Having fun with my cell phone (click to see album)
The exciting thing about week 4 with Dani’s cast was that we were in a better routine. She was back to sleeping in her room and SLEEPING ALL NIGHT!!! She went 4 nights in a row without crying out and I felt like a new person. We had several things planned to get us out of the house and most days Dani was content playing in her chair and watching TV. Nadia and Amelie were also enjoying how much TV they got to watch as a result.
Grammie came over to play, which all the girls enjoy!As close to a bath as Dani will get until the cast is off.
Some good friends came over to play one day!Nadia and Amelie went to a swim birthday party.Using the noisy Cast Cooler with ear protection.Yummy pasta!
All in all we had a great week! Nadia and Amelie did a great job trying to help entertain Dani and play with her while she is in the chair. Amelie can make her laugh out loud which is super cute. I was glad we were nearing the half way point with many things planned for the rest of June hoping it would help us pass the time.
By week three we had finally settled into a routine and cast-care didn’t seem so overwhelming anymore. Dani was still waking up 5-6 times a night screaming, but she was getting back to sleep faster and the older girls were sleeping through it. So Mike and I were still sleep deprived, but at least it wasn’t the entire family. Dani wasn’t in pain at all anymore and would sit in her special spica chair for hours every day playing. She enjoyed being up and about and able to see everyone, and the older girls could play with her because the tray was so large. We spent most of the time at home again, but went out now and then for a change of scenery.
Nadia showing Dani videos on her camera
Nadia built a Tin Can Robot that turned out really cute.
Mike’s office sent Dani a cake pop bouquet from Lulu Pops by Lina. They were fantastic and adorable.
Mikey and April from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Notice the heels 🙂
Our friends Sarah and JD invited us over for lunch on Memorial Day and we had a blast. We packed up Dani’s TARDIS and headed over there. We had been cooped up in the house and it was so nice to get out and the girls all had fun playing.
Dani's 2-week checkup after surgery (click to see album)
Dani’s two week check up at Texas Scottish Rite was May 22, 2014. Once we were checked in they sent us over to radiology for an x-ray and the best thing was that Dani didn’t cry or scream or anything. PROGRESS! After the x-ray we were shown to our room to meet with the doctors and they ended up telling us that everything looked great! Dr. Birch spoke with us again about how everything went as well as it could have and what it would be like when the cast came off. He also told us that unless anything drastic happened they wouldn’t need to see us until the day surgery to remove the cast.
The funny part of the day was when Dr. Miller asked us if the radiology person put a crescent shaped shield on Dani for the x-ray and then they showed us the x-ray. Mike reached down the back of the cast and pulled out this:
It was a hair bow from a magnetic doll set. HA!
Dani with Dr. Birch
I wanted to get a photo of Dani with Dr. Birch and she was happy while he was talking to her, but she turned suspicious when he took her from Mike. The look on her face here makes me laugh. After the doctors left, one of the nurses came back in to let us know that we were scheduled for a day surgery on 7/7 to have the cast removed. They have to put her under anesthesia to remove the cast and check to see that the hip has set properly. If everything is good, then she wakes up and we are done for now. If not, they will put her in a new cast for 4 more weeks. We are praying that it will be over with and looking great on the first attempt. The entire visit was encouraging and that continues to make us love going to Scottish Rite.
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.
