, and he said "just Emma's friend Teagan on the bus" and that was it. He is lucky to have his own little group of supporters at school. Not only does he have his siblings, but also my best friends (Alisha) 3 kids and all of our neighbors.

Elliot will be having another full strength treatment in December. We had considered stopping at the doctors request, however after a summer full of LOTS of outdoor time and not enough sunblock it seems that the mark is beginning to darken again. When we lived at the apartments I was diligent in applying sunscreen almost every single time we walked out the door. That's because going outside was a process that involved me ALWAYS. Now that we have our own house and yard the kids are in and out constantly from the moment the sun rises. This has caused frequent sun exposure without proper sunscreen way too often. I have decided to put a small shelf by the front door to hold the sunscreen products and hats...with a sign to help Elliot remember that we HAVE to put it on before walking out.

That's all of the update I have for now. I really appreciate all of the followers that his blog has gained since it started, and I truly hope that our journey has helped even one person who was given this path in life.

xoxo
Jena