Dear Friends:

It is with devastating sadness that I have to inform you that Lizzie Dixon passed away on September 26th. It happened at home while she was asleep. The actual cause of death was respiratory failure probably brought on by a seizure.

We just wanted you to know that you and your Internet site brought support and information to all of us parents of Apert kids. Please leave her picture on Teeter's page.

We wish you all the best. Please remember how special your kids are and how blessed you are to have been chosen as their caretakers.

Sincerely,

John and Margaret Dixon
 

Please feel free to browse around!

 

	This was taken a couple days before her first Lafort at eight weeks old. She had a crease where her brow ridge should have been and little protection for her eyes. If you look hard, you can see her little mitten-hands.
	This was her first halloween costume. Her cleft palate had been repaired and fifth fingers released.
	After her thumbs had been straightened. She still wasn't walking at this point. Shoes were hard to fit so she was mostly barefoot or just wore socks.
	All but one separation had been completed by this time. Her face was usually wet from constant tearing, runny nose, and occasional drool - so she looks like she could use a wet wipe!
	Lizzie was 3 1/2 in this one. All fingers had been released and she was on her second set of ear tubes. She was a real chatterbox at theis point and really worked on articulation - she was difficult to understand, but began to manage saliva better.
	This was takenin the summer of '87. This was one of her summers without surgery, so we all had a pretty good time!
	These two were around the same time. She finally got a bunch of teeth and became a great performer for the camera. She's with Tony (3 years older) in the first photo - apparently contemplating. The next one clearly shows her crowded mouth at age four. She's always had a little droop in the right eye as well.
	The next three were taken during her first week of pre-school. She was enrolled for two years and I think it really helped develop her confidence...or maybe that was never a problem!
	The first week of kindergarten. As I recall, she was modelling new outfits.
	This was her school picture in the third grade (around October). She had a second Laforte procedure over the summer which explains the funky haircut. She still had some facial swelling left over from July. In February that year she also had her tonsils and adeniods out, and a new set of ear tubes! Poor baby.
	Two years later. She had a shunt for hydrocephalus placed during the previous summer and her hair had finally grown back uniformly - it only took about a year!
	The first (and only) dance recital she was in. I think it was in the fourth grade.
	Lizzie thinks this one is the fourth grade school picture, but neither one of us can remember for sure.
	This year's school picture. She had her 12th birthday December 30th. She'll probably have another midface advancement within the next two years. The doctors think they'll have to do two surgeries to move the bones as far as they need to. In preparation for that, she's had a couple of teeth pulled and will have some preliminary orthodontic stuff done before the operation. Thank God for insurance! She's our million dollar baby!