Wednesday, September 17, 2014

September 16, 2014 -- Two Weeks Post Op Today!!!

It's been a busy last couple days, and so I'm behind on getting an update out, but here goes. . . 

Overall, Hope is doing really well. . . we are so very thankful for God's grace over her complication-free recovery to this point!  And on Sunday, I was overwhelmed with gratitude for God's grace in surrounding us with each of you, dear ones!  How you have poured prayer, love, ideas, encouragement, Scripture, meals, gifts, visits, hugs, messages, and so much more!  We are humbled and incredibly thankful to the Lord for how He sees us through difficult times by the outpouring of love from the body of Christ!  Your compassion to not only feel heavy-hearted for us, but to be moved to action. . . the action of caring for us, showing us love, encouraging us, providing for us, lifting us up to the Great Throne of Mercy. . . tears flowed Sunday night as I thought of all the ways God showered His grace and love on this over the past couple weeks, truly over the last couple of years + when this journey began.  Thank you just doesn't cut it, but it is all we have. . . thank you, dear ones, for your precious love and care for our family!  May you know the impact you are having on this Peacock flock!!!

So on to how our girlie is doing. . . 
Hope's Sunday went very well.  She had the fewest back spasms so far, and we were so encouraged.  She seemed to tolerate that first night with no Morphine on board quite well.  She had a bit more pain, but nothing that kept her from sleeping, or getting up to the bathroom.  I mentioned to her later than evening that it had been a great day, with NO screaming from horrible back spasms. . . Hope replied, "Well, I did have a few last night, but I didn't want to wake you."  What a sweet girlie we have been blessed with!  She has a precious compassionate heart for her family, as well!

Monday was an exciting day, as Hope spent a couple hours starting school!  She got to skype in on her science class live, and thoroughly enjoyed connecting with her new teacher and classmates!  What a wonderful school she is blessed to be a part of. . . another place that surrounds her with love and support!  Her beloved Mrs. Kornelson, her Educational Assistant (EA), came to assist with this start back to school and the start of Junior High, Grade 7!  When did our girlie grow up. . . I can't have a jr high student, can I?!?!  : ) 


Today Hope did almost a full day of school at home!  She started at 9:15 am and went until about 2:30 pm.  She skyped into her science class again, and also her girl's Bible class!  She started on science homework, and continued to work with Mrs. Kornelson to get all her books and subjects for this year set up and organized.  How thankful we are for such an organized Mrs. Kornelson!  She is a life-saver for us!  Hope found out that she no longer has spelling words/quizzes in Grade 7, and she was very disappointed, so Mrs. Kornelson is going to "add" a spelling section to her weekly assignments, "just for fun!"  Too funny!  At the end of her day, after praying with Mrs. Kornelson, Hope was asked what her favorite part of her first day was.  She replied, "Mrs. Kornelson, then Mrs. Kornelson, then Mrs. Kornelson again, and then doing Science homework. . . it was fun!"  We are so thankful that our girl appreciates and loves so deeply those that pour so faithfully and whole-heartedly into her life!

Hard at work at home with dear Mrs. Kornelson!!!


As far as Hope's recovery over the past couple days, here are some continued prayer requests. . . 

1.  Pain control. . . we continue to try to figure out how best to manage her pain so that she is able to maximize her time out of the bed, get up to the bathroom as needed, and complete tasks like focus on schoolwork.  We took away her nightime Morphine dose, with the first night going okay.  However, her next two nights grew progressively worse, with last night a very poor night's sleep as a result.  So we had to rethink things again.  We decided to try cutting her Morphine pills in half, and giving half overnight, and half in the morning, for a more constant level of pain control.  We started that tonight, and as she cried for help with another nasty back spasm, just after being settled to bed, we were very thankful for God's leading in that!  The pill actually cut uneven, so we gave the smaller piece at bedtime, and she'll get the bigger piece tomorrow am.  Also we are continuing to tweak Hope's transfers and how best to move her with as little jarring and muscle strain.  My sister came to help this week as well, so that hopefully Trevor can get out a few times as he needs. . . he has only been able to work from home since coming home from the hospital. Hope has "approved" mom for lifting her now, but either of us still need help with her legs up/down to prevent jarring her back as she either sits down or stands up. . . this is the tricky part, and even this morning, we had a failed attempt which jarred her neck and caused a tremendous amount of pain.  She described it as feeling like her neck broke. . . poor girlie. . . and daddy barely bumped her as he sat her down. . . so it doesn't take much!  Makes her transfers nerve-wracking, but we are figuring out things that work better little by little and she is great for adding her input, too!  : )  Such a blessing when not that long ago, she was unable to communicate! 

2.  Hope's mobility and time in chair. . . Hope is needing to start increasing the amount of time in her chair.  It continues to be a struggle for her with complaints of a very sore neck when up, requiring her wheelchair to be tipped very far back, almost fully reclined.  She also tires quickly in her chair.  Tonight we took her for a walk outside with the lovely weather, however the bumps on the road/walkway as we went along, left her very sore tonight at bedtime.  So we are reminded that this is a very long road to recovery and although we'll continue to try to increase her time in the chair, we have to be careful and patient to not push her too hard and then she suffers trying to get back on top of her pain control.  Hope is excited with the goal tomorrow to get up three times. . . morning school, afternoon school, and then supper.  So far she has only been up once per day, so this will be a big increase, and we'll see how she does.  We're encouraging her to go slow and do three short stints, rather than one longer one that tuckers her out so much more.

3.  Constipation. . . Hope has had some continued issues with this, but still better than last week.  Her GI tract is just taking it's time getting back to usual.  We are trying to push some foods that will help naturally (rather than using medicinal methods that send her too far the other way).  She also needs to drink more fluids. . . never easy getting our kids to drink enough, eh!  Lying flat so much makes getting enough fluids into her a challenge too.  Things are coming along, but it's been very slow, and the timing of things has impacted her sleep, which is also not ideal.

4.  Wound healing. . . Hope's incision dressing is coming off.  I did a big fix on Sunday, and then again today.  So her dressing is not remaining occlusive so that bacteria cannot get underneath.  My fixes help, but it just keep peeling off, and we're supposed to keep this on for another 1 1/2 weeks.  I also noticed a small amount of bloody drainage on the top side of the dressing, close to her neck.  This time, it is for sure drainage on the inner core of the drainage and not just bloody stained steri-strips showing through the dressing edges!  It is not a large amount and so I did not call the nurse today, but we will keep an eye on it and make sure it does not start to increase, as this could be a sign that the wound is opening up underneath the dressing.

5.  Protection from illness. . . Trevor and Gabi have been sick the last two days.  Gabs came home early from school on Monday and spent today at home, as well.  Trevor was feeling pretty grim on Sunday night and all day Monday, but both are now on the mend. . . praising the Lord for this!  Gabs will return to school tomorrow.  Thankful that Hope and I have avoided it, and praying that will continue.

Our sick girlie has an afternoon sleep, snuggled up in blankets and stuffies in Hope's recliner chair in the living room.  Sweet girlie!


6.  Finally, just the usual requests for wisdom, strength, rest, etc. (which I know you have already been praying for us. . . thank you!!!  Life is getting busier as we continue to move further away from the surgery date, and although Hope is better than before, we are still struggling to manage everything.  

Thank you dear ones, for your continued prayers for our family!  We praise God for you!!!  


Hope snuggling her little cousin during family prayer time before he went off to bed with his mama!  Such special buddies!!!  Hope sure loves little ones, especially her little snuggly cousin!!!

So good to see our Gabi girl feeling much better, and also enjoying having her little cousin visit!  Super duper buddies. . . not sure those look like, "I'm about to go to sleep for an early morning" faces, though!  : )

You are loved, dear ones!!! 
Thank you so much for continuing to pray for us!!!       

1 comment:

  1. Thank you again for sharing, the pictures you shared are precious. My continued prayer for you guys is that you find adequate rest and that there be no complications from the surgery. I pray for Hopes body to heal properly and wisdom for those still treating Hope. I also pray for the rest of your family, and send you my heartfelt gratitude that you are not alone and that God is with you. I pray things go easier over the next couple of month, and that Hope will get caught up in her school. Always in my prayers, God Bless you all.

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