Feb. 4, 2009

Life in the hospital post-op

She had a very busy morning. She was awake from about 3 am-5 am, just fussy and "not sleepy". We drew some pictures and she finally went back to bed.
After sleeping in until about 8:30/9, she fed herself a BIG breakfast (eggs, sausage, waffles). Dr. Tye clamped her ventric today so we will see how she proceeds with that. If all goes well, we could be released by Monday. PT came by and she worked on walking, standing, and sitting. Shaaron is recommending in patient rehab for now but if she continues to progress enough by our hospital release date, we could look at outpatient rehab. Inpatient would be at Kluge (Charlottesville). Outpatient could be in Richmond at Children's hospital.
She also has a urinary tract infection (oh goodie) so she has started a round of antibiotics. Not so unusual given the fact that she had a catheter along with all the messy diapers. She has actually told us a few times that she needed to go potty and has been making trips to the toilet. What a trooper!
She also had visits from her preschool teacher and Child Life today...all working to keep her engaged and energized. She ate lunch sitting in her wheelchair today ad has done a great job overall. Now she is "chillin'" with Dora and watching some episodes in bed while downing more chocolate milk!!!
That's all the news we know....
Rachel
PS: Much thanks to the Carpenter family for the yummy meal last night. The pork loin and vegetables were fabulous!

Charlotte's 'movements'

Before I proceed further with the Charlotte update, thanks again to the Plank family for a yummy home cooked (and healthy!) meal. Such a blessing.
Charlotte ate a great dinner as well of spaghetti, meatballs, broccoli, and peaches, and (of course) more chocolate milk. She also pooped on her own again. Yay, Miralax!
She has been "vegging" on the tv this evening but that's just fine as mommy needs some time to veg too. We heard from the neurologist that she will have a CT scan tomorrow morning. Her ventric clamp went well today and they will be checking tomorrow to be sure her ventricles are flowing properly with no blockages or mis-flow.
While she occasionally complains of pain, it is not so extreme that it incapacitates her. I managed to give her a sponge bath and comb most of her hair. She's looking better all the time!
Now I'm off to read my Entertainment Weekly while Strawberry Shortcake blares on the TV for Charlotte.
Rachel

Getting used to this routine

Rachel is pulling a three nighter because I need to be places in the mornings which is good and bad. Good because we're getting more and more back into the swing of things but bad because I only got to see Charlotte for about an hour and a half today. What was very nice was that she is looking and acting more and more like Charlotte everyday. I even got invited into the bed to snuggle a little (collective, "Awww!") Of course I was nearly falling off the bed and dosing here and there on top of that so I was in serious danger of rolling off and into the jail-cell style toilet next to the crib.
Tomorrow morning I resume my duties for Romp n' Roll To Go at Primrose School (thanks so much to Babz for covering for me the last two weeks). I get addicted to my kiddies and it will be very nice to see them all again.
We'll be starting our RNR2Go up in Ladysmith next Tuesday which is very exciting. If you're up in that area, stop by Miss Alyson's Countryside Daycare and say hi.
Sounds like a Romp n' Roll commercial, eh?
Now here comes the next fun part...To all of those people who were willing to sit with/watch CJ once in a while, there's a good chance we'll be needing that soon. She might (emphasis on "might") be released from the hospital Monday or Tuesday. With Rachel and I both trying to keep RNR moving forward, and other events coming up, we could use a few good volunteers. I'd like to ask folks to please reiterate their willingness to participate and what times they may be available including possible (but not probable) overnights. I'll pull out the calendar and start signing people up as I can. Thanks in advance.
Then again, everything could change at a moments notice so take it all with a grain of salt. :-) I do know that when we get serious into the rehab and chemo sessions, all bets are off,
Classes at RNR were great tonight and I even got to see a mischievous side to Miss Audrey that I hadn't seen before. Love to see dem kiddies growin'! Also love having a functional water fountain in the back. Thanks Daddyo!
Rog