Monday, March 24, 2008

Surgery updates

[1:15pm central time] Molly was in good spirits as they took her away for the surgery.

[2:00] Just got the update that the prep work is complete, and the operation is under way.

[3:10] They are still working on the first leg, and it will still be a while until the surgery is complete. Molly is doing well.

[4:15] They have finished with the left leg, and are now moving on to the right. There has not been a decision yet about rodding her arm.

[5:30] Surgery complete! We just talked to Dr Esposito, and he said the surgery went well. He decided not to rod her arm. They will be creating a molded plastic splint for her arm in the next couple days. Both tibias now have f-d rods, with one osteotomy (break with an incision) each.

We should be able to go see her in about 45 minutes. Dr. Esposito thinks that the recovery should be much better than last year, since we didn't have to touch her femurs.

She will have splints on her legs for 3-4 weeks, and we won't do any baths or water activity until after that point.

He said her knees will be the most sore part because he has to insert the rod through the knee joint. She had a slight non-union in the right leg as well. The fracture from Friday was only a crack, which is what we figured based on her behavior and comfort level.

She will be on Morphine, Toridol (IV Ibuprofen), Tylenol, Tussionex, Valium (for spasms) for the next 24-36 hours.

We are now just extremely anxious to see her. These next 30 minutes will really drag on.

[10:45] We are in our room and happy to be together. She has been doing remarkably well. She has slept a little off and on amongst all of the nursing activity. We are trying to figure out the best pain management regimen for her. She hasn't needed any Valium (for spasms) yet, which is a good sign. She has asked for a lot of "nails", which means patting her belly with our fingernails, and has wanted us close by.

She has just woken up and asked for a snack and just had half a popsicle and some jello. We are already seeing glimpses of our wonderful little girl.

We have watched the same few videos over and over and that seems to be doing a good job of keeping her mind off the pain.

6 comments:

Lori and family said...

Thanks for the update!

We are keeping Molly in our thoughts and prayers. We send our love.

Lori and family

Ruth said...

Glad to hear things are underway, we are thinking of you all and will check back later for any updates. Love from Ruth,Scott and Olivia

Anonymous said...

Thanks for updating on Molly. Hope it is not too much longer. We have been thinking about you all day.

Dottie, Tom and Nicholas

Anonymous said...

Way to go Molly! Give her a big hug from Nick.

Anonymous said...

Fantastic news so far. We are so glad that the worst is over the the recovery is underway! We're keeping all of you in our thoughts.

PT Pam said...

Sarah, what a road you have been on! I am glad that surgery went well and that Molly is doing as well as can be expected. Tell Molly that I can't wait to see her again!
Pam