life at the hospital...day 3 post op

We have now been here 5 days at Nationwide. It is such a wonderful hospital that it hasn't felt that bad but at times we are ready to bust out of these 4 walls. Actually compared to my last few months, this is the most relaxed and slow we have been! In one sense it's kind of nice to be forced to slow down.
Mayeigh has done so great since Monday evening when surgery was finished. She has slept thru the night great (which has helped so much for Jeff and I) and has not seemed to be in too much pain so far. They had her on quite a bit of pain meds the first day and a half but then dropped it down a bit. The hardest part for Mayleigh is when the nurses or doctors (or really anyone for that matter) come in. Even if they arent going to touch her, she still screams in fear. So understandable. She just doesnt trust anyone in this environment.  She has gotten a little fussier and a little more clingy but overall is doing great!! She did have 230 stitches. Can you imagine? That many stitches on her tiny, little body! She is so brave!!

Today was such a huge morning. They told us her goal was to get up and walk a little bit. Well, I kinda laughed thinking back to China when she was shutdown and refused to put weight on her legs. I thought no way will she walk here. But this little fighter surprised us!! She did great!! She walked about 15 steps and then we carried her to the playroom. It was too far to go for her first time up on her feet. She played for quite awhile with the blocks in the playroom before we headed back. On the way back to our room she held my hand and walked quite a bit! We were so proud of her! And it was so nice to have a change of pace for the morning.

She has also started talking a little bit this morning. Sometimes being her normal sassy self and other times, so sweet! Tonight I told her I loved her and she said "love you" without being prompted. It melted my heart.

Most of you know that I am on a FB group with other moms from around the US that have adopted kids with imperforate anus and chloaca. It is such an amazing group who share struggles, secrets, and successes. This week there were a few moms here doing some testing with their child with Dr. Levitt and there are a few moms who live within an hour or so of Columbus. So we planned a dinner out last night. Some of us had our kids and some of us didnt. It was such a fun evening getting to know these other moms who are dealing with some of the same struggles. Some moms who I have been chatting with on FB but never would have thought we would get a chance to meet. I met incredible moms and some pretty cute kiddos!! We all have such a special bond that brings us together. Pretty cool that FB can do that for us!!

 

So anyway...at this point, we are all just praying for poop!! :) I know...our whole life is revolved around poop. But that's the way it is with a child with this special need! Well, and I guess with my 3 other boys too who dont have this special need but were so very "special" with their poop issues! ;) So she has to have a bowel movement to even think about leaving this place. Our surgeon was goofing around and predicted tomorrow at 11 am. it would happen! Praying he is right! He IS pretty darn good! ;)

Since they dont think we will leave until Sunday, we decided to meet up with my parents half way tomorrow and have the boys come down for the weekend until we leave. We miss them so much and we think it will be nice for Mayleigh to have them around. It will make things a bit trickier but will be a nice distraction. They have so much to do here at the hospital. An art cart comes around once a day for the kids to paint or do art projects, they have a playroom on every floor, they have a reading area, and also a clubhouse (the call it) which is a place you can sign your kids in for 1.5 at a time 2X a day and they can play and do art projects. One of us will be staying at the Ronald McDonald house across the street with the boys and they have lots to do there. A playroom, a library, and there is a playground right out front of the hospital. I think one of us will take the kids to the zoo one afternoon. Sounds like its a good one! I am really looking forward to seeing the boys and having a change of pace to get us through the rest of this stay!

Please just say a little prayer that Brennan feels comfortable seeing Mayleigh the way she is and seeing all the medical equipment she is hooked up to. He didnt like seeing her with the NG tube in her nose and all the tubes coming out of her IV in her hand. Poor thing...he gets anxiety about stuff like this and it just freaks him out.  They have a life specialist who helps acclimate the siblings and deal with any fears they might have. We have already spent time talking with her and she is getting stuff ready for when they come. Again, this hospital is just top of the line! We have heard there is a possibility of hooking up the wii system to Mayleigh's tv so I am sure the boys will do just fine here! ;)

I will leave you with some cute pictures from today!! We had a good day and we are so proud of our brave girl!!!

Doing a little drawing on the iPad

Our friends who were here for testing, Erin and Ava, came up to visit. They were so sweet, brought balloons and pictures! It was a fun change of pace to our day! And Ava brought so much life to this room for that hour! We all enjoyed it. What a cutie she is!! 

First time on her feet since surgery! She looks miserable but we were all shocked at actually how well she did. The nurse predicted bloody murder screaming! We were so glad our tough girl proved her wrong! ;)

one goal checked off!!

playing in the play room!

She even walked back about half way! 

The physical therapist came right after our walking venture so it ended up being bad timing. M wasnt really in the mood for more playing. We are looking foward to her coming back tomorrow!

Captured a sweet smile today when we were playing. It is so nice to see our Mayleigh come back!

Haha! This is the nifty shower cap we use to wash her hair! It is a  less shampoo and its kinda neat! It comes out of a warmer so its nice and warm and Mayleigh enjoys when we massage her head with it!!