Hello everyone!
Long time, no post! Sorry! It has been really crazy at my house now that the boys are older and in so many activities. Not all the same which makes it even harder. Driving the 3 boys to all their different things and then Caitlin to her appointments leaves so little time for me...and I am trying to set a good example of not being on the computer all the time...probably failing at that though, lol!
I think I have not posted since her spine surgery...it went well! Her curve went from 80 degrees to 17 now. So much straighter! Her recovery was rough and took many months but she is doing fantastic now! So much so that this summer when we had her orthopedic follow-up, I asked about her twisted feet. Of course they said they could fix them surgically so we said yes please and booked the surgery for January 11, 2017. Those 5 months flew by and here we are now, in the hospital!
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She was originally going to have "bilateral foot reconstruction with tendon lengthening and possible osteotomies" but when the surgeon looked at her feet after she was put to sleep, they were still very tight (which was not a surprise to me at all). He had his partner pop in and take a look and the partner suggested instead doing a talus bone removal which would automatically allow the tendons to relax. He came out and discussed it with me and I said to do what he felt was best so that is what he did. She did get casts on right away then. Originally she was to have half casts for 2 weeks, then get casts in office. Also now she only has the one incision on each foot vs many cuts for the other procedure. Less is better! :)
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She is still inpatient but doing well. Heartrate is a little high still so they are watching that. She also had a temp of 101 last night but I did turn the heating pad down so hopefully it was just that and not infection or something bad. She likes to have a heating pad on her thighs (at home we do heated rice bags) and it was turned way up. They did draw labs yesterday afternoon but those didn't show anything of note. They will likely be pulling the drain tubes out today. She is pooping regularly and eating like a champ. It is a lot better than the aftermath of the spine surgery! And a huge relief to me!
I am battling a sinus infection so that really sucks. Today I am on day 4 of antibiotics...I feel a lot better after getting 2 nights of good sleep. I sleep here just great. I put my kindle on "tropical rain" white noise app and nothing wakes me. The bed is lumpy and the shower ice cold....but I now have been walking down to the parent lounge and showering there as the water in there is nice and hot. This morning I stood there for 15 min and let it pound on my face to loosen everything up. I waited to long to go in with all the stress and busyness before her surgery. I went in the day before we came here so I was not in tip top shape, not good. Lesson learned!! This morning was nice, I woke up early since I went to bed super early (as C had gone to sleep early too). I had packed up a bag the night before so I could just grab it and go to the lounge without digging around and waking up C. It actually is nice since I don't have to feel like tiptoeing around trying to not wake her. Got cleaned up and the soreness from the bed pounded out too. I wanted to be dressed and clean before doctors came into her room. The day before I was all grubby and sick when they popped in. I even had time to run down to the café and get a big hot chocolate and egg breakfast so I could take my morning antibiotic (supposed to take with food).
7:30 and she is still sleeping. Nurse woke her up around 6:30 to do vitals and change diaper. Glad she went back to sleep though, it is so healing! I have tons of movies along that I checked out from the library at home. All her favorites! Hopefully she has a good day today. I am not sure if they will send home today or keep one more night. They did say 3-4 days typically so I am prepared for 4. Actually I did pack for 5-6, that is just how I roll! :) I would like to be home sunday though so I don't have to make arrangements for the other kids' activities. It would not be the end of the world, but it is just easier if I am there to do it.
Hope everyone is well....Happy New Year! Hope 2017 is full of good things for us all!
Lisa O.
Oh, Can you believe Caitlin is 16 now?! Where has the time gone....
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