Whew! What a Weekend!

This past weekend was a busy one!  April begins the birthday "season" at our house, starting with my mom and Kate.  We allow our girls to get their ears pierced at 8 years old, so this was a special one for her! : ) We also had other fun activities that made for a FULL weekend!

Anna got a much-needed new bike...

Kate got her ears pierced...

 

 Kate opening her presents...

 

Looking cool...

Jim took the younger boys to see Th*mas the Tank Engine...

 

By the end of the weekend, we all looked like this... :)

We are home!

No need for another surgery!  No need to stay at the hospital!  Thank you Jesus!

The surgeon obviously has a different opinion of what "move her fingers" means.  He was happy with a slight wiggle.  I was expecting her to actually MOVE her fingers, not what appears as a spontaneous twitch.  Nevertheless, he seemed pleased with her progress and said that she should have a considerable more use of her hands in the next 2 weeks.

So, she got new casts which expose her complete hands.  While the old cast was off I got to see the incision. Boy, is it gnarly!  Yikes!!  She SCREAMED the entire time the new casts were put on.  But we are happy to not have to stay and don't have to see the doctor again for another 2 weeks!

I think she's a bit happier too, don't you?

Complications and Set-Backs

Well, last Friday Jim had to take Izzy to a pediatric orthopedic surgeon close to home to have her casts split.  I called the surgeons down at Children's Hospital because her fingers and the part of her hands that were exposed from the casts were very swollen and looked bruised.  He said that the casts were too tight.  Since Children's Hospital is quite a distance from us, we were glad to find a local doctor to take care of it.  However, the comments he made about her fingers and our own observations made us further concerned.  She hasn't been moving her fingers much, just a slight wiggle and a few of her fingers just curl in and she doesn't move those at all.  If we try to straighten them out, there is considerable resistance and she pulls away in pain.

So, I called one of the surgeons this morning and explained our concerns.  He said that of course he cannot say for sure what it is but it could be constrictionalization syndrome (I think I got that right). That's where part of a muscle dies from blood flow being restricted and it affects whatever part of the body that depends on that muscle.  It's permanent and worst-case.  Most likely it is that the muscle has been stretched beyond it's ability and it needs to be worked out in therapy.  The doctor told me to pack an overnight bag when we go to see him tomorrow morning, just in case a stay at the hospital is required.  Will you please join me in praying that it is not the worst-case scenario?  I really appreciate it.

Izzy is so incredibly frustrated by her inability to use her fingers.  She had such dexterity and nimbleness before the surgery.  It's upsetting to me and Jim to see her struggle and be so angry by her limitations.

In addition, her little soul has been deeply wounded.  I haven't shared before but she was so angry in the hospital.  She wouldn't even look at me.  If I tried to talk to her, she would cry. If I picked her up to comfort her, she would say "down."  She didn't smile for days and cries about EVERYTHING.  Now, this girl has 2 broken arms and is in full, double casts.  I get that.  I know that.  I live with that.  But I also know what she was like before and this little girl is not the same.  The smily, happy, loving little girl is not there like she was before.

Everyone keeps saying that kids are resilient and she'll get over this.  I sure hope so.  But we have another surgery in about 5 months with double casts... again and that concerns me.  I ask for prayers for my little girl's soul.  Her wounds obviously go deeper than the the extensive incisions and broken bones.  Thank you!

Happy Girl (Pre-Surgery)

This Girl is MIS-ER-A-BLE!

This was Izzy all weekend... hurting, uncomfortable and angry!  When she's awake, she is scowling.  If anyone looks at or talks to her, she turns her head away.  If you continue to try and engage her, she'll start to cry.  I feel so badly for her.

I wrote that on Saturday morning with the intent of posting, but have been distracted by my nursing duties for little Izzy.  Well, Sunday afternoon she started to walk around and today she is doing MUCH better.  She is still sleeping more than normal and very irritable, but I see more and more of my sweet little girl coming out.  Today we ventured out to Target and Trader Joe's.  She got a lollipop and that made her happy... for a little while. : )

She needed help taking it out of her mouth and putting it back in since her fingers are swollen and sore.  

Enjoying her treat!

We Are Home!

And it feels so good!

Even though she doesn't look all that thrilled, she's happy to be home too!

Out of Surgery! Pink casts of course!

Already met with the dr. Surgery only took 2 1/2 hours. No problems. He said "textbook" Praise Jesus!

You're feeling sleepy...

This is a pre-op picture.

In Surgery Now

We got here WAY too early, but that gave us time for her to get into her scrubs and play with some toys. They gave her some "happy juice" and then wheeled her away at 10:45am. She and I were fine until they started wheeling her to surgery and then she started crying. I got to hug her and kiss her and tell her that Jesus will take care of her... and then I started crying!  This is hard!

I am unable to post pictures, but have video of Izzy after they gave her the "happy juice" (Versed).

Now we wait...

Pre-op Appt, the Beach and No More Training Wheels!

Last week I took Isabel to Children's Hospital for her pre-op appointment. I learned a lot more about this surgery since they don't seem to tell you unless you ask specific questions. So, I learned that Izzy will be in double casts from her armpit to her fingertips... for 6 weeks. Yikes!  And then she'll have to sleep in splints until she's 17!  17 years old... that's over 15 years from now! Oh, man!!  I have no idea how she will handle the surgery and recovery. Her surgery is this Thursday.  Will you please pray for our little girl?  We will spend one night in the hospital and I will update when I can.

Last week I took the 5 youngest kids to the beach.  It was a last-minute decision and it was kind of chilly, but they had a lot of fun.  Anna, Kate and Dan mostly played by the water and the 2 "littles" hung out with me.  It was a nice afternoon.

I love this picture of Izzy!

And finally, Dan is now officially riding without his training wheels.  All of our children have learned on this same cul-de-sac with Daddy running along with them!  Isabel and Nate will be next!!