Phoebe had to have surgery on her foot last Thursday, earlier than planned by the way;o), and we were blessed to be able to have it done at the Shriners Hospital of Greenville, SC! Yes, there was no cost to us, but what I was most impressed with was the wonderful way we were treated and the friendliness of EVERYONE, from the greeters to the surgeons to the occupational therapists to the cafeteria workers to the nurses to the anesthesiologist--we felt like family from the first moment we walked in! We had decided to take Abby with us the first day, one because we wanted her to be with us as much as possible and two, because there were so many fun things there at the hospital for her to do! Almost as soon as we arrived, and after getting her height weight and BP, we were taken to a room to drop off our stuff and went straight to get her cast cut off. She screamed like a banshee, poor thing, just like every other time she's had a cast cut off, but the nurses were very gentle and she calmed down pretty quickly. I do think she could sense that something was different this time, but was a trooper as usual...
We went back to our temporary room to sign some paperwork and were surprised to hear music down the hall. We opened the door and were pleased to see that barber shop quartet was serenading us! It was neat to see all the children and their parents standing in the open doorways, peeking out to catcha glimpse! It was four sweet older men and they all had crinkly smiles and fun personalities as well!
Abby climbed up on the hospital bed with her sister and informed us that she wanted to have a surgery like Phoebe and so did her bear!
We were amazed at the difference the casting has made in her foot, but it still was pointing downward, thus the surgery...
Abby loved the play area, which took up almost half of the second floor of the hospital. Here she is on a loveseat, covered with HUGE dolls, which she LOVED!
Toddler bikes and trikes galore and lots of space to ride like the wind!
Herb took us to the rooftop playground where Abby was on the swings for quite a while...
...And then we were joined by Phoebe...
...and Poppy, who had shown up a bit earlier...
...and Daddy too...(Josh says he and his dad were testing the weight limit in this one (It passed, by the way! Didn't move and inch!))
...while Mommy took a rest on the gorgeous green grass...didn't sleep a wink the night before!
It looks like Phoebe was resting too, but it was really the sun in her eyes! She only laid there for a minute before letting us know that this was NOT what she wanted to be doing!
So we had previously decided that Josh would be the one to stay overnight at the hospital, which I guess was not the norm, because the nurses talked directly to me all day whenever they talked about anything that would happen overnight! But he wanted to do it and I certainly didn't mind having a greater possibility of a comfortable night's sleep! I stayed at Josh's parents' house after a difficult time leaving Abby at Heidi and Aarron's-she wouldn't have it and it made me sad to leave her too. (Thanks Heidi for your patience with her and for being so sweet to her at such a crazy time for all of us!) I returned to the hospital at 6 am after SOME sleep and Josh was already up, talking to the dad of Phoebe's cute roommate, Eric, Jr., who was to have foot surgery immediately after her. The nurse came in and handed us her little yellow hospital gown, which fit her personality perfectly, but I must say I was a little flustered to see such a tiny hospital gown!
They came to get us a little before 7 am and took her up to pre-op, where they promptly laid her on a bed with Strawberry Shortcake sheets (Abby would have LOVED it!), walked in with the largest wagon I have ever seen, filled to overflowing with toys and let us pick one for her. Then the nurse gave her tylenol mixed with some "forgetfulness" medicine that starts with an "m" and within 10 minutes, her eyes and head started to droop. It was sad to have to see her that way, but kind of funny too. Josh picked her up and held her and she just stared up at both of us as if to say "Who are you and where am I?" She could barely move her mouth and kept saying her normal "Guh...Guh", but veeerrrryyy sloooooowly....
The nurses kep telling me that there were tissues nearby, but I was surprisingly okay, as long as I didn't think too much...then her doctor came in, made sure he had the right leg by initialing it and we kissed her just before the anesthesiologist whisked her away. It was kind of torturous, but we knew all would be well...
They told us to wait to hear from the doctor and then it would be about 20 more minutes, so we headed to the cafeteria with Josh's dad to get some breakfast while we waited. We no sooner sat down to take the first bite and there was Dr. Westberry, telling us that all had gone perfectly and her foot was in its last cast! The procedure had taken all of 5 minutes! By the time we finished breakfast, walked back to the room and sat for about 10 minutes, we heard the uncharacteristic cries of sweet Phoebe coming down the hall towards us. She was MAD! She had been unable to eat anything after midnight and had slept through the clear liquids allowance time, so she was HUNGRY, and they had given her only 2 oz of Pedialyte in the recovery room--When they took that bottle out of her mouth, she was not about to take it lying down! I've NEVER heard her scream like that!
So we fed her some more Pedialyte and a little formula, pulled her around in a pillow-filled wagon and gave her some gas medicine and she finally fell asleep! We thought the sign in the hall was appropriate!
"Quiet, please. Healing in progress."
She finally did get that blood pressure monitor cord off of her finger! (They would just plug it in instead of having to use the one that "gave her leg a hug")
After a long nap, we hung out in the waiting area and...waited! The doctors and nurses all came to us there and checked on her.
And by noon, we were out of there! Now-cast for 3 more weeks, fitting for special shoes connected by a bracing bar, worn 23 hours a day for 3 months, then worn nights and naps for about 2 years...that's what's in store for Miss Phoebe..and us as well!) We'll try to be troopers and little rays of sunshine just like she is, but I can't make any promises!
All in all, I was very pleased with our experience at the Shriner's Hospital! Thank heaven they are there! Such a blessing to so many children and families!
Thank everyone for all your love, prayers and support!
***Shameless Plug: Many of you know that they may be closing that hospital if the board votes to do so in July! Please help us keep Shriner's Greenville open by donating or writing letters! Find out how at http://saveshrinersgvl.com/ !***
Make sure if you donate that you designate that you want the money to go to Shriner's Hospital GREENVILLE!
7 comments:
It was fun to revisit your visit and it was my pleasure to have Abby--she got me brushed up on my numbers:)And remember my love of Strawberry Shortcake as a little girl. I love you guys and look forward to our next gathering!:)
It is wonderful to read all about such a special time in your lives...when Brad had to have surgery at one month old I was devasted...but we all got through it, I just always remembered how tough it is to see your little one through it all...LOVE AND HUGS AND continued prayers. XOXOXOXOXOXO
Oh my heart...my heart is so tender(ecspecially the part about taking them away by the anesthesiologist).You sound like a momma champ. My kiddos did NOT get the forgetful medicine--it sounds COOL
That hospital was sooo much nicer than Sterling's was!!! Same -day? 20 minutes? what did they do? Sterlings was hours of surgery (and we had to go back in a week or so later to be put to sleep to re-cast the thing,, and we had to stay overnight and he groaned ALL NIGHT long (with seom SERIOUS MEDS)-however her foot looked great out of her cast...so it was probably simpler! I will be SO SAD if they close down ANY Shriners hospitals AT ALL--I wish I had extra money to contribute to these GREAT things
Aww! You guys have gone through a lot! There is nothing more comforting than feeling like family when you have to be at a hospital. I hope they don't close, either!
You guys look great. What troopers!
So glad that all went well - can't believe you didn't cry - I'm choking up just reading about it. Phoebe is so cute and I'm glad she's such a trooