Zoey - Post-Op

Our Zoey girl did very well during surgery and all went as expected. She was very sad when she woke up--but didn't seem to have any kind of bad reaction to the anesthetic.

Jeff was able to see her in recovery for a few minutes before he had to leave to pick the kids up from school. She was happy to see her Daddy.

I thought she would doze most of the day but once the little stinker was awake, she stayed awake for the rest of the day. Finally at 8:30, I told her she had to go to sleep.

Unfortunately, she accidentally pulled out her epidural line that was in her back, as well as her leg drain. The epidural was giving her continuous medicine, which is best for kids her age. When the leg drain came off, I saw a puddle of blood on her bed and called the nurse. That led them to look at her back and they noticed that the epidural line was no longer attached. They got all alarmed and said they had to get it fixed ASAP and went to call anesthesiology. I was a tad alarmed at their reaction. About a half hour later, they came back and said that Plan B was a m*rphine drip that is not continuous and has a pump with a button to push as needed. So that is what she has now and the nurse said they would not push it unless Zoey seemed to be in pain. Urgh.... Mama-bear hackles went up a bit, envisioning them letting her pain get out of control and then trying to chase it. They assure me that they will not let that happen, so I will trust them.

Sort of.

But I plan on giving them the stink eye if Zoey gets uncomfortable.

Emotionally, it has been a bit hard for her. She doesn't know how to verbalize her loss. She just looked very, very sad after she woke up. She was relieved to see that only one leg was in a cast and that her other foot was still there.

Emotionally for Mommy, it has been okay overall but there were definitely some {swallow hard} moments. Like when I had to sign the permission for 'disposal of severed limb' paperwork. And when I saw her leg in the cast...and it was obvious her little foot was gone. I just keep telling myself that she is going to be so much better off once she gets her new leg.

And then, she got a visitor! Her little friend, Jonah, came with his mom, Kim, and it perked Zoey up so much. She asked Kim why her cast was all the way to the top of her leg if they only cut off her foot. Pretty good question!

Kim and Jonah brought a whole bunch of yummy snacks and a few presents for Zoey. Zoey is all about FOOD, so she has been munching all day. She also ordered herself three grape juice's. Her teeth are all blue and I shudder to think of all the sugar that is sitting on them because we forgot to brush tonight.

Waking up sad in recovery--but no tears.

Jonah gives me the eye as Kim shows Zoey the photo she took with her phone.

Can't see Jonah's signature here-but he was the first to sign her cast.

Eating and watching TV...she might not want to go home!

"Here, Mommy. Have some of my cookie."

Finally asleep and looking peaceful. Hopefully she will have a good night.

Zoey is in surgery

Miss Zoey is in surgery and went bravely. She had a good morning and only a few tears. I had run downstairs to get something to eat and when I got back they had her in the stretcher out in the hall. She was crying and scared because Mommy wasn't there. Poor baby! She calmed down fairly quickly and it was smooth sailing after that.

We said good-bye to her little foot and took some photos of it. Mommy kissed it which Zoey thought was very funny.

Thank you so much for all your messages/comments and prayers. It is so encouraging. Zoey got a HUGE smile on her face when I told her that lots of people were praying for her.

Last night one of the nurses braided Zoey's hair in preparation for putting it under the surgical hat for today. She looked so cute!

Pretty girl!

Dr. D. came to check on her this morning and drew on her foot.

Sometimes your thumb is the best comfort available.

Waiting in the pre-op room with Joy

Practicing how to breathe in and out with the mask on.

Mommy kisses Zoey's little foot good-bye {sniff, sniff}

Zoey was given a new pink bear this morning to take to surgery with Joy. She named it Karin. Awwww....

Daddy arrived just in time to see Zoey before she was wheeled into surgery. I love how her little arm is around him. They let me go with her into the operating room, hence the beautiful white jumpsuit.

Don't be jealous.

So now we are waiting for her and will get to be with her as soon as she is moved to recovery. Thank you so much for your prayers. They are definitely felt!

Zoey's Pre-Op Day

We are checked in and ready for surgery in the morning--that is if Zoey's ominous, all-day cough doesn't morph into something serious.

At the moment, she thinks having surgery being a diva is a very cool thing. She definitely knows what she wants and she knows how to get it. Sigh... We will be working on that soon. I am very impressed with Shriners. They do an awesome job with the kids and are amazingly P.A.T.I.E.N.T.

Checking in

"Bye-bye, Doey."

Our first activity of the day was to role play with a doll. They gave Zoey a doll and we went to work.

Not exactly rockin' the surgical hats. Mommy was a bit rebellious about tucking every hair inside.

Here is Zoey's doll. She named her Joy. And then Kate. And then Joy. Joy has a surgical hat, too. Here Zoey is putting stickers on the mask that will go on Joy's face for surgery.

We tucked her into her little rolling bed and Zoey made sure that Joy's seat belt was tight. (She corrected the staff when they put it on too loose.)

