Surgery/hospital week

The last week has been tumultuous.  On Wednesday, February 6, Liesel had her surgery.  We arrived at the hospital at 8:30am for check in.  She was supposed to be taken back at 10am, but didn't go until 11:20.

Totally relaxed, thanks to some Valium, prior to surgery. 

Hubs and I went to have lunch and then waited, and waited, and waited some more.  Finally, at 3:30pm, we were paged to speak with her neurosurgeon.  Her surgery took longer and was more complex than he anticipated.  He was able to untether her spinal cord, and he also removed a large portion of the fatty mass on her lower back, a result of her condition.  At 4:15pm, we were taken back to the PICU to see Liesel.  She was still unconscious.

Just out of surgery

We waited for her room to be ready and sat with her and the nurse for 30-40 minutes, before being transferred to a room on the Intermediate Care floor.  I opted to stay with her that night.  It was a very long night.

Imagine monitors beeping, nurses coming and going (sometimes multiple times an hour), noise, talking in the halls, crying in adjacent rooms, etc...  that's what my night was like.  I don't think I slept much.  Liesel slept a little more.  Each time they would come in and give her meds or take vitals, etc... she'd wake up and stay awake for 30 minutes to an hour.  Each time, I sat with her until she fell asleep before going back to bed myself.  In the morning, they moved her to a regular room on a normal wing.  That was where she stayed the remainder of our time there.

Gradually, she improved a bit each day.  We had a small set back on Friday morning as she started running a fever.  However, after checking her urine, incision, and conducting a chest x-ray, the doctors couldn't find a cause and opted to treat the fever and keep a close eye on her.  Her fever gradually subsided by the end of the day Friday.  By Saturday morning, her doctors and nurse practitioner decided it was time to start sitting up.  They raised the head of her bed 10 degrees every hour until she was up to 45 degrees.

Starting to sit up! 

Another challenge we had was getting her to eat and drink.  She was on narcotic pain meds for several days, which wreaked all kinds of havoc on her tummy.  By Saturday, she was starting to feel more like eating/drinking.  We encouraged her to drink as much as she could, and by Saturday night, they removed her catheter and turned off her IV fluids.

On Sunday (2/10), she was much improved.  She had a few visitors that day, and was able to sit up in bed and talk to them.  Hubs had stayed with her the night before and had been making her get out of bed to use the potty.  She got up some Sunday and walked around the room, to and from the bathroom.  That day we also had some suspicion of a UTI, so we took a urine sample, and it was sent to the lab for a culture.  

Monday morning, the nurse practitioner came in and told me that Liesel could go home!  They still didn't have the results of the urine culture back, but they would send us home with a prescription for antibiotics and call me if we needed to fill them.  We were super excited to head home, Liesel most of all.  She asked to go home, Every. Single. Day.  

Look at the size of that smile! 

On the night we returned home, Liesel started running a fever of 102.   The nurse practitioner was almost positive it was a UTI, but the culture results still weren't in.  On Tuesday morning, she called again and told me to fill the prescription.  After 24 hours, Liesel is already doing tons better.

Obviously, this was a VERY abridged version of my week.  Honestly, I'm completely exhausted.  So much happened over the course of that five days.  There were lots of ups and downs.  Juliet stayed with my parents during this ordeal, and every time we saw her, she was terrible for us.  She threw fits, and she rarely throws fits.  We knew Liesel's surgery was taking a huge toll on her too.  Needless to say, we are all very happy to be back under the same roof.  Hubs went back to work this past Wednesday, and our lives are slowly returning to normal.  Of course, we have to stay around the house for a week or two so that Liesel's back can heal.  We also don't want her being exposed to any germs right now as a serious illness could cause some issues.  

REUNITED!!  Sisters and best friends.