Yesterday was a long day, and last night was even longer, but my girl has been discharged from the hospital and is well enough to use my computer all morning. Now that I have these keys under my fingers again, I can catch up on the events of the day.
Sunday morning, I went to church with my nephew and his wife, while Aunt C and Couin J visited once more with my girl before heading north to Washington. After church, Cousin B and I stopped by Subway for some lunch. I ordered an extra large sandwich, in case I needed something for dinner, but my girl ate the second half for lunch instead. It is good to see her hungry and wanting food. It helps when it is the kind of food she likes.
She had been cleared for discharge with a catheter due to a urinary tract infection, but she still needed to move her bowels before we took her home. Without going into details, it took time, but something finally made it work. My brother D has said earlier in the week that he would stop by on his way from LB to PA on Sunday afternoon. He said he would come by mid afternoon. Around 7:45 we knew it was mid afternoon. We had a nice visit, after which I realized that I needed a 24 hour pharmacy to pick up pain medicine before I took my girl home. The nurse assistant and I consulted the internet to find the right Walgreens close to the hospital. They agreed to keep her until I made the run for the drugs, to keep my girl from having to make the extra stops on her way home.
When all was said and done, it was almost midnight when we returned home. I tucked in instead of turning on the computer. This morning, my girl was up and ready for breakfast and happy not to be in the hospital anymore. She was so happy in fact that she sat on the couch with my computer until a few minutes ago.
Life is good, but the adventure is not quite over. She has follow up appointments on Wednesday here to check her back and remove the catheter which we brought home. Then we will think about when she will travel back to Washington. After she returns home, she will wear her brace for three months and start physical therapy after six months when her back is completely healed. She will set off metal detectors wherever she goes for the rest of her life.
Thank you for your prayers. I appreciate your replies, even if I do not have time to respond to each one. I do share your messages with Diana. I will continue to add updates, but not daily. I will be sure post how the appointments go on Wednesday and when she is ready to travel back to Washington.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Even when I feel like nothing is changing, at the end of the day I realize how much progress we have made. I managed to fit in another bike ride today, which helps my sanity.
Today my girl was perky and cheerful. She texted me to request favorite foods from the store before I arrived, and enjoyed a drink from Jamba Juice I picked up for her during the day. She also nibbled at the In N Out fries her Aunt C brought back with my dinner. Eating is good, and as she eats more her appetite improves. We had a delightful afternoon with Aunt C and Cousin J who left Olympia, Washington yesterday afternoon with the express purpose of visiting my girl. They are heading home after visiting with her tomorrow morning for a short time while I am at church with her cousin's family praising God that I still have a daughter and that she is recovering so well.
My girl took her prescribed three walks this afternoon, touring the 9th floor of the hospital supported by one of the nurses and by me. She leaned on us much less this evening, and was walking much faster as well. It is wonderful to see her up and moving around. They took her away for a CT scan to see if there is something that they can do about her bladder function. We are awaiting results of that before discharge. If all goes well, my girl will be discharged tomorrow, but we have learned to take each day one at a time.
Thank you for your love and prayers.
Today my girl was perky and cheerful. She texted me to request favorite foods from the store before I arrived, and enjoyed a drink from Jamba Juice I picked up for her during the day. She also nibbled at the In N Out fries her Aunt C brought back with my dinner. Eating is good, and as she eats more her appetite improves. We had a delightful afternoon with Aunt C and Cousin J who left Olympia, Washington yesterday afternoon with the express purpose of visiting my girl. They are heading home after visiting with her tomorrow morning for a short time while I am at church with her cousin's family praising God that I still have a daughter and that she is recovering so well.
My girl took her prescribed three walks this afternoon, touring the 9th floor of the hospital supported by one of the nurses and by me. She leaned on us much less this evening, and was walking much faster as well. It is wonderful to see her up and moving around. They took her away for a CT scan to see if there is something that they can do about her bladder function. We are awaiting results of that before discharge. If all goes well, my girl will be discharged tomorrow, but we have learned to take each day one at a time.
Thank you for your love and prayers.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Another day in the hospital, small steps
Thank you for all your prayers. God is taking such good care of us down here, that I know He is listening to all of your petitions on our behalf. This morning, I even found time to ride my bike a few miles before I headed off to the hospital for the day.
Yesterday afternoon, they removed my girl's catheter and she tried to use a bed pan. This afternoon, they put the catheter back. Please pray that they are able to remove it and she is able to pee on her own before discharge. We can deal with the catheter at home, and they will remove it later, but it will feel so much better for her to come home without it.