And here they go...off to Joy's surgery. Zoey insisted on 'helping' push the cart.

Time to give Joy her surgery hug.

Mommy, too.

Then it was off to lunch for the ever-popular, non-nutritious hot dog and fries.

Meanwhile, Joy had surgery and now she is needing her cast. You can see here that she had the same surgery as Zoey because her little foot is gone and there are stitches on her leg.

Zoey helped cut the strips for the cast.

She helped get the strips wet and mold them to Joy's leg. {Joy was still 'sleeping' through this.}

There were a few minutes to play between appointments so we headed to the playroom. Zoey couldn't decide what to play with first so she held the ball and drove the car. Hey...she's a girl...she can multi-task!

She looks a little lonely playing with these trains all by herself. {Don't kid yourself--she LOVED having the whole playroom to herself and ran from one thing to the next.}

Tongue hanging out means deep concentration.

She shoots! She scores!

Time for a photo shoot! Lots of nice photos of her little foot.

Then we went to physical therapy so that Zoey could try out the little walker she will have after surgery.

Learning how to butt bounce up and down the steps so she can get up to her room at home.

Then time for vitals! Everything looks good--although she has a cough and it has raised some concerns. She coughed. And coughed. And coughed. ugh.

X-ray time.

Every time she sees one of these games she makes a beeline for it. This one was golf and she was actually able to play it.

We then went to do a plaster mold of her little foot so that years from now she can see what it looked like. The first try was a dental substance that she was supposed to put her foot into. She was having none of that. She started to cry and said she was scared of it. So....after trying to convince her it wasn't that bad, we got her foot into the top of it only to realize that it had already set. Drat. Plan B was a cast and it didn't give us great detail but the mold is decent and it will give her some idea of what her foot looked like. I forgot to take a picture of it to show you.

Finally...showered and tucked in. She greatly enjoyed getting to watch TV {a rare privilege}, order as many cartons of grape juice as she wanted, and ordering room service for dinner.

I think she is as ready as she a four-year old can be. She doesn't understand a lot of what we try to explain, but at least she isn't telling people, "I'm habing turgery and I gonna get my head cut off," like she used to.

Foot. Foot, Zoey. Not head. Foot.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Also wanted to mention that my brother-in-law, Lance is having a bone marrow transplant tomorrow to treat leukemia. We are praying it is successful. Wish we could be there to lend support.

Little Jake Horner

Yeah...I know it's supposed to be Jack Horner...but work with me here.

Unbeknownst to us, our Jake is a pie lover. Who knew?

The girls and I made pumpkin pies on Wednesday and Jake was transfixed. He watched them bake. He smelled the fabulous aroma

{that sadly his mama missed out on due to the head cold of the century}.

He watched them be removed from the oven and immediately wanted a piece. No amount of explanation could get it through his now pumpkin pie-fogged head that the pie was for Thanksgiving.

Later, he fell asleep in the car and when we woke him up, his first words were, "Did we bring da pie hewe?"

Um...no, Jake. We don't drive around town with pie in the car.

So imagine his delight when he awoke Thanksgiving morning! It was time for pie!

Or not.

He asked no less than 4 billion times when he would be getting pie. {that is only a slight exaggeration}

Finally....the pesky turkey, dressing, potatoes, broccoli, and rolls were consumed and it was time for P.I.E!

"Bwing it on!"

"No. Really. Where's da pie?"

"Is dis for weal or am I dweaming?"

"Oh yeah. Dat's what I'm tawkin' 'bout."

"See dis and weep, Doey!"

"Watch and learn, Doey."

"Ohhh...dat was so yummy. Can I have more?"

'No Jake, you may not have any more pie today.'

"Eeuhhhhh. But there is one more piece. I see it. I want it."

Just then he accidentally marked his territory by sneezing on it. A direct hit.

Repulsed, we told everyone that we reserved that piece for Jake and that if anyone wanted pie, they were advised to choose from the other one, still remaining.

Equally repulsed, the other children quickly spread the word about the defiled piece of pie.

Later that evening, I noticed it was missing. Jake was in bed so he couldn't be the culprit.

Apparently, the teenager didn't get the memo.

Should we tell him? It could ruin his day.

{Incidentally, Jake was quite bummed when he came downstairs this morning and asked for his piece of pie for breakfast.}

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving today. Treasure those memories you are making with your families and friends. To all of you who have loved ones serving in the milit*ry, I'm sending you a big hug. I'm sure, like me, your heart is aching for the one who is spending the day alone across the ocean. {Happy Thanksgiving, Ryan! We love you!}

And now, as a special treat, Jeff and I spent a great deal of time and effort preparing a special photo for you.

Give me a break...there was no corresponding pilgrim hat for women! And truth be told, Thanksgiving is always shared with Christmas decorations at our house so this photo is an accurate representation of our family. Hee!