Monday, May 2, 2011

No place like home

Well it's done. Charlie's third and final surgery is over. And while having a child in a cast for the next 6 weeks is going to suuuuuuuck, we're all so unbelievably happy we're nearing the end.

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The hospital stay was only 2 nights this time. We were so happy the fever she got after her last surgery didn't reappear. I put her in the car and we made a peaceful drive home on Thursday. Davey was staying with my parents and Joe was working so it was just me and Charlie. This of course meant a long nap in our quiet house and then some Gilmore Girls. But of course nothing ever goes according to plan...

Not 20 minutes into being home did Charlie develop a 102 fever which caused her to immediately throw up the milk she'd had on her way home. Parents, if you don't know this or are without common sense like myself, milk essential cooks in your kids stomach if they have a fever that high. The result is something out of a horror movie. Luckily with some pedialyte and good rest, the fever was nonexistent by Saturday. She's gone back to eating somewhat normally and every day she gets a little more coherent. Those were some serious drugs they used to put her under! It's taken 5 days to wear off! Her throat is still a little sore from the breathing tube but it's getting better also.

This new cast is what's really hard to get used to. With previous casts she could still fit into things like her high chair or her jumper. She could wear pants or leg warmest (which I always liked in order to avoid people seeing her in the cast and automatically assuming I pushed her down some stairs. Seriously, people have asked what I did to her. Nice.). She thankfully fits in the car seat we have, but I can see we're going to have to get creative. Part of the problem is that this cast has a bar across it in order to provide extra reinforcement. This leg was a lot more stiff and took a lot more work to get into the hip socket so it needed the extra help of the bar.

So far she enjoys her bouncy seat, the baby swing, and the beanbag chair. I highly recommend a beanbag chair to anyone who has to deal with a spica cast. It allows great support and lots of comfortable positions. We're looking into an activity table we can pull up to the beanbag chair. She could eat there, snack there, play with her blocks there. Joe went to the store today to try and find one. Maybe having a table will create the ideal opportunity to get Charlie drawing! I can tell she's going to be creative one way or another.

Today's the first day I'm home alone with both kids post surgery. I always tell people a spica cast is like another kid. It's a whole other being you have to take care of and work around. But so far, day one hasn't been too out of the ordinary. I think Davey enjoys being able to run free without Charlie in his way, and Charlie's still grogy enough that she enjoys sitting in her beanbag and just watching and playing with a few toys. Who knows how long this will last but I'm thankful for today. One day at a time is hands down the best way to do things.

Having beer is also a good way to do things.

Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos

Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos

1 comment:

  1. poor girl! and poor mommy! glad to see things are going well!

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