Surgery Update

We are home! Emily was discharged on Sunday late afternoon and we were home by about 6:30. She is doing very well, and other than missing her beloved "frenchie fries" which she has asked for numerous times, she is doing well on the liquid diet.

Pittsburgh Children's was awesome. Their facilities, the staff, Emily's doctor....well...they were all wonderful. Here are some photos!

 

Emily playing in the pre-op area. Thank you Pastor Josie for coming to be with us and pray for Emily!

 

Our angel out of surgery

 

John went home Friday nigh and my sister came and stayed. It was great for Emily (and especially me!) to have her Aunt Janeen there! There was a great playroom area on our floor. What an awesome distraction. She loved the toys and the crafts. In fact she liked it so much, they made a kit for her to take back to her room so she could keep doing them!

This was a neat activity mat outside the playroom. Emily loves to dance. She enjoyed popping the balloons and making fireworks on the mat! We were even able to take her in her little car out those doors in the back to a little garden area. Nice for us too....we were able to get some fresh air!! At this point, we were almost ready to be discharged. Yeah!!

Home sweet home! And on a walk to pick flowers!

This week Seth and I took Emily to a local spot complete with lots of neat wooden playground equipment. Big brother Kyle and Daddy were at a baseball game!

This picture is for you, Pa!

 

We had a follow up appointment at Children's on Wednesday. Everything was healing well except for a small area, which is normal. She has to remain on her liquid diet (we were expecting that) and will go back next Wed. Hoping it will be healing better and is closed. Emily is getting very tired of her favorite foods being blended. She just wants her rice and noodles whole!!!

She has also had several nights of difficultly sleeping. She would wake numerous times crying, thrashing, and often pulling at her ankle apparently thinking she still had her IV in her leg. One night the crying lasted a full 2 hours. Break.This.Mama's.Heart. These nightmares are typical however, especially for her age group, we are told, and are associated with the anesthesia. However....she slept all night last night and is still sleeping! Hooray!

 

I can't help but look at her and the boys and wonder how easily we could have missed all of this. She is such a joy and a blessing to all of our lives. Even during the sleepless nights lately, I was thankful to God for entrusting her to our care and choosing us to be her parents. If you are ever interested in adoption, let me know. I'd be happy to talk to you!!!