As usual this post is for our regular readers, but especially for any spica cast families who find our blog. There is no reason to sugar coat it, week 2 was rough. The entire family was sleep deprived which isn’t good on a normal week. Dani was angry, frustrated and moody, but who could blame her? She had several bouts of pure frustration that lead to serious screaming and we had to give her some of the Valium the hospital sent home just to calm her down. We had settled into our routine of care for her which included checking her Poise pad every two hours or so to try and prevent leaks which would just add to the stink of the cast.
Out for an early morning walk while the weather was still nice.
I was beyond grateful that our friends had set up a care calendar for a couple of weeks worth of meals. Everyone brought enough food that we had it for dinner the first night and leftovers the next day. We could have gotten out of the house but it was a relief to not have to think about what I was going to cook. Several people offered to come over and do our laundry, but that was one thing I could keep up with being at home all day.
We all needed a change of scenery so we headed over to Costco.Several friends sent boxes of fun for Dani and the rest of us.
We walked the mall several times since it’s nice and cold inside. We turned around one time to see the girls like this which was so sweet.
Brickle block fun including use as a hair brush.
Nadia and Amelie had fun playing outside with water.
This photo made me so happy because it showed our happy Dani returning to us. It had been so heartbreaking to see her so sad and frustrated.
Nurse Emily at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital recommended the Ivy Rose Spica chair website to have a custom chair made for Dani to play and eat in while in the cast. And let me tell you, we are 4.5 weeks in and it has been worth every penny. When I contacted Stephanie at Ivy Rose and asked her about getting a TARDIS-themed chair from the show Doctor Who, she was so excited and said she had been waiting for 5 years for a family to ask for one and had lots of ideas. We share a love of a favorite episode so we went with her ideas and it thought it would be perfect.
A message from Stephanie on the chair
When we opened the box this is what Stephanie had written on the chalk board side of the tray. So sweet.
The top of the tray
On the top of the tray she painted my favorite Doctor Who image. I have a coffee mug and blanket with this, that my sister gave me for Christmas.
Side oneSide two. Yes, the chair can rock.The backThe inside
As you can see, this is a Doctor Who fan’s dream chair. We figured that it wouldn’t matter to Dani what the chair had on it. We knew it was going to be in the middle of our living area and kitchen for 8 weeks so we might as well enjoy it. Thanks Stephanie – it’s wonderful!!!
PS. Dani calls it the “Tar Deeee” and says that while pointing at it when she wants to get in it.
Dani was really sad when she woke up on the second day after the surgery, and from everything the doctors and staff had said, I was expecting her to be very swollen and bruised when we got up that day. But even after a restless night, when they started coming in to check on her, medically she was doing great. She had no bruising and very little swelling. Nurse Rebekah told me to go down for breakfast and she would stay in the room with Dani, so I thanked her and headed down for some bacon and biscuits. When I returned Dr. Miller had just checked on her and he asked me if I wanted to go home today because she was doing so well. I almost jumped up and down with excitement when I said yes. I told him it would be much better to be home and dealing with a sad kid than in the hospital. He said Dr. Birch was going to check in again and then they would clear us to leave. I told Mike right away and he started getting the girls ready to come up and get us, and I started packing up our room.
After Dani had breakfast and they gave her the all clear to leave, I got her dressed. She watched Mulan while I finished getting our stuff together. Mike arrived and we waited on the final paperwork and Nurse Rebekah brought two red wagons to get us to the car. And I totally regret not getting a photo of Dani with Nurse Rebekah – she was so wonderful!
Just about to leave Texas Scottish Rite HospitalSad and confused by the car harness
Here she is really sad and confused in the car because she was still in pain and I am sure she thought the harness was strange. We needed to get a bean bag chair for her to sleep in so we headed to Target to try one out.
Tooling around Target in her new bean bag chair.
After picking up a few things at Target we headed home and I was so happy to take a nap in my own bed. SO.HAPPY!!!! One of the best things about going home early was that we weren’t going to have to criss-cross the town multiple times to get Amelie to her first ballet recital. She was so excited to wear her new costume and to wear make up. Roger, Paula and Grammie joined Nadia and I in the audience to watch Amelie perform while Mike stayed home with Dani.
Roger, Paula, Grammie, Louanne, Amelie and NadiaThe girls and their Great Grammie!
Amelie did a wonderful job and we went through the drive-thru at In-N-Out on the way home. I was ready to sleep for about a year after the last four days, ending with such a long final day.
Dani had a great first night considering the nurse came in the room to check vitals and change her diaper every two hours. Both of us slept in between the interruptions and Dani didn’t really cry, she just whimpered a little and held my hand while the diapers were being changed. Around 8 am different staff members showed up to check on her and they were all very impressed. I think that due to all the stuff she had to have done they expected her to be much worse off, but she is a trooper. The pain medicine obviously made her drowsy, but she still managed to smile and wave at the people going in and out to check on her.
The nurse decided that she was ready to eat so I ordered her some juice and cheerios as a starter meal. As you can tell from the photo she was a happy girl and couldn’t get them in her mouth fast enough. Dani watched a little TV while I read a book until Mike arrived. Our friend Sarah had the girls and was going to keep them for the day in addition to taking them to another friend’s birthday party. My cousin Jen, her husband Chris and their kiddos were coming to town for a wedding and so I invited them to swing by the hospital to say hi. I REALLY wanted to see their new little girl Olivia who had been born in December.
Cute little second cousins meeting for the first time.
Joshua and Caleb – cute as can be!!!
Jen, Louanne, Olivia, Mike, Dani (yes, I am still in my pajamas)
After Jen and Chris left we just hung out in the room and Dani got a little nap. I ran out to get myself some lunch and a breather from the hospital room. After a while Mike headed out to fight the traffic across the metroplex and pick up the girls so they could come up to the hospital. At that point nurse Rebekah said that Dani could go for a walk in one of the red wagons, so we piled up the pillows and off we went. I used this time to do the “Walk For Life” that I had taken pledges for since there would be no way I would be at the official walk on Saturday morning.
Dani was smiling and waving at people and pointing out things all over the hospital. We spoke with families who had surgeries done the day before and wandered all the halls. I ended up walking two miles instead of one. 🙂 They also asked us if they could take some photos of Dani in the red spica cast for publicity, and I said of course. Then they asked if I would be in them too, and again I said yes. Dani had mac-n-cheese for dinner and you could tell she was really excited about it. With as much as she loves to eat, she hadn’t had much at all for two days.
The surgeons came to check on Dani several times and continued to marvel at how well she was doing and so they went ahead and removed her epidural. That was a great relief for me because it showed she was managing her pain better and that it was two less machines that were going to beep all night long. After miserable hours of traffic, Mike returned with the girls for a little visit before heading home. Once Mike left, Dani started to moan and cry and beat on the cast in frustration. This went on until about 11 pm and all the while the night nurse was saying ridiculous stuff to me about how I should be with Dani. I was VERY frustrated and just about to ask for a different nurse when she finally got the hint that she was pissing me off and left the room. I really, really prefer to be patient with people, but it’s not realistic to expect a newly adopted child to act like people’s biological children. And I can’t stand people giving me unsolicited parenting advice or telling me what they think I should do with my newly adopted child. Mind your own business! Then Dani and I settled in for another long night due to the noise of being in a hospital.
**PS. I just want to say that Scottish Rite has just about the most amazing staff I have ever come in contact with. We have never experienced anything like what the night nurse said to me. Maybe she was just ignorant of adoption (which is fine), or maybe people just let her talk to them like that. Either way, a little more sensitivity is in order when parents are stressed and worried about their kids.