My girl walked all the way down the hall and back twice this morning, she walked in her room at midday, and she walked down the hall and back again tonight. Each time she puts on her brace and gets up and moves it hurts a little less. Just after surgery, she was reporting her pain at 7 or 8 on a scale of 10. This evening, she said it was a 2 or a 3. Praise God that the pain is subsiding even as they are weaning her off the pain medication.
Tomorrow my sister will arrive from Olympia, Washington with her daughter to visit us. We are excited that they have driven so far to see us.
Yesterday afternoon, they removed my girl's catheter and she tried to use a bed pan. This afternoon, they put the catheter back. Please pray that they are able to remove it and she is able to pee on her own before discharge. We can deal with the catheter at home, and they will remove it later, but it will feel so much better for her to come home without it.
My girl walked all the way down the hall and back twice this morning, she walked in her room at midday, and she walked down the hall and back again tonight. Each time she puts on her brace and gets up and moves it hurts a little less. Just after surgery, she was reporting her pain at 7 or 8 on a scale of 10. This evening, she said it was a 2 or a 3. Praise God that the pain is subsiding even as they are weaning her off the pain medication.
Tomorrow my sister will arrive from Olympia, Washington with her daughter to visit us. We are excited that they have driven so far to see us.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
My girl walked today
This afternoon, my girl took her first steps since her accident. They were slow, and she had lots of support from two nice ladies from physical therapy, but she was on her own two feet moving under her own power. She is eating more, but she is still very sleepy and not very hungry. Some of that is the medication and some of that is just the healing process. She moved to a different floor this evening, which is a lower level of care and indicates that her condition is improving. Every time I see her, she looks better.
My girl is enjoying hearing from her friends on Facebook and on her cell phone. If she does not answer when you call, she is sleeping, or maybe even out for another walk.
We both are thankful for all your prayers.
My girl is enjoying hearing from her friends on Facebook and on her cell phone. If she does not answer when you call, she is sleeping, or maybe even out for another walk.
We both are thankful for all your prayers.
Why I am in California again so soon
For those of you who don't receive the email, here is what I have been up to for the last week:
I have been updating folks in scattered ways about has been happening since my girl fell off a roof early Monday morning. Adding copies of my emails to my blog gives everyone another way to follow me.
At 6:21 Monday morning, as I was getting ready to drive across town from my cousin P’s house to the start of a triathlon in Corvallis, Oregon, my phone rang. It was my daughter calling, barely able to speak saying she had an accident. She handed the phone to her supervisor, who told me that my girl had fallen off a roof and had been transported from Sequoia National Park, where she was employed this summer to Visalia via ambulance. They were about to move her to Fresno, where treatment would be better. At that point, they knew something was broken in her back, that her feet could move and that it was below the spinal cord. I made some phone calls, one to her father and another to her cousin’s wife in Fresno who is an RN. Cousin B spent the day Monday with my girl interpreting medicalese and running interference for a very scared patient. Knowing that a couple of hours would not make much difference, I did my triathlon before heading south.
I spent the rest of the day Monday, and late into the night driving through Oregon and a large part of California on I 5, switching to US 99 in Sacramento. All day I was on the phone with my girl and cousin B hearing what was going on and offering what comfort I could, then calling and texting everyone I could think of with updates and prayer requests. I spent the night in Merced, about an hour north of Fresno, when I could not drive any more. Tuesday morning, I was in my car early to be at the hospital before her surgery. Pre-op was at 6:30, and she wanted to see me before she went in. I spent about an hour with her in her room and in prep before they took her in. Cousin B arrived shortly after I did Tuesday morning, and we spent the day together at the hospital and shopping for a few things for my girl and some clothes for me. I had packed what I needed for two days and a triathlon. I almost left my computer at home. I still have my bike with me.
Surgery went very well Tuesday morning, and she has screws and rods in her back to realign her spine as it heals. They are permanent. The doctor projected three days in the hospital for recovery. He said the pain is most intense for the first two days after the operation. She has an open invitation to recover with her cousins in Fresno after her discharge until she is ready to travel. Tuesday night, friends from the park brought her bike and all her other stuff down, so it is waiting here for her. She has her cell phone, and she appreciates hearing from friends.
Wednesday, they made a brace for her, which she will wear for the next three months any time she is not on her back in bed. It will enable her to get up Thursday morning and attempt walking. She is concerned about the pain when she moves out of bed, because any time she even turns over or someone changes the sheets she hurts.
