Surgery Day

So, like I said before, I was really nervous for this surgery. I know it's nothing major, but it still makes a mother nervous to watch someone else take their child and know they are being put out and cut on. Even if the cut is 1/4 an inch long! So, the reason for the surgery is that without lengthening the Achilles Tendon, the feet will be stiff, and return to their original placement. After all these weeks, there is no way I want to do that again! It is a minor procedure where they sedate her and cut the Achilles Tendon. They then place a final set of casts on to allow the tendon to regenerate and lengthen. This set stays on for three weeks, but it is the last set she will ever have to wear!

Rusty and I planned everything we could to try to make this better for Brylee. Her surgery time was 7:30 am so she couldn't have anything to eat or drink after 1:30 am. Other than the anaesthesia, this made me the most nervous. I wasn't sure how she would do not only without food, but without her Prevacid. We woke her up at 1:00 am to feed her her last bottle. She ate, and after some tummy trouble, went back to sleep like a champ. I don't think I slept more than a couple hours that night. I was so scared that my alarm wouldn't go off and I would miss her feeding or that we would sleep in and miss her surgery time. Rusty and I were up at 4:30 am and got everything ready. The last thing we did was change her diaper and put her in her car seat asleep. She slept all the way to Phoenix Children's and woke up as we were pulling into the parking lot. She couldn't have been more perfect! We got her checked in and they soon took us back to pre-op. This is when I started to get nervous. I have always been the one walking around in scrubs talking to the patients, not the mother of a patient. Life is much different from this end! The anaesthesiologist came and explained everything to us. I must have looked scared because I wasn't saying anything but he kept putting his hand on my back and saying "We will take good care of her Mom, I promise!" She threw a fit for about 10 minutes while we waited for Dr. Segal to get there, and when she realized we weren't going to feed her, she went back to sleep. Seriously, my child is a trooper!

The hardest part was when the nurse came and sat by me. I knew what she was doing. I just looked at her and said " You are going to take my baby aren't you?" She kinda laughed and said "Uh, yes". I passed off my baby to complete strangers knowing that was what was best for her. But let me tell all the mothers out there who haven't experienced this.....it SUCKS! However, I knew Dr. Segal, and I trust him totally. So, I let my baby go. Rusty promptly escorted me out to the waiting area as I cried. Good thing our parents were there! It's always nice to have that support.

After about 45 minutes, Dr. Segal walked out and told us it went great! He told us that it was for sure the tendon that was holding back her progress. Ten minutes later they let us back to see her. I came around the corner and there she was with the mask on and an IV screaming! I immediately took her and let her eat. Her tummy must have been a little upset because she threw up most of the first half of her bottle. She was really upset for the first 15 minutes, so they moved us to a quiet room so she could scream without disturbing everyone else. After that, she fell asleep hard. We got her dressed and the nurse took out her IV so we could go home. I have never been so glad to have something over!

All in all I couldn't have planned it to go any better than it did. Brylee was such a champ! She slept most of the rest of the day, which I was grateful for. With not much sleep under my belt I think I would have had a hard time with her being really fussy. Now, we wait for three weeks until she can have a FULL BATH!!!!! I can't express how much I am looking forward to giving her a real bath! I can't wait to see her play and kick in the water. Hopefully she likes it more than the baths she gets now, because she usually cries through those! Here are some pics from our big day! Thanks also for the well wishes! It was really appreciated!

Hanging with Dad before the surgery.

Ok! Seriously I am hungry!


Me wondering why he's taking a picture of me right after she threw up. If you look at her face I think she is wondering the same thing. Crazy DADDY!

Finally starting to settle down.


Look how far out her feet are turned! They are supposed to be that way, but she now looks kinda like a duck!

Casting #5

So, I have been going through my memory card and realizing how behind I am. I have had a whole lot happen since this casting, but I will try to remember for journaling sake. This was a very interesting casting. The appointment was scheduled for 9:15 am over by Phoenix Children's Hospital. That is an hour and fifteen minute drive in decent traffic from where we live. So, of course I thought I had everything together the night before, but when I saw that the clock read 8:00 am and I was still not loaded, I realized I was not as organized as I thought. I woke her up to go, which never bods well for me since I knew she would be really hungry. About half way down Ironwood toward the freeway, she started screaming and didn't stop until we got to the appointment. Needless to say, it didn't surprise me that I made it there in 45 minutes! I was in a little bit of a rush!

They cut off the casts first just like normal, but this time they sent me across the courtyard to a place called hanger. They fitted her there for the brace she will be wearing in three weeks. After that, Dr. Segal came in to do the casting and when he looked at her feet, said that she is ready for the surgery! What was even more of a shock was that they were going to do it the following Monday. That was four days away! Needless to say, I was really excited and nervous all at the same time.

These are her feet before the 5th casting. Lookin' good!

Scampers

Thursday morning I awoke in a great mood! I still had some time before Brylee woke up and needed to eat, so I took the opportunity to get stuff done. In my head I was laying out my "TO-DO" list. Eat breakfast, take medicine, start a load of laundry, pay bills, feed Bronx.......Oh wait I'll just feed him now. (Imagine me opening my back door to grab his bowl) HOLY CRAP!!!!! His water is moving! What the........





Yes folks, that is when I found him (or her)! Scampers had entered my life! He was treading water as best as a mouse can with legs 3/4 an inch long. His little paws pushed together as if he were doggy paddling (no pun intended). His little beady eyes looked up at me as if to say "Please save me!" He would peddle for as long as he could, then sink to the bottom. I would watch with anticipation to see if he would ever just give up and swallow. Soon enough a little bubble would escape his little lungs and float to the surface. I would think...."This is it, I am about to witness scampers last moments!" But, tis not so! With a burst of energy he would push off with his powerful legs and paddle again until he ran out of steam. I couldn't help but find compassion for this disgusting vermin.

We felt a real connection, this mouse and I. Lately, I know exactly what scampers feels like. The air, it seems, is just beyond my reach. I feel like I keep paddling and paddling and somehow I still sink every once in a while. Just when I think I will just swallow and give up, either friends, family, a smile from my daughter, or a kiss from Rusty, just gives me enough energy to push my way to the surface again. As I watched scampers swim, I knew I couldn't just let him drowned. That would be like me giving up as well. So, I called Rusty and asked what to do.

Now, as much as scampers and I are like "this" (imagine my two fingers crossed right now), I still don't want a mangy, dirty vermin running around my house! So, I did the only thing a rational person could have done. I put him in an old pot we were already throwing away, threw in a HUGE slice of cheese, and in went scampers. I walked with him to the trash can, wishing there was another way, but at last he went in. I like to think that he died of cheese overdose before the massive heat got him. So, yes, my actions resulted in the eventual demise of this mouse, but I guess I could just put him on the list of rabbits, cats, squirrels, an owl (shhhh don't tell anyone that one), and an already half dead dog that I have killed. Oh ya, and an elk! They will be lining the gates of heaven waiting. There has to be justice somehow for these animals!





So, thank you scampers for showing me that sometimes you really do have to "Just keep swimming!"

I am way too Old!

So, today is my birthday, and it has been great! I am sitting home alone tonight...(Rusty is at a Young Mens Super activity), but I have had such a great one that I don't care! To give you a little background, Rusty and I have been looking for a new SUV for a couple weeks now. The rodeo's AC was becoming quite tempermental and I won't chance it with my baby. Plus, it's just a peice! Well, Rusty and I differ a little on car shopping, so doing it together is...interesting. Finally, he called me on Monday and asked if he could take this week to shop by himself and then we could make a decision together.

(Fast Forward to Tuesday)

I had asked him a few times during the week what he was finding and what he thought. Everything was very vague. I had seen this Tahoe at a Toyota dealership that I really liked. Kinda high in miles but it's in GREAT condition and in our price range. He test drove it and I guess it smelled like smoke really bad and it rode really rough.

(Fast Forward to today)

I wake up with the knowledge that Rusty has set up some appointments for us to test drive some craigslist cars. He wants to take me to breakfast and then we can get started. We head to return his friends car (all part of the plan), and when we get to his house, Rusty opens their garage and there my Tahoe is with a big red bow on it and a banner that says Happy Birthday! I cried...I know it's hard to imagine...but I did! It was an amazing surprise and Rusty is the best at that. He always trumps me on gifts. Last Christmas it was Bronx, and now a car. How do I compete with that? The best part is that Rusty got a great deal (and no it doesn't smell like smoke at all!). We had gone over our budget very carefully to make sure we knew what we could afford. Originally, I didn't think this was in our price range, but Rusty wheeled and dealed and got it for $6 UNDER our afformentioned budget!

Anyways, here is pics of my new ride! Happy Birthday to ME!!

Brylee's Casting #4

Hopefully, I don't have to many more of these to blog about. I love Dr. Segal, Carla, and all his staff, but I can't wait for this part to be over. I know that the braces will be there own challenge, but I am kinda over her having casts on. She does really well, she kicks, plays, and claps them together like a pro! However, I don't care what anyone says, she hurts for about 48 hours after each casting. With everything else she has going on, I am excited to not have her hurt from that as well. Plus, the casts rub on everything and leave a light "dust" that I can't just wipe off my clothes quickly. So, yesterday, I walked around the ribbon store and Oregano's with pants that looked like I pulled them out of the dirty clothes. Plus, once the casts are off, that means we are one step closer for her to be more of a normal kid. The story isn't long to explain, but people ask me at least 10 times a day what the casts are for. I find myself tuning out my own voice as I once again explain that I didn't break my daughters legs. (A women in Wal-Mart actually asked me "What did you do to your kid!")

All in all, her 4th casting went great. Dr. Segal was encouraged by her progress and wants her to be fitted this next week for her "snowboard" or her brace. He also told me that if her feet are where he needs them to be this week, we can schedule the surgery for the Achilles Surgery. This is REALLY good news! I am sorta dreading the surgery. Her tummy has to be empty for at least 6 hours before, and this girl gets cranky without food! Plus, that means I can't give her her medicine for her tummy which makes me really nervous! The sooner we do this the better, I say!!!

Here are the pics from the 4th casting. I am not going to add the before right now (I'm way too tired), but I will at some point for comparison. If you would like, you can scroll down and see! Wish us luck this next week.


Before they cut them off. I will explain later about the signatures.

Loser!!!

So, I have been waiting to blog about a lot of things because I am waiting on pictures from people. Apparently, I am the worlds worst mom and don't take pics myself! It could be due to the fact that I am holding the baby, (actually, that's not true because my fam had her), or I just forget to get my camera (this is probably the real reason!). So, I will blog about the 4th and Brylee's baby blessing as soon as I get them.

Photo Shoot and other randoms

When Brylee was a week old, my sister-in-law Amber came to do a photo shoot. It is really early, but I knew they would put her first set of casts on within the first week or two and I wanted to document what her feet looked like "all natural"! Amber did a great job even though Brylee was a tough customer. We hadn't figured out about her tummy yet so you will notice that in most, she is sporting her "grouchy face", or "fire face" as her dad likes to call it. I am also throwing in a few I took over the weekend up at the 4th. Enjoy!












Talking with Dad. He is so wrapped around her finger already!


Looking cute!


Talking with Aunt Amber. I love this pic because it shows how sweet she is. Really, I love this girl so stinkin' much!


Chillin at Grandma Wilkins' house. It was a beautiful day and she was taking advantage of the sun.

Casting #3

Just a quick post to update about Brylee's progress. She is such an amazing little girl! Everyday she does something that makes me realize that babies are the most sweet and Innocent creatures on the earth. She started smiling about a week and a half ago. I actually think she has truly been smiling (and not for gas) since she was 2 weeks old, but I don't officially count that. However, it is a mother's prerogative to think that her daughter is absolutely the smartest human to ever be born. Otherwise, what's the fun?

So, with her smiling comes talking as well. Oh, how I love to listen to this girl's stories. She has big ones and small ones, but no matter what, it takes all for limbs moving as fast as possible to produce any sound. It's like a wind-up toy.

I was asked by my Bishop what was the best part of being a parent so far. Up to this point, I had to say that seeing her look at you and smile, it is by far the best feeling in the world! It makes all the late/early mornings worth it!

Brylee had her 3rd set of castings today. She did even better. I'm learning everyday how to better handle all of the appointments she has. I had to go by myself this time since Rusty really does have to work. He has been amazing to help me, but I guess it's time to buck up and do it myself. Since I was all by my lonesome, I didn't get near as many pictures, but here are her feet after the 2nd casts.

Here are her feet before treatment.



After the first set of casts.



Current.






I am so happy with the progress. I also love the opportunity to hold her without them on, even if it's just a few minutes. That is the first thing I mourned when finding out about all of the treatments. Holding your child is a major part of bonding with them. I still am very much able to hold her, but when newborns are all scrunched up is my favorite. It is very different to hold Brylee. I always laugh when I watch people hold her for the first time. They get this confused look on their face and switch her position a few times before settling in to one they feel is best. No doubt, it's awkward. Hopefully they will only have to do two more sets and then they can do the Achilles lengthening.



Brylee also had her one month check up today. Technically she is almost 6 weeks but whatever! She is in the 86th percentile for weight which was 10.12 lbs. They didn't even try to get an accurate length and I forgot to ask them when they took the casts off. Her head is in the 66th percentile. So, so far all looks good. We did have to change her medication to Prevacid. She did really well with the Zantac for about a week and a half, and then it started to loose it's effectiveness. She has been such and angel compared to the first three weeks of life that I hope it just gets better. It really is like someone handed me a new baby! After that long day, the pediatrician sent her home but not before giving her a shot in her arm for part of her immunizations. I have never heard her squeal like she did. Poor girl!