South Padre Vacation

This past week we went on vacation with my brother Jim and his family. It was a lot of fun and I am so thankful they asked us to join them. 8 of us in a car for 6.5 hours wasn't too terribly horrible afterall. We stayed at Saida Towers condos. It was right on the beach and had 3 pools. We also went to Schlitterbahn. Poor Katie got lost there, but she remembered our plan if we were to get separated and followed it. I'm so proud of my baby!!

The kids had a wonderful time with their cousins. I am so thankful they are all so close.

Blogging again

My kids have discovered my blog and have begged me to start writing again, so I will. It's been a busy past few years!! : )

"I HATE You!!"

My precious Sarah obviously learned something new at school today. She got angry at me about something (can't even remember what made her mad) and she started yelling at me, "I HATE you! I HATE you! I HATE you!" My, my, such venom coming from my usually happy 4-year old!! She sat in time-out quite a while until she calmed down. I must say I was thrilled about how clearly she said her words. Her p-flap has made such a difference in her speech!!

Katie can ride a bike!!

My baby can now ride a 2-wheeler!! Yippee!! A friend of mine told me a good method of teaching your child to ride. When you take off the training wheels, take off the pedals, too. That way, your child learns to balance on the bike. When they can balance, put the pedals back on. It worked like a charm for us. I took off the training wheels and pedals on Sunday. Katie could easily glide across the cul-de-sac in a few days. On Friday, I put the pedals on. I held on for about a minute so she could get the hang of the pedals and that's all it took!! I'm way too old to be running behind a bike and trying to teach her the old fashioned way..lol.

A Trip to the Museum

Today we went to the Museum of Natural Science with my brother and his son. My sister-in-law is about to give birth to twins, so we decided to give her a break and let her stay home. The kids had a great time and enjoyed seeing the dinosaurs the best.

Sarah's p-flap surgery

Pre-Op: Monday, 2/9, we had our pre-op. Our appointment was at 10:30. Dr. Stal told me that of all the surgeries he performs, this is the most dangerous because of breathing issues that might arise (gee, thanks, doc). We were done at Dr. Stal's office around 11:30, but then we had to go pre-register for surgery. We did not get finished until 1:30. Sarah was a real trooper and behaved so well today!!

Surgery Day/Day 1: We left the house around 8:00 AM on Tuesday to check in at TCH by 9:30. We got to the check in area around 9:32, so we just missed it. I was worried Sarah was getting sick because she woke up with a cough, but the nurse checked her out and said her lungs sounded fine (I think she has allergies because she sometimes wakes up with a cough and then doesn't cough again all day).They took us to the surgical waiting area around 10:30, where I had to change Sarah into scrubs. She was fine until then, but when I changed her she started crying. Her surgery was supposed to be at 11:30, but it wasn't until about 12:15 that they came to get her. The anesthesiologist tried to convince her to go back with him, but she wouldn't budge. They let me go back with her to the operating room as she clung to my neck. I had to put on scrubs and a hat. (Good thing I've lost weight so I actually fit in the scrubs).I got to hold her while they put the mask on her face. After about a minute, she was out and I left. They told me the surgery would be about 1.5 hours, but after about an hour, they were done. Dr. Stal said her palate was a mess. He had to open it up and fix part of it and tighten some muscles. Then he did the p-flap (basically a flap of skin from the back of her throat to the top of her palate). He believes she now have the structure necessary to speak more clearly. (Gosh, I hope so!!) Dr. Stal said the first 2 days are brutal, but they do improve quickly after that.About 2:00, they let me go to the recovery room. She was shrieking in pain and lashing about. This just broke my heart. She had 2 tubes in her nose, one to keep her breathing passage open and the other was a drain into her tummy. She also had "no-nos" (arm restraints) on her arms. She was not a happy camper.The nurse gave Sarah some more pain medicine and she finally settled down. She did this several more times while we waited for a room on the PCU wing (Progressive Care Unit). The anesthesiologist finally agreed to let the nurse give Sarah a sedative so that she would rest. After it went into effect, we went to our room on the 7th floor. (Sarah is being given Tylenol with codeine every 4 hours and morphine every 4 hours for breakthrough pain)Throughout the night Sarah would rest for about an hour, hour and a half, and then wake up screaming in pain. She finally had to go potty around 10:00 PM (after not using it since 10:30 in the morning). Needless to say, I did not get much sleep last night. Around 2:00 AM I climbed into bed with her to try to get her settled and rested about an hour.

Day 2: At 5:45 AM Dr. Stal's resident came to check on Sarah. He removed her drainage tube and looked at the throat. He said everything looks great.Today has been a little better. She was able to sit up and watch videos for 30 minutes to an hour before conking out again. She still screams in agony when her pain meds wear off, but she is much more alert today. But she refused to drink anything so we probably not be released tomorrow afterall. Sarah mostly slept through the night. She woke up about 3:00 because she had to potty. After that, she was in pain so I called for the nurse to give her her pain medication. It took over 30 minutes and 3 calls to get him here (grrrrrrr.....). Then about 20 minutes after she had her medicine, she started throwing up. Again, I called twice for help and no one came. (I am definitely not happy with the night staff!) About 4:30, Sarah went back to sleep.

Day 3: At 6:00, Dr. Stal's resident came to check on her. He removed the breathing tube from her nose. He said her throat looked good, but he is concerned about her nausea and that she won't drink anything. He gave her something for the nausea and told me she can't be released until she starts at least drinking without throwing up. He said that the worst of her anestesia should be through her body today which should help the nausea. Sarah is feeling much better today and is watching a "Caillou" dvd as I type this. She let me leave the room twice today so I could go get something to eat (she usually does not let me leave her side). She is smiling today and feeling much better, but she is still not drinking. Ugh!

Day 4: Sarah is feeling better today and sipping on a little bit of chicken noodle soup. The doctor came and asked if I thought she would drink more at home. He said if I wanted to go home, and thought she will drink, he will release her. He said of all the kids he's performed p-flap surgery on, Sarah has been at the hospital the longest. Great!! Not a record I wanted her to have!! Around 2:30 PM we were released.

Days 5-8: Sarah drinks more day by day. She still does not have her appetite back. Sleeping is now an issue. She wakes up from nightmares all night long. I think she is still scared from being in the hospital. By day 8 she is pretty much back to her normal routine.

Day 9: Post-Op appointment. All is well and Sarah can go back to school tomorrow. Yippee!!