My plan is to stay in Fresno until my girl is ready to fly north, which I anticipate will be about three weeks. The doctor wants her to stay in Fresno until the staples come out, and I am not sure how long it will take after that until she is ready to sit on a plane for a few hours for the flight home to Spokane. I will be racking her bike and mine on the back of my little Fit and heading north again someday.
Today, Thursday, I will be spending the day with my girl again in the hospital. We thank you for all your prayers and the concern that everyone has expressed for her and for her recovery.
In answer to the other question everyone is asking, she was in her friends’ room next door chatting when her roommate left for the night and locked the door. This was not the first time that creative means were used to reenter her room. There were no screens on the windows, so my girl once again set out to crawl across the roof to her window. Unfortunately, this time the metal roof was wet and she slipped and landed on a pile of snow. Her friends heard her scream, and help was on the way immediately.
Throughout the whole experience, we have seen God at work, keeping this from being as bad as it could have been. She has lots of friends who have been praying for her in several states. We are hearing about friends and connections in Fresno we never knew about, or forgot were here. The story is not done yet, but that is as far as we have made it now.
I have been updating folks in scattered ways about has been happening since my girl fell off a roof early Monday morning. Adding copies of my emails to my blog gives everyone another way to follow me.
At 6:21 Monday morning, as I was getting ready to drive across town from my cousin P’s house to the start of a triathlon in Corvallis, Oregon, my phone rang. It was my daughter calling, barely able to speak saying she had an accident. She handed the phone to her supervisor, who told me that my girl had fallen off a roof and had been transported from Sequoia National Park, where she was employed this summer to Visalia via ambulance. They were about to move her to Fresno, where treatment would be better. At that point, they knew something was broken in her back, that her feet could move and that it was below the spinal cord. I made some phone calls, one to her father and another to her cousin’s wife in Fresno who is an RN. Cousin B spent the day Monday with my girl interpreting medicalese and running interference for a very scared patient. Knowing that a couple of hours would not make much difference, I did my triathlon before heading south.
I spent the rest of the day Monday, and late into the night driving through Oregon and a large part of California on I 5, switching to US 99 in Sacramento. All day I was on the phone with my girl and cousin B hearing what was going on and offering what comfort I could, then calling and texting everyone I could think of with updates and prayer requests. I spent the night in Merced, about an hour north of Fresno, when I could not drive any more. Tuesday morning, I was in my car early to be at the hospital before her surgery. Pre-op was at 6:30, and she wanted to see me before she went in. I spent about an hour with her in her room and in prep before they took her in. Cousin B arrived shortly after I did Tuesday morning, and we spent the day together at the hospital and shopping for a few things for my girl and some clothes for me. I had packed what I needed for two days and a triathlon. I almost left my computer at home. I still have my bike with me.
Surgery went very well Tuesday morning, and she has screws and rods in her back to realign her spine as it heals. They are permanent. The doctor projected three days in the hospital for recovery. He said the pain is most intense for the first two days after the operation. She has an open invitation to recover with her cousins in Fresno after her discharge until she is ready to travel. Tuesday night, friends from the park brought her bike and all her other stuff down, so it is waiting here for her. She has her cell phone, and she appreciates hearing from friends.
Wednesday, they made a brace for her, which she will wear for the next three months any time she is not on her back in bed. It will enable her to get up Thursday morning and attempt walking. She is concerned about the pain when she moves out of bed, because any time she even turns over or someone changes the sheets she hurts.
My plan is to stay in Fresno until my girl is ready to fly north, which I anticipate will be about three weeks. The doctor wants her to stay in Fresno until the staples come out, and I am not sure how long it will take after that until she is ready to sit on a plane for a few hours for the flight home to Spokane. I will be racking her bike and mine on the back of my little Fit and heading north again someday.
Today, Thursday, I will be spending the day with my girl again in the hospital. We thank you for all your prayers and the concern that everyone has expressed for her and for her recovery.
In answer to the other question everyone is asking, she was in her friends’ room next door chatting when her roommate left for the night and locked the door. This was not the first time that creative means were used to reenter her room. There were no screens on the windows, so my girl once again set out to crawl across the roof to her window. Unfortunately, this time the metal roof was wet and she slipped and landed on a pile of snow. Her friends heard her scream, and help was on the way immediately.
Throughout the whole experience, we have seen God at work, keeping this from being as bad as it could have been. She has lots of friends who have been praying for her in several states. We are hearing about friends and connections in Fresno we never knew about, or forgot were here. The story is not done yet, but that is as far as we have made it now.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)