A great Nurse Practitioner came on duty last night and solved some problems. Haley had one IV in each foot. Each time medication was pushed through the IV she screamed in pain! The day shift nurse observed this, checked the IV and said it was good each time. The NP decided if it hurt her that much lets take it out. She still has one in the other foot and all they only needed one. She also told the nurse if she screams and cries for 10 minutes immediately inject the stronger medication. Jeremy, being there at night was so happy this NP was willing to change some things to lessen her pain. She seemed to be more of an advocate for Haley then anyone else had been. She didn’t want Haley to be in pain like she had been experiencing.
Haley’s pain causes her to thrash around in bed and cover her head with a pillow wanting to be somewhere else. She yells at anyone in the room and especially if they want to touch her. “Get out!” “Don’t look at me!”
I am exhausted! It is emotionally hard watching Haley cry, scream, kick, yell because she is in pain and because she does not want to be there. I can’t fix it. I am being asked what do you want to do about her medicine, but I’m just her mom. I know she is not herself. I know she is in pain. I do not know the medicine side. I wish they would have a plan and stop giving me options expecting me to choose which one is best for her when I really have no clue how the different medicines would help her.
Haley has not wanted to wear the hospital gown so I let her make that decision. Today I brought one of her princess dresses to put on. She was Cinderella all day. She wanted HER clothes so that made her a little happier. She made her food choices today which consisted of strawberries, raspberries and fishy crackers. Of course she had her apple juice constantly with her. The sippy cup and her “hospital” blanket are her coveted items.
She has been watching Tangled over and over again while she is laying in bed. I did get her to let me hold her as I took her for a short walk. She could only last a few minutes then she had to lay back down. A few times later in the day she would sit on my lap for a few minutes at a time. This will be something we need to work on.
The drain came out this morning horray! Jeremy said it wasn’t very pleasant to watch the tube being taken out and seeing how much tube was inside her head. I’m glad I missed that part. I thought it would hurt to lay on the left side, but she does it now so I guess not. That is improving.
The Doctors are continually amazed at how well she is doing. We haven’t noticed any red flags in her verbal or motor skills which is a big relief. Emotionally….well I don’t think her being stuck at a hospital where she cannot exercise her will is a good place to evaluate that. We will wait and see if her personality has been affected at all.
Each day I am more and more thankful for family who are taking care of my other 4 kids. There is no way we would have been able to be patient with Haley while taking care of everyone else. Thank you all for the help!
4 Replies to "Day 2 post-op, Thursday"
Tara B September 27, 2013 (12:14 pm)
I am so glad things seem to be improving and healing for her. I am praying for you and your family.
Aunt Barb September 27, 2013 (12:19 pm)
For what it’s worth, Kimmie, I have had enough surgery to know that at this point, the doctors just need to give her all of the pain medicine she can possibly handle. She should not need to withstand one bit more pain than she absolutely must. It wears the body which is trying to heal, right down to nothing. Promise. Make her comfortable.
Cynthia Berthiaume September 27, 2013 (2:20 pm)
So glad there aren’t any side effects and hope her pain starts to go away soon!
AdenaF September 28, 2013 (1:29 pm)
It’s been awhile since I’ve visited your blog and I have just caught up on reading all of your posts. Your family will definitely be in my prayers. I have to say how much I admire you to keep blogging and reaching out. My son was diagnosed with lymphoma when he was four and I just shut down. I blocked out everyone. Did not tell anyone at the time what was going on and completely withdrew. I think a lot of it has to do with me being a control freak and this was something that was completely out of my control and I was feeling utterly helpless. Now, I really wish that I had kept blogging during that time or at least kept a journal. Everything turned out fine but he doesn’t remember what all happened and I would have liked to have had a memoir because it was nothing short of miraculous. And couldn’t we all use more prayers to help lift us up, even if it is those of people we have never met in person. He also has three older siblings (and a younger one now) and one my my most precious pictures is of his sister drawing with him in the hospital to help keep him occupied. I’m praying for a speedy complete recovery and that this experience will only strengthen your family’s faith.