I thought this would be the best way to let everyone know how Addie is doing. We had a very long day Tuesday. It began about 4:00 am as we got up and got ready to head to the hospital so we could check in by 5:30 am. Lyndsay and Landon were out of school Tuesday so we came to Birmingham Monday night and spent the night so we would not have to make the drive yesterday morning. After we arrived at the hospital and got checked in we waited to be put in a room to prepare Addie for surgery. About 6:00 am we went back and they took all of her vitals and asked 1,000 questions. Just before 8:00 am someone came and took her back for surgery and we went to the waiting room where our other family members were waiting on us.
Shortly after 1:00pm a nurse told us we could come back and see Addie. We gathered our things and met her in the hallway on the way to her room. It was heartbreaking to see our baby laying there with tears rolling down her face and crying out for her Mama. They said she had been asking and looking for her since she came to. It only took a few moments with one of us on each side holding her hand and she began to calm down. She was still pretty out of it as we made our way to the room.
When we got to her room it took a little while for the nurses to get her situated. It was hard to watch as they moved her from one bed to the other and her little face winced with pain and tears began to roll down her cheeks again. Once they got her
settled they let the rest of the family come in and see her. Addie was still groggy, but you could see she was trying to take it all in. She did really well for awhile, but I think they waited too long to give her some pain medicine. Her whole little body tightened and she began to cry out from the pain. It was not just cry of discomfort or whining, but a cry of extreme pain. It was so hard to watch my little girl in pain and be able to do nothing about it. Thankfully the nurse was near and quickly got some medicine to bring her pain under control.
Thankfully the medicine kicked in quickly. She watched everything around for awhile and then she took a well deserved nap. She slept for a couple of hours and then woke up. The rest of the day went pretty well. She would sleep a couple of hours and then wake up to eat and drink something. She would be up for a couple of hours and then be back to napping again.
Overall she was doing really well by the end of the day. After her first round of pain medicine we even saw a few smiles from her. She was able to sleep pretty well through the night except for the occasional interruption to check her vitals and get more pain medicine.
Today was definitely a better day, but it had a few challenges as well. The neurologist came by this morning and seemed to be encouraged by Addie's progress. He thought her incision was looking good so far. He said he wanted to take her off the morphine and just give her Tylenol and Motrin at alternate times. This way they could see how she handled the pain and be able to know when she was ready to go home.
We were glad to have some friends, Norm and Danielle, come by to visit. We also appreciated them bringing us lunch. Just before they arrived Addie's was beginning to act more like herself. She was smiling and laughing and acting a lot better. She had a great time playing with them while they were here.
During surgery they had inserted a catheter and left it overnight. This afternoon they decided to remove it and go back to inserting and removing a catheter several times a day. Ann has been doing this for about 2 weeks at home, but we were very nervous about it now after the surgery. We called the nurse to help because we were not sure how much or how to move Addie. I felt terrible when we lifted her legs and in the sweetest little voice Addie said "Owww." Big tears and crying quickly followed. It hurts me to watch her cringe in pain as we lifted her lower body to remove the diaper and put on a new one. I'm amazed though at how quickly she returns to laughing and playing after it was over.
This afternoon the neurologist came by and said that everything looked really good and we should be able to leave earlier than expected. This is encouraging, but also a little scary. It will be nice to be home and in our own environment. It will also be difficult because Addie is supposed to lay flat for 10 days and that is almost impossible for a 2 year old. The next couple of days will be fine, but soon she will feel better and want to move around. If you have suggestions on how to keep a 2 year old still, feel free to share those with us.
I'm amazed at what a fighter our baby girl is. She is so strong. She still has a long road ahead of her, but she is making great progress.
We are thankful for everyone who has been praying for Addie and for us. We also appreciate everyone that has called, texted, emailed, facebook, and everything else to offer encouragement and let us know you are praying. Also pray for Lyndsay and Landon at home with Pops. They are doing well, but I think they are missing little Addie and Ann pretty bad. At this point there is still a lot of uncertainty about what the future holds for Addie, but we know that our God who brought us together is faithful to sustain us through whatever the future holds. He never promised us it would be easy, only that He would be there. And He is more than enough.
Our prayers are with you at home office!
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