A Big Day!
Olivia got to shower for the first time after surgery. Being a 15 year old girl and not being able to shower for two weeks is a special kind of torture.
We also had our first post-surgery outing. A quick trip to hobby lobby and we picked up lunch to bring home. Riding in the car still isn't the most comfortable though.
We're also cutting back a little on the pain meds. We tried skipping the middle of the night doses last night and it went pretty well. Meds at 11, potty break at 4, and meds at 6. Much better!
Slow and steady improvement. Keep the good juju coming!
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Monday, July 06, 2015
Day 7
Home is good.
We made it home last night. It's so good to have both of my chickadees in the nest with me. Today was an okay day. O is still in pain, but it seems somewhat less. She's still having a lot of trouble getting comfortable and experiencing post surgery hot flashes. Keep the good juju and prayers coming.
Home is good.
We made it home last night. It's so good to have both of my chickadees in the nest with me. Today was an okay day. O is still in pain, but it seems somewhat less. She's still having a lot of trouble getting comfortable and experiencing post surgery hot flashes. Keep the good juju and prayers coming.
Sunday, July 05, 2015
Day 6
Sorry no post from yesterday, it was not our friend.
At all.
Olivia did get to start eating some, so that was good, although she doesn't have much of an appetite yet. She surprised me by ordering the buttered noodles with buttered toast for dinner. She doesn't really care for noodles on a good day. I took the lid off the plate, and she had one sniff and wrinkled up her face. What IS THAT??? So we stuck with the toast and some fresh fruit.
Our night nurse was an advocate for getting her pain meds changed last night. What she was taking was wearing off about an hour before she was due for the next dose, and then it would take a good 45 minutes for them to kick in. So yesterday, about two out of every four hours was spent in severe pain.
Today the pain is under better control, and she did stairs with PT. If we can keep the pain in check, we may be able to go home today. Please keep the prayers and good juju coming.
Sorry no post from yesterday, it was not our friend.
At all.
Olivia did get to start eating some, so that was good, although she doesn't have much of an appetite yet. She surprised me by ordering the buttered noodles with buttered toast for dinner. She doesn't really care for noodles on a good day. I took the lid off the plate, and she had one sniff and wrinkled up her face. What IS THAT??? So we stuck with the toast and some fresh fruit.
Our night nurse was an advocate for getting her pain meds changed last night. What she was taking was wearing off about an hour before she was due for the next dose, and then it would take a good 45 minutes for them to kick in. So yesterday, about two out of every four hours was spent in severe pain.
Today the pain is under better control, and she did stairs with PT. If we can keep the pain in check, we may be able to go home today. Please keep the prayers and good juju coming.
Friday, July 03, 2015
Day 4 - part Deux
Today brought some sips of chicken broth, some bites of jello, and a whole lot of muscle pain as things get situated back into place. Olivia continues to be a trooper, and she's speaking up to help us take better care of her. She's getting better at getting out of and into bed. Still not fun, but a little easier. She walked 4 times today. Physical Therapy will start to work on stairs with her tomorrow. Our other adventure was a trip off the floor, down to the ortho clinic for X-rays of her spine. This wasn't great, but not as bad as the ones right after surgery. She asked the doctor for copies of her before and after X-rays. There's quite an amazing difference. She's resting now and we just finished watching Into the Woods, one of her favorites. Hoping for a calm night.
Today brought some sips of chicken broth, some bites of jello, and a whole lot of muscle pain as things get situated back into place. Olivia continues to be a trooper, and she's speaking up to help us take better care of her. She's getting better at getting out of and into bed. Still not fun, but a little easier. She walked 4 times today. Physical Therapy will start to work on stairs with her tomorrow. Our other adventure was a trip off the floor, down to the ortho clinic for X-rays of her spine. This wasn't great, but not as bad as the ones right after surgery. She asked the doctor for copies of her before and after X-rays. There's quite an amazing difference. She's resting now and we just finished watching Into the Woods, one of her favorites. Hoping for a calm night.
Day 4
Dear Day 4,
Thank you for small gifts, getting the catheter out, being able to use the bathroom, and having some sips of water. No thank you for the dressing change on the back. That really was not pleasant, and the new dressing, although less itchy, seems to hurt more.
In closing, please be gentle and kind for the rest of the day.
Most sincerely,
Olivia & Jennie
Dear Day 4,
Thank you for small gifts, getting the catheter out, being able to use the bathroom, and having some sips of water. No thank you for the dressing change on the back. That really was not pleasant, and the new dressing, although less itchy, seems to hurt more.
In closing, please be gentle and kind for the rest of the day.
Most sincerely,
Olivia & Jennie
Thursday, July 02, 2015
Day Three
The big news for this morning is that the drain has come out of her back. They told her that it would feel like a bee sting when they pulled it out. After they left, she told me she did not agree with that assessment. But it is good to have it out, one less thing to worry about as she gets up and around.
They also switched her pain med this morning. She had been getting morphine, which was causing a lot of itching. Hopefully this will be better for her.
She's alert more today. Thirsty and ready to have the catheter out.
And I understand now why they put the day and date on the hospital white board. Time is weird in the hospital.
The big news for this morning is that the drain has come out of her back. They told her that it would feel like a bee sting when they pulled it out. After they left, she told me she did not agree with that assessment. But it is good to have it out, one less thing to worry about as she gets up and around.
They also switched her pain med this morning. She had been getting morphine, which was causing a lot of itching. Hopefully this will be better for her.
She's alert more today. Thirsty and ready to have the catheter out.
And I understand now why they put the day and date on the hospital white board. Time is weird in the hospital.
Wednesday, July 01, 2015
Day 2, Part 2
O has been sitting up in a chair twice so far today, one more time to go. It's definitely not her favorite thing as there's a fair amount of pain involved. Both times she was able to chew gum. A small treat, and definitely not the water or ice chips she's after, but something. She watched a little bit of Criminal Minds on her iPad when she was sitting for the second time. Not much of an attention span, but something to distract her a bit. The team here has been taking very good care of us. They are so positive and encouraging.
O has been sitting up in a chair twice so far today, one more time to go. It's definitely not her favorite thing as there's a fair amount of pain involved. Both times she was able to chew gum. A small treat, and definitely not the water or ice chips she's after, but something. She watched a little bit of Criminal Minds on her iPad when she was sitting for the second time. Not much of an attention span, but something to distract her a bit. The team here has been taking very good care of us. They are so positive and encouraging.
Day Two...
And now I understand what my friends at The Joint Commission are talking about when they refer to alarm fatigue! Although O continues to be a rockstar, it was not a very restful night for us between beeping monitors and vitals every two hours. I think we got our best sleep between 7 and 9 a.m.
The plan is that Physical Therapy will be in yet this morning to get her sitting up in a chair. This will be painful for her, but is an important step in her recovery progress. And she'll also get to chew gum for twenty minutes while sitting up. That's truly something to look forward to! Aside from pain when she moves and stiffness, her biggest complaint is being thirsty. If we are lucky and her tummy is cooperative, she may get to have ice chips tonight. Keep your eyes crossed for her!
And now I understand what my friends at The Joint Commission are talking about when they refer to alarm fatigue! Although O continues to be a rockstar, it was not a very restful night for us between beeping monitors and vitals every two hours. I think we got our best sleep between 7 and 9 a.m.
The plan is that Physical Therapy will be in yet this morning to get her sitting up in a chair. This will be painful for her, but is an important step in her recovery progress. And she'll also get to chew gum for twenty minutes while sitting up. That's truly something to look forward to! Aside from pain when she moves and stiffness, her biggest complaint is being thirsty. If we are lucky and her tummy is cooperative, she may get to have ice chips tonight. Keep your eyes crossed for her!
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Surgery was successful!
We started our day early. We had to be at the hospital at 6:30 a.m. We were Dr. Weinstein's first case of the day. The morning went according to schedule and they had her on the way to the operating room by 8:15. After they wheeled her out, all of my worries spilled out of my eyes.
They said that surgery would take 3-4 hours. They were spot on. We had one update that all was on track, and then had a later update that they had partially woken her up and had her wiggle her toes. That update was quite a relief. The final update was that she was out of surgery. Dr. Weinstein came and gave the report that everything went well in surgery. She did not need to receive a blood transfusion. It seemed to be quite a long wait until we were able to go be with her in the recovery room. She had a lot of pain, and they had given her a fair amount of morphine, which made her blood pressure a little low, so we spent a little extra time in recovery room before moving down to the pediatric floor.
I was awfully glad to have Grandma Diane and Papa Roger with me. They helped with the waiting, and Grandma stood in for me in the recovery room a few times when I thought I might pass out. Those recovery room folks are nice. They took care of this mama too. Some juice and some crackers helped! And Papa got me a sandwich and a cookie- that also helped!
We are now settled into her room. The staff on the pediatric unit have been very kind. I have a couch/bed that I will be able to sleep on. I'm so thankful to be able to stay close to her. Grandma also brought Chris's stuffed Eyeore to help keep watch. It's been comforting to have this small piece of him here with us.
They just sat her bed up to almost 30 degrees and are giving her body some time to adjust to that.
Olivia, like her mom, isn't fond of being the center of attention, but we really appreciate all of the love and prayers and thoughts that have been coming our way!
I know some of you would like to visit, and we'd love to see you, but we are going to take it day by day and see what she's up for. We're especially excited to see Elliott, as we hear she's been gift shopping with Grandma Katie and Papa Al 😘
We started our day early. We had to be at the hospital at 6:30 a.m. We were Dr. Weinstein's first case of the day. The morning went according to schedule and they had her on the way to the operating room by 8:15. After they wheeled her out, all of my worries spilled out of my eyes.
They said that surgery would take 3-4 hours. They were spot on. We had one update that all was on track, and then had a later update that they had partially woken her up and had her wiggle her toes. That update was quite a relief. The final update was that she was out of surgery. Dr. Weinstein came and gave the report that everything went well in surgery. She did not need to receive a blood transfusion. It seemed to be quite a long wait until we were able to go be with her in the recovery room. She had a lot of pain, and they had given her a fair amount of morphine, which made her blood pressure a little low, so we spent a little extra time in recovery room before moving down to the pediatric floor.
I was awfully glad to have Grandma Diane and Papa Roger with me. They helped with the waiting, and Grandma stood in for me in the recovery room a few times when I thought I might pass out. Those recovery room folks are nice. They took care of this mama too. Some juice and some crackers helped! And Papa got me a sandwich and a cookie- that also helped!
We are now settled into her room. The staff on the pediatric unit have been very kind. I have a couch/bed that I will be able to sleep on. I'm so thankful to be able to stay close to her. Grandma also brought Chris's stuffed Eyeore to help keep watch. It's been comforting to have this small piece of him here with us.
They just sat her bed up to almost 30 degrees and are giving her body some time to adjust to that.
Olivia, like her mom, isn't fond of being the center of attention, but we really appreciate all of the love and prayers and thoughts that have been coming our way!
I know some of you would like to visit, and we'd love to see you, but we are going to take it day by day and see what she's up for. We're especially excited to see Elliott, as we hear she's been gift shopping with Grandma Katie and Papa Al 😘
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)