Day 3 Post-op, Friday
I got to the hospital early this morning to swap with Jeremy. The nurse was wanting to stay on top of her pain which I loved to hear even though Haley doesn't want to take it but finally does. I was told we are going home today but there are certain things we need to do. The Neurosurgeon came in and again gave me the impression he was excited about how well the surgery went. We will see him in a few months when her brain has had a chance to recover. We will do another MRI and discuss then what, ...
Day 2 post-op, Thursday
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, ...
Day 1 Post-op evening
What began as a calm morning did not continue throughout the day. Haley was off doing the MRI when I showed up at the hospital this morning. She came back and was sleeping for a while. That was great because she had a bad night.
She woke up happy, smiling, laughing, drinking and drinking some more which is very normal for her. She is my thirsty child! She ate a few bites of food. She tried watching a movie but the tv was on the left side. She would need to lay her head on the left side (the ...
Surgery Day!
Today was the big surgery day. We started the day out with Little Chef C waking me up just after 4am to tell me it was after 4. I told her I was waking up at 4:30 and would get her up at 5:00 so she could go lay back down in her bed.
When I finally woke the girls, one said she was tired but the others woke quickly super excited about their day. We dropped off kids to fly on an airplane and have a great few days at Disneyland. They saw their cousins and didn't even turn around to say ...
The day before surgery.
I've been packing and packing. The older girls are going with my SIL and BIL to Disneyland! There is no better place for them to go to keep their minds off their little sister. Yes, we are trying to shelter them from most of the events this week. We do not find it necessary for them to see her at her most awful state in the hospital. They might see pictures later (if we take them), but it won't be terrible because they will know she is fine. We are thankful plans worked out that our girls are ...
It’s all in the details.
In the process of finding out what was wrong with Haley I was frustrated with the communication channel to obtain test results. Looking back that poor communication was a blessing. Supposing results were reported to me immediately and the next test performed we would have found out about Haley's brain tumor a week earlier (or so). I would have taken her by myself to the MRI with the baby because I would have been on my own. That would have been horrible only because I now know she does not ...
How are the other girls?
I have been asked how the older girls are doing and how much do they know and understand. On Saturday, the day after we found out, we explained in very simple terms to all three what was going to happen in the near future. Later that day I was with just the 2 older girls and told them more, still leaving out the really scary details. My oldest was making frightening faces as I was explaining. I didn't think she was going to be ok. She is my super sensitive, emotionally tender child. But, she ...
Our first Neurosurgeon appointment.
Haley was released from the Outpatient Clinic. We were on our way home to pick up everyone and go to the other hospital when my mom called. She started out with, "What do you know and what do you want to know?" I said I didn't know a lot. She kept saying it is benign, it is benign. That was the best news of the day. She reminded me she used to work with some Doctors, nurses and staff members in Neurosurgery. That was comforting.
After dropping off kids and making sure the other girls were ...
The first of many MRI’s.
Plans worked out that I was able to take Haley to her MRI alone. If the baby became hungry before we returned Jeremy would give him a bottle. If that didn't go well they would meet me at the hospital to feed him. At this point we were happy the hospital was only 10 minutes away.
We checked in, went to a small room where the nurses did their regular check up and took some history. Then they had Haley sit facing me on my lap and holding her arm a particular way so they could put an IV in her ...
Doctors visits began.
We had the appointments scheduled for the two specialists so we were just waiting but not necessarily worried. One night we were watching the news when they talked about someone going in for brain surgery to remove a tumor. I remember thinking she is going to have a brain tumor, but then thought I was just being crazy.
I took her in for her Neurology appointment. We first saw the PA who was doing some motor tests with Haley. He said, "touch my finger, touch your nose, touch my finger, touch ...
How the brain tumor discovery began.
We went on vacation in March when the kids were off track. The first morning on the road Haley had cereal for breakfast, nothing out of the ordinary. Immediately after finishing she threw up. I really do mean immediately. She swallowed that last bite and up it came. She asked to be held, which was uncommon because she is a mover and a shaker. She fell asleep immediately in my arms. Again, it was within 30 seconds! It was not even 8 am and she was already taking a nap! How strange is that?!�...
Here comes a big change!
This past week my family has been through quite an ordeal. We went from discovering our Little Chef H, Haley, was having seizures to discovering just a few days later that she has a very large brain tumor and surgery is within 7-10 days. She is a very unique case because she is 2, the tumor is large and the type of tumor is difficult to remove.
My focus at this moment needs to be primarily on her needs. If we need a distraction we might post something here and there. (We were really looking ...
