On The Mend

Yesterday, Keely had her surgery.  We had somewhat of a restless night and were awake for the day at 4:30!!! We arrived at the hospital around 6:30am, waited to talk to all of the Dr.s involved and then around 8:15 I walked her down to the operating room. I had never been in an operating room and I really hope I never have to again!  She didn't really want the mask on, but with a little convincing and the smell of chocolate going through the mask, she was out in a matter of a few seconds.  I kissed her little face and walked out. It was a very weird feeling leaving your child so helpless in the hands of strangers and basically trusting them with her life.


Then we waited, walked around, got coffee and waited some more, at about 11 we asked for an update.  The nurse came out and said everything was going as planned and they would be done in about an hour.  Finally, at 12:30 the Dr. came out and said things went well, but he ended up having to cut way up to her hip because the muscle wouldn't move in order to keep her kneecap in place and not twisting to the right like it has been the last 3 years.  Ugh, that did not sound pleasant!!  He also said that he couldn't get her leg to go perfectly straight without cutting the bone, which he didn't want to do in this surgery because he was afraid that it would mess up all of the other stuff he did.  The main thing is I guess is that her kneecap is back in the right spot!   He didn't end up putting a full leg cast on, she only has a part cast on the back of her knee, a splint and the rest is just wrapped really well.  So then we had to wait for the call that she was waking up and we could go see her.  This took another 2 hrs, yes 2 hrs!!  I think that was harder than waiting for the surgery to be done!  We were then called to go to Recovery where we found a disoriented, groggy, uncomfortable girl.  After about 2 hr wait in the hallway at Recovery, we were finally taken to our room.  Keely slept and was in and out for the rest of the day.

Today, she has been more alert, ate a couple bites of scrambled egg for breakfast and drank tons of juice.  So far her pain has been managed very well and she even was wanting to get down a few times today.  Robyn brought Lily and Jack in for a visit this morning and brought her a little gift.  Around lunch time they decreased her morphine to half, but so far hasn't seemed to bother her too much.  We have taken her on a couple walks down the hallway in her stroller and she has been from the bed to my lap more than a few times today.  It is hard for a 3 year old to stay in one position with their leg elevated, but she has done really well.  The nurse even said tonight that they actually can't get over how well she has done considering the amount of work she had on her leg.  They think she is a pretty tough little girl and I can't agree more.

So now we wait for tomorrow and see how her pain is and if it is manageable for us to take her home.    I'm thinking Monday will be the day, just to be safe.  Since we are so far away I would rather wait an extra day to ensure her comfort.  The next post I will put some pics up of her hospital journey.