2 Weeks Down ? to Go

It has been about 2 weeks since surgery and things are getting easier... not easy, but easier.  She's sleeping much better, less frustrated and grumpy, and we've been able to get out and about a little more thank goodness because staying home all the time drives us all crazy.  Last week, we had to go to Shriners to have her cast adjusted.  This cast is different from her previous casts, which had a gore tex lining making it easier to keep her clean and dry; this cast doesn't have that and by day 4 she was SOAKED in urine causing a terrible smell, skin break down, sores, and her cast was breaking down.  The cast tech made her diapering hole bigger, cut off the broken cast pieces, tore out a bunch of stuffing, added a cloth liner to stop the stuffing from sticking to her skin, and added more fiberglass making her even heavier.  The smell is better, the sores are improving, but the cast is continuing to break down around the diapering hole, so we may need to make some more adjustments. You'd think we'd have the whole cast care thing down by now, we were even told by her previous surgeons that she had the cleanest casts they'd ever seen, but we are failing at it this time.

   Many people have asked when we will get an update, but as far as we know, her next imaging won't be until she's back in the operating room for her left side which should be around December 2. At that point, they go in with a "plan" and do what they can do and then decide on how long the next cast will be on ranging from 6-8 weeks again.  After that cast we get the Rhino cruiser hip brace for some amount of time 23/7 and then for some amount of time just at nights.  

People ask how we are a lot.  Some days are better than others.  We are so thankful for our friends and family who have been SO helpful and understanding.  Our amazing friend and neighbor set up a meal train for us, so we've eaten lots of delicious food.  Rilynn has received so many wonderful gifts, balloons, and cards that brighten up her day.  If you send us something from Amazon, please let us know so we can thank you! 

One of the hardest things to do is keep her entertained.  She watches WAY too much TV, we do a lot of art, but what toddler wants to sit all day?  She wants to get up and run around.  She continues to push on her cast and say, "Mama off", which breaks my heart because I can't wait for the stupid thing to be off for good either.  I've taken her to the zoo, we go on walks and little outings, but there are only so many things she can actually do and watching other kids run around only makes her more frustrated.  

Luckily, she's pretty verbal and can tell me what she wants and doesn't want for the most part.  She's learned to count to 7 (3 and 4 are sometimes missing). Rilynn is starting to get around by army crawling and rolling.  She's learning to pull herself up on furniture, but Dr. Roy said that's a no no putting too much pressure on her leg that could cause her femoral head to slide out of that perfect position.  

 She's started to become resourceful and uses the cast as a fanny-pack.  Over the weekend, she ate some pretzels while watching a movie.  Later that day, or maybe the next, Travis was noticing that her cast was feeling much looser than it had in the beginning and he could stick his finger pretty far up her left leg.  That's when he felt something sharp and pulled out a pretzel.  We've also found small toys and crayons in there.  

Our little minion has been to a pumpkin patch 3 times already this season. 

Nothing like a little baby Jason snuggle time to cheer a girl up.

Best friends make everything better.  We see Audrey at least 3 times a week and if we haven't seen her in a few days (or even hours) Rilynn yells, Audrey! Where Audrey?

Cast or no cast, she's still our little sour patch kid.  Have you seen the commercials?  "First they're sour, then they're sweet." That sums up Rilynn.  She'll have a huge tantrum or throw something at us.  And a minute later she gives us hugs and kisses.