We finally made it out!

Well, it's been a few days since we've posted, but we wanted you to know that the doctor arrived in Amy's room last Thursday night about 10:45 p.m. We drove away from the hospital a little after midnight, and spent the night at my grandmother's house. On Friday we drove to Fresno, which was a bit of a challenge for Amy, but she made it OK. Bumps in the road and turns were especially difficult for her, so we tried to choose the smooth pavement! It took us 8 hours to get home because we needed to stop several times for long breaks, but we made it home at 7:30 p.m. Friday. On Saturday, we washed clothes and re-packed our suitcases and our car so that we could leave for our week of family camp at Redwood Christian Park, where we are now! Whew! Amy is doing very well, and is tolerating the oral pain medications without nausea. We are spacing the medication times out more and more, and they still seem to be effective. She is able to walk around the camp on her own for the most part. There is a golf cart "taxi" for those who need a little assistance, and the driver knows to be on the lookout for Amy when she needs a ride somewhere. The weather is perfect, the teaching is good, the fellowship is wonderful, camp staff cooks and cleans up, and we are enjoying relaxing here. Amy did a bit too much yesterday and missed dinner and the evening session in order to sleep, so we decided to stay at camp today instead of go to the beach with everyone else (Wednesday is beach day at camp). Megan, Amy's cousin, stayed at camp with us and we had a nice outing to Boulder Creek for lunch and looking around the shops for a little while. Then, back to camp for a nap!
Thanks to all who have been following this blog, praying, and sending best wishes our way. Amy will enter another post later today or tomorrow.

We're trapped in the hospital and we can't get out!

We are still in the hospital, and it's 9:45 p.m. The doctor has been in surgery all day doing more procedures like Amy's, and he hasn't shown up to discharge her yet. Here are a few of the positive benefits to staying this long:
1. Amy had room service for all 3 meals again today. Mom and I had dinner compliments of the Ronald McDonald House (they serve lunch and dinner all week, at no charge to the patient families - even those who aren't staying there).
2. Amy got to watch some of her favorite t.v. shows without being interrupted.
3. At 5:30, a member of the Healing Arts team came to Amy's room and entertained us with our own private guitar and singing concert for half an hour! He was very talented, and his songs were quite soothing. He gave concerts and toured in Russia for several years, and founded an American/Russian youth organization. It was a wonderful treat.
4. Amy's bed is comfortable and she can sleep all she wants.
5. When we finally get out of here, the traffic will be minimal.
6. The parking lot doesn't charge if you leave after 8:30 p.m.
7. Our hospital wing is fairly empty and it is quiet tonight. No crying babies tonight.
8. The extra rest is good for healing.
We do look forward to leaving, however, so that we can get a bit of rest before we have to drive to Fresno tomorrow.

Balancing act

Working on finding the balance of oral pain medications, anti-nausea meds, and food. Had a rough night of nausea but now we are on track and think we have this figured out. Doctor has a busy day so we may not get out till later today. That's OK, as we are just resting and hanging out. Amy watched The Price Is Right again today.

Leaving tomorrow!

Dr. LoSasso said that if Amy doesn't need morphine tonight, she can leave tomorrow! Yay! She hasn't needed it all day, and she will probably be fine tonight. We will spend one night at my grandmother's, then drive home on Friday. Had another dog visit today, which was fun. Thanks for your continued prayers, especially for tomorrow night when mom and I will be the nurses taking care of her!

What a difference a day makes

Amy improved so much yesterday, it was fantastic! She was able to eat a slight bit more, and get up and walk. She requested her i-pod and I caught her humming to herself! She even sang! Wow.
Today is even better - this morning after she woke up she wanted her phone so she could text her friends, she watched a video on her phone that she had made with her cousins and laughed a lot, watched The Price Is Right, and a DVD of her cousin Allegra's dance class. There is a 14-year old boy who had surgery yesterday and Amy walked to his room to visit with him and encourage him. Then she went to X-ray to have her pre-discharge x-rays (got to ride in a wheelchair for that one).

Glad yesterday is over!

Yesterday was a very difficult day for Amy. She was in a cycle that she needed to break out of - her epidural medication caused nausea, which made it nearly impossible for her to eat. In order to transition her to oral pain medication, which would decrease her nausea, she had to eat something so she could take the pills. She tried eating a few spoons of broth in the morning, but threw up. So the nurse decided to just stop the epidural medication and lessen the nausea enough to enable Amy to eat some crackers. That meant that she experienced the pain sensations in her chest that had been blocked by the epidural. Thankfully, after a long day of alternating with pain and pressure in her chest, and nausea, she made it off the epidural completely and onto oral pain medication! Whew! She still receives Valium through her I.V. when the pressure is too intense in her chest, but overall she is very much improved. Last night she sat on the edge of the bed with her feet hanging over the edge for about 15 minutes, and that was a victory. Today she has much work in store: sitting up in bed again, moving to a chair and sitting in it for a while, eventually walking sometime today, eating, and more.
She had quite a lot of pain about an hour ago (7 on a scale of 10) and has received some pain meds. We will attempt to get her out of bed soon.

Sunday night

First thing tonight, I want to let everyone know about my wonderful cousin, Matt Anderson, his wife Donna Balsam, and their two lovely daughters, Eva and Ruby. They live about 15 minutes from the hospital, and have been our "home base" for the hospital time as well as for the consultations we have had with the surgeon during the past months. THANK YOU SO MUCH! It is fantastic to go to their home to shower, nap, etc, and my mom and Dan have been spending nights there.
Amy sat up today, and even stood up (assisted) for several minutes today! It made her nauseated, but she did it anyway. She also used the breathing device and did some good breathing and holding her breath. Nausea is her constant companion, and an unwelcome one at that. It is a result of the pain medication she has. Please pray for relief of nausea for her, so she can get up more regularly, and begin eating. Pain medication has been reduced tonight, so she can perhaps not feel so sick. A little pain in exchange for not feeling nauseous isn't a bad exchange.