Post-Op Day 2 - 2nd Update

Well, she's still on trach collar (not CPAP), so that's good.  But she's still on oxygen and when the collar goes awry and she's not getting as much, her sats drop.

Her swelling hasn't improved.  And I am bummed to say that I think it has gotten worse.  And that's not me freaking out, either, the nurse practitioner agrees.  Her ortho surgeon came by and said it was really tight.  She said they can split it down the middle a little to give her a little room.  But, once the diuretics start working, it will be too loose.  She would like to give her till tomorrow to see if she can lose some of this fluid.  She said she would let the ortho resident know that they might have to split the cast tonight if her breathing begins to be compromised.  I really hope that doesn't happen.  For many reasons.

The doc that's going to be in the CICU tonight just came by to have a look so he can have a baseline to compare to for the rest of the night.  I know she's in a hospital and that she's hooked up to monitors and that they will be watching her closely and that if she shows signs of distress they will just have to cut the cast - however - I will be a nervous mom going to sleep tonight.

I would feel better if the cast saw were bedside.  And the guy in charge of operating it were sitting right outside her door. I know plenty well enough how fast things move in a hospital.  And it is NOTHING like in any of the hospital TV or movie dramas.  Trust me.  By the time this person calls that person and that person pages another person and that person gets out of bed - she would be one miserable little girl.  Ugh.

They just administered her first dose of Oxycodone.  Hopefully that will help her feel more comfortable.

She keeps on communicating that she wants "up" and I think she means that she wants to sit up.  Then she signs that she wants to sit in the chair.  We put her in the chair, then she signs that she wants to be in the bed.  I think she's looking for a place that's more comfortable, but she's not finding it.  I put her in my lap while I sat in the chair and I propped her up so she's more upright.  But, she still signed that she wanted to be back in bed.  She reaches her arms up to me and stretches her little fingers out trying to reach me, wanting me to pick her up.  I lean down and hug her and she tries to pull herself up.  We've been through this before.  It appears that she wants a hug, but what she wants is for me to pick her up and then take her out of here.

She's breaking my heart.  Hopefully tomorrow will bring her more understanding about all of this.

Yep.  Different location, same position.  Sorry, Babe!!!

She did make some movement progress today.  We got her up and standing.

She wasn't able to support all her weight, we had to help hold her casted side quite a bit.  But PT brought a walker and she did understand to hold onto it.  She "stood" for about two minutes and then signed "all done" and they were happy with that.  Every little bit helps.

She also ate another 5-6 ounces of Pediasure today - very willingly, I might add.  Oh, what a great feeling!  I let her hold the medicine cup as much as possible.  I'm trying to give her as much control as I can.  It hurt me to watch her - she was shaking so badly!  But she was determined to do it herself, so I let her.  She really is so incredibly tough.  In so many ways.  Boy, are we thankful for that!

And earlier in the day we brought in the VECTA distraction machine.  We've used it before and it has really helped calm her down.

And they took out her arterial line.  That was NOT pretty, and I had to look away.  I was tempted to take some photos, because I'm demented like that (that's for you, Allie!).  But sometimes I want to share some of the horrible stuff I have to deal with - it makes me feel like I'm not so alone in all the yuckiness.  But, then I thought I could lose some readers.  Feel free to thank me by leaving a comment.

So, here's a photo after it stopped bleeding and was covered up.  But, I think you can tell how ugly it is underneath there.  And look at those puffy fingers!

And again, this has taken me forever to write.  There are so many interruptions in a hospital room!  So, that's it for today, I think.  Hopefully the diuretics will turn things around fluid-wise and she will get some relief without having to change the cast.

Thanks for all your support.  I love reading comments, so please say what you want - no need to be shy.  I'll update again as soon as I can in the morning to let you know how she did tonight.

Thanks!
~Christy