Harlie's Back!

Yes, my friends, my sweet, funny, joyful little girl is BACK!

Things started to change Sunday night.

A little background first... Harlie LOVES to count to 10.  I know that sounds weird.  But she learned to count to 10 in sign a little while ago.  And she tries to verbalize each number.

During her recovery we tried to get her to count, knowing that she loves it so much.  But she refused.  Just like she refused to sign anything, or communicate in any way.

Well, on Sunday night, we put her to bed and turned on the monitor so we could hear her while we were downstairs.  And then I heard it.  She was counting!!!  We could totally tell that's what she was doing!  Tom and I knew things were looking up then.

Then Monday and today things were just different.  She's laughing and smiling and interacting and signing and playing and being herself again!  Oh, what a welcome change!!!  Her being happy again changes the whole feeling of the house.  She was really bringing us down!

Last week I took her to see her pediatrician.  She cried when I parked the car in front of the building.  Which was pretty surprising, considering those appointments are usually pretty painless.  Her doc was awesome, he listened to her heart and lungs while she sat in the chair beside me.  He said he didn't even want to put her on the exam table.  Pretty nice, huh?

He also said that maybe she was depressed.  She certainly appeared to be.  And he said that adults can have issues with depression after a major surgery like that.

I can't help but wonder what she hears/understands about these conversations we have with her in the room.  Sometimes I think she understands more than I realize.  So many times I have spoken with a doctor about something that she was doing/not doing and after that appointment, she stopped/started whatever it was I was talking about.  It's almost like she likes to make a liar out of me!

And just a few days after that appointment, she is totally back to herself!!!  Weird.

We went to see her cardiologist today for another follow-up appointment.  That went well.  Her oxygen saturations are still in the 70s, which is definitely lower than I would like.  Her doc said we should give her about six more months to see if they come up.  If they aren't in the 80s by January-ish then we might want to do another heart cath to see if there is something else going on.  Maybe after hearing that conversation Harlie's sats will come up miraculously.  Ah, if only!  We see him again in a month.

At the appointment today she waved hello and good-bye and was generally her goofy self.  She even signed "potty" and when I took her, her diaper was dry and she peed in the potty.  Wow!  She is one crazy little girl.  As far as her potty training goes, I'm just following her lead.

Oh!  And to prove my point about her making a liar out of me... I mentioned to her doc that she still won't walk any distance (like from the lobby to the exam room, which was NOT far).  Then we leave the appointment, she gets out of the stroller to push the elevator button, she stands there to wait for the door to open, it opens, she gets in, pushes the button for the 1st floor, stands there, walks out when the door opens and continues to walk - halfway to the stinkin' car!!!!  I mean, c'mon!!!  If he had looked out the window and seen her walking through the parking lot I would have lost ALL credibility!!!

Sometimes I think that girl just likes to test me and push me to my limits!!!  Well, she's going to get it this time.  Last week I called her physical therapist and she's going to evaluate Harlie for physical therapy on Thursday. And if she thinks Harlie needs it, well she's going to get it.  That'll teach her!  Try pulling one over me, I don't think so.  You have to get up preeeetty early to trick this Mama!

Speaking of Thursday, oh is that going to be a killer day.  Here's our schedule:

9:30-10:30 - feeding therapy
11:00-12:00 - speech therapy
1:00-2:00 - physical therapy (across town!)

She is going to be one tired puppy that night!  And so will Brandy and I!!!  Those are exhausting appointments for spectators, too!

And tomorrow night Harlie gets a haircut.  Her hair is just too long!  Don't worry, I'll take pictures.  Before and after, of course.

Thanks!
~Christy