Skip to main content

Post op day 1 evening

Abby had a good day!  Her oxygen has been fantastic and he pain is under control when she isn't moving.  From a medical standpoint, she is doing great!  

Physically, things are tough.  She has only gotten out of bed to transfer to the bedside potty, but she has yet to really be able to bear weight on her legs.  I try every time she transfers, but her knees buckle and she collapses into me.  (I've got her!  Don't worry!) PT didn't come today, so I'm hoping that tomorrow they will be able to work on that a bit.  

Abby doesn't have a pain pump this time, which has been a little more of a problem.  Before, we would just push her button before moving her.  Now, all she can get is a rescue dose of Dilaudid every 4 hours.  That takes about 1/2 an hour to get, 5 minutes to infuse, 5 minutes to flush, and another 5 minutes to begin working.  Not so speedy!!  This is especially challenging when we never know when therapists are coming, or when she will need to go to the bathroom!  We are trying to time things accordingly, but that doesn't always work out.  

I'm hesitant to do too much without a PT consult first, but we have been playing lots of games, doing crafts, and reading books on RAZ Kids.  Her mind isn't going to turn to mush! 

She is earning TV time with sweetness, cooperation, and nice manners. :). I have a sticker chart going and 5 stickers = 1/2 hour of tv.  So far, it is working really well!!  She has been much nicer to me than she usually is post-op. :)

I wanted to share some pictures she got taken recently for Make a Wish.  These will be used in future print and digital promotions and advertisements!




Abby is going to be a Wish Kid Captain for The Walk for Wishes in Annapolis in April!  She will help promote the walk in various ways.  We will find out more in the coming months, so stay tuned!


Thanks for your continued prayers!  She will get there.  Every day gets a little bit better!




Comments

Unknown said…
Sending prayers for a speedy recovery!
Mary Lou said…
Julie....
"She is earning TV time with sweetness, cooperation, and nice manners. I have a sticker chart going and 5 stickers = 1/2 hour of tv. So far, it is working really well!! She has been much nicer to me than she usually is post-op." I love it!! Abby just underwent an incredibly major operation, she is obviously not doing well at all physically, and yet you aren't letting her turn into a little brat!! Now, that is good parenting!! Keep it up, Friend!! ;-D
To quote Bruce Springsteen from a Born To Run DVD when he was driving toward Freehold, New Jersey.... "We're gettin' there. We're not there yet. But we're gettin' there!" You can use this as somewhat of an analogy for Abby's progress!! ;)
Hang in there, Mama!! Hugs and prayers!! ;-D
"Stay hard, stay hungry, stay alive", Raelyn


Popular posts from this blog

Cerebrocostomandibular Syndrome

If you happen to pick up the latest Reader's Digest, there is an article in there about Piper Breinholt , a four year old with CCMS.  If you've been around here a while, you'll remember wayyyyyy back when we first received Abby's diagnosis that I was able to speak to Piper's mom, Reagan.  The article is more about their story and not as much about the ins and outs of CCMS, but I think it's probably enough to get some people googling it and I'm hoping a few will end up here. Every once in a while, I give a blog post the title of Cerebrocostomandibular Syndrome so that it would show up in Google.  My ever-present hope is that people will stumble across my blog and 1) be encouraged by the hope we have in Christ, 2) feel a connection with someone in a similar situation as them, or 3) get excited over the miracles that have been performed in Abby's life!!  (a combination of all 3 is great too!)  :)   Notice that it's not to get famous and it never wi

The Potty Man

Caleb LOVES to go potty! I have never heard a potty training story like this one....Caleb tells us when he needs to go, we take his diaper off, and he goes! Now, is it perfect? No, not at all! We aren't trying to potty train at at all, but we figure every time he goes is one less diaper we have to change! The only time we consistantly put him on the potty is when we give him a bath (he always pees in the tub, so we know he needs to go!) He almost always goes on the potty now instead of the tub though. When he's not "really" going potty, he's pretending to go potty! He's such a funny kid!

Lego Party: Favors

I'm a little slow in posting the Lego Party pictures, but I think I have a few excuses I could use.  At any rate, I wanted to share what I did for the party!  It will take a few posts, so stay with me.  I'll start with how I did the favors. These are the goody bags I made.  I just bought solid colored gift bags and matched scrapbook paper to each bag.  Then I punched circles and attached them with the 3D foam tape so that the circles were raised. I used the keychain (explained below) as a name tag on the outside. These are Duplo blocks.  I put a round magnet on the back and...voila!  A magnet!  (note:  hot glue doesn't work so well...I ended up reglueing them with my apoxy because the magnets fell off.) I made crayons using Lego man crayons.  Yes, I know this guy has lost half of his leg.  The others were already packaged and I didn't want to open one up just to get a picture.  I used a Lego mold  to make the crayons.  Caleb put small pieces of crayon in each m