The day after Dani’s cast removal we had Amelie’s 1 year hand check up at Texas Scottish Rite so we loaded everyone up and headed over there. We started in radiology and this time Dr. Oishi gave us a photo copy of them.
I know a lot of people have wondered what her hand bones look like and so I was glad to have this as a reference. Right before we started the appointment a person from the media department asked if we were willing to have Amelie filmed for a project they were putting together for the times Dr. Oishi travels around speaking and teaching about the work they do at Scottish Rite. We said of course and in they came with the camera. Dr. Oishi said that she is doing well and has good movement. He also said that there was no reason to do another surgery on the left side at this time. There was a possibility of removing the webbing to make the fingers a little longer, but he is worried that the middle finger will just hang there because it doesn’t have a longer bone in there. Right now it is sort of attached to the ring finger and she gets some use out of it.
He told her that she did a great job for the video and we wouldn’t have to come back for another year! Yippie! Once that was finished we bought some popcorn and headed outside to check out the new playground remodel. It is awesome!
After they had a good time outside we headed home relieved that surgeries for this year are behind us.
Waiting in the Day Surgery Area (click to see album)
My aunt Paula showed up early in the morning to keep the big girls while we went to the hospital. As we were driving to Scottish Rite I kept thinking, “Please let her be great. Please let her be healed. Please let this be the end.” We signed in at the hospital and headed for the Day Surgery unit where we had been 3 times before with Amelie. They showed us to our waiting area and then we waited for all the various people to come by and talk to us. Dani was having fun during the wait and being her usual happy self. First came the anesthesiologist, then the resident for Dr. Birch and then someone from the research department. They had hoped that Dani could take part in a genetic study but then realized that she was adopted and that wouldn’t work. I told her that if we could have done it, we would have been glad to. The nurse for Dani’s surgery came to ask what color we wanted for the new cast. I said, “Purple, but I hope we don’t need it.”
Once all the documents had been signed the nurse gave Dani the “goofy juice” to keep her calm as they took her back and we changed her into the surgical gown. The nurse gave her some stickers to play with while we waited for her turn and then they rolled her back. I asked God one more time to please let her be healed and for this to be the end. Mike and I took a beeper and headed down to the cafeteria to have a quick breakfast since they thought this would take less than an hour. When they rolled her back in I couldn’t tell if there was a new cast or not and so I said to Dr. Birch, “No cast?” and he said, “No cast.” I immediately said an unexpected, “Halleluiah!” and started to cry from all the pent-up stress. Dr. Birch told us that everything looked perfect and she couldn’t have done better. He showed us her x-ray (I forgot to ask for a photo this time) and said we would need to return for a 1 month, 3 month and 6 month follow up. He said that at 6 months they usually remove all the hardware and that will require an overnight stay. He told us again that it could take up to 6 months for her to reach full mobility, but to let her go at her own pace.
I wish I could express to you how relieved I was to be holding my precious girl without that huge, hard cast in the way.
The nurse told Mike he could go down to the pharmacy and get Dani’s pain medicine and that I could get her changed so we could go home. When I took the gown off of her she looked down, smacked her belly two times and said, “Belllleeee Belllleeee!” Then she wiggled her toes and moved her right leg up and down with such an ecstatic look on her face. A few minutes after Mike came back upstairs they let us leave and we went to the car and headed home. WOO HOO! When Mike put her in the car seat she seemed so surprised and almost the entire way home she was pointing out the window and saying, “Mom! Mom! Mom!” for every fun thing she saw. We could tell she was so happy to be sitting up and able to see out the window again for the first time in 8.5 weeks.
Once we were home she just wanted to eat and then lay on me for quite a while and watch TV which we were happy let her do. We found that she couldn’t sit up on her own yet, so we had to get her in position to lean against something or for her to be laying down.
After her nap she wanted to get down on the floor, be free and go after some toys.
The best part for her was the BATH!!!! Because she couldn’t sit up Mike thought we should try to prop her up on a booster chair and that worked perfectly for her to soak for a nice long time. The skin on her lower back and legs was very dry and her left leg had a lot of scabs, plus her scars were a little raw. Our family was so very happy that the cast was off!
The end is in sight!!!! The big girls finished up VBS and loved everything about their week with friends. I took Dani back to the dentist so they could seal her bottom molars and she did an awesome job. She cried a little on the last one, but they said they expected her to cry through the entire thing so they were impressed. This week Dani was also moving and climbing and trying to follow the girls every chance she had. She was spending far more time out of her TARDIS chair than in and we were happy to see that. Her upper body must be getting so strong from dragging that cast around. As you can see from the photo above the cast isn’t really slowing her down. On Sunday of this week Dani had a pretty tough day. She was clearly frustrated with the cast and ready to be done. She pounded on the cast quite a bit and even said, “Dooon wan it!!!”
Grammie came over for her weekly play date with the girls and as always they had fun. It was really cute that Dani was pretending to play this game with Grammie because she has seen us play it so much with the big girls. Dani is always watching us and this was adorable proof of it.
Nadia came up with a fun game for her and Dani to play. I have no idea what the rules were, but they were giggling a lot.I check the front of Dani's cast at almost every diaper change just in case. I recently found these.Nadia's Human Lung Model
We just started a Magic School Bus study of the human body and the first experiment was to make a model of a human lung. Nadia thought it was great.
Amelie said, "Hey Mom! Take a picture of me like this!"
This week started much like the rest – we were rejoicing that another week had past and gearing up for the big girls to go to VBS. It was going to be the first year in 8 that I hadn’t volunteered, but I needed to be home with Dani. Dani was continuing to spend more time on the floor exercising and giggling with her sisters while trying to join in their fun.
We got a new play mat which Dani loves to scoot around on.Amelie had her 5 year check up and everything was wonderful.Dani's first trip to the dentist.
Dani had her first visit to the dentist and as we suspected she needed some work done. All four molars on the bottom of her mouth had the start of a cavity so the dentist wanted to give them a super fluoride treatment and seal the teeth with cement as soon as we could come in again. Nadia and Amelie also had their teeth checked and everything was good.
The week took a turn when I received a call from my step-dad on Saturday night telling me that my Grandpa was gravely ill and not expected to live long. Mike and I talked about it and decided it would be good for me to go as soon as I could. I checked all the flights and on Sunday I purchased a ticket to fly to California on Monday morning and return on Tuesday night. When I arrived on Monday morning my Grandpa was up and I could hold his hand and talk to him. It was a great blessing to spend time with him over the two days and I am grateful I got to see him before he died.
My Grandma Petlow and IMy mom and IAunt Polly
When my Grandpa was too tired for any more visiting on Monday, my aunt Polly came and picked me up for lunch. It was a bright spot in the day to sit and visit with her outside on the patio at South Coast Deli. Later that night I went to see my brother who I missed seeing on our 2012 trip. On my second day there I went to see Grandpa in the morning, but he was very tired but I still talked with him for a little while and held his hand. When it was time for the nurses to help him I left and went to have lunch with my mom at her office. After that my step dad and I went to see my Grandpa one more time so I could say goodbye and hug my Grandma one more time. Then I started my journey home after a whirlwind, emotional trip. I was very worried that Dani wasn’t going to do well with me being gone, but she did great and I am thankful for everyone who prayed for her while I was gone.
The big girls had a great time at VBS while I was gone and during the rest of the week once I was home. The theme was Space and the Bible passage that it focused on was Genesis 1. Nadia told me over and over that even though she loved the skit, she missed me being one of the characters. I told her that maybe next year I would return to all my VBS activities of the past. I am thankful for all the members of our church who give their time and energy to make VBS happen each year.
This was one of the many places I found Dani exploring over the course of the week. The end is almost here!! WOO HOO!!!
