Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Soon, but not soon enough..

The holidays mean spending time with family, shopping, baking cookies.. not worrying about when or if the scheduling nurse will call. Today I played phone tag with her while we were, oddly enough, sitting right in front of the hospital. Pip's MRI is scheduled for January 6th. And then the follow up with the Dr on the 13th. I'm assuming surgery will be in the beginning of February.. we'll get to that when the appointment comes. At least the scheduling part is done. And I just have to worry about the no food or milk for 8 hours prior, and then nothing at all after 7am. She'll be cranky that's for sure. It'll be a while before she can eat/drink. Like why are you starving me mom!? :( it'll be tough.

Hopefully surgery will be first thing in the morning so it'll be a bit easier. So, I suppose I'll try to enjoy my holiday and tackle my nerves in two weeks. I'm just worried that my independent two year old will be a nightmare when her independance is taken away for a bit.. wish us luck!

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Shut up, mind.

No call from the Dr yet about that mri. I doubt it'll happen before next month. Christmas is a week away. I should be excited, happy. My father in law said we need a second opinion. I wouldn't even know where to start but it has crossed my mind quite a few times. I think if I could see all her xrays it'd be different. I'm thinking next trip I'm going to ask to see them. My husband will call me overreacting I'm sure. But I think for me to better comprehend these surgeries... I peek at them when they are on screen but I really don't know what I'm looking at. And instead of showing me xrays, the Dr draws it out on the table. Like... Wouldn't it be easier to show me an actual thing?

Thoughts like this make me wary of what he's telling me.. like is it really what he's telling me or does he just want more surgeries, more money, more discomfort for my baby and family. Yes, this is very negative. But I never said my mind is always a happy place. It usually isn't. I'm still working on this.

They always tell you having kids is hard.. But worth it. We found this out to be true while pregnant with our son. Halfway through the pregnancy we found out he only had a two vessel umbilical cord. Multiple problems can come with this. Mostly with the heart.. after a few weeks they thought he had an aortic kink. Many, many ultrasounds later we were relieved that it turned out to be just an enlarged ductus. Worst case scenario was surgery to close it. Never happened like that though. His heart is nearly perfect, just blood flow is backwards. No surgery needed, no precautions, just gotta know.

Then, with Pip. Oh man. I think I still kick myself in the ass for this one. I still blame myself, and I probably always will. I know she's healthy - besides her hip - and her health was never an issue. But she shouldn't have had to come early. And that could very well be a reason why her hip was dislocated. Which, in the end boils down to my fault.

No pity party. No saying it's not. My mil and I were talking tonight. Pip had to be born when she was because I coded. Dead momma, dead baby. And little time to react. Hell, no OR for the procedure either. They had to get her out and fast. So, maybe she was breech. Maybe, just maybe the Dr pulled her out by her left leg a little too hard. Dislocated it. But no one knew. Or thought to check. I'm not blaming him. He saved her life. This is minimal stuff to go through because I have her here with me. But, once again my mind isn't all rainbows and unicorns. And I ultimately blame the person who probably could have prevented all of it at the beginning: me.

As I lay here, staring at her monitor, watching her sleep.. I just want to go in there and lay with her. Snuggle her and tell her we'll get through this. Together. But it wouldn't be for her, she has no clue what is going to happen. It'll be for me.

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Freedom has never tasted so sour..

It's been 14 months since I last posted. Not much has happened. Pip has been in the rhino brace for naps and bed since the last time I updated. She started walking in May around her brother's 4th birthday which we celebrated in Disney. In October this year we went on a cruise for Halloween. Both kids were Captain America and American Dream. I quit my job at the daycare and started cleaning at night for the same amount of money and less hours and I get to stay home with my kids in the daytime.

We always knew she'd need another surgery.. just not so soon.. Today I took Pip to her follow up since she turned two in November. She did great. She walked into the room by herself and let the nurse measure her and weigh her and take her temperature without even batting an eye. Then she walked to the room by herself and let me put a gown on her. Then it was time for the xray, she walked to the xray room by herself and it took a little coaxing to get her on the table but she did wonderful. The xray tech held her legs in position. And I knew something was up when they came back for more.

Back to waiting for the Dr. When he finally came in he had us walk down the back hall and then he examined her legs. He kept saying "hm.." .. well, apparently her left leg - the one that was dislocated - is longer than the other one which is odd with ddh. But also that the socket is still way too shallow.. So, that means one thing..


Drum roll please...


Another surgery. He said this one, he will make an incision on the outside of her thigh and cut her femur to get it into the socket better to hopefully form it. This time the cast should only be on 4-6 weeks but I'm not holding my breath. I'm just ready for this to be done. I'm ready for no more surgeries, no more casts. No more worrying when she's sedated and on the operating table. No more seeing my baby in pain after. But I guess we gotta go through all this to have those healthy hips.


Her MRI will be scheduled asap and then surgery will be soon after. I think it's going to be harder this go because she's losing her mobility. And she can comprehend more. Hopefully it'll go quickly, kinda like last time.


Oh and her rhino brace is kicked to the curb. For 14 months now and it isn't helping at all. Dr said it was up to us and I would like to let my baby sleep comfortably while she can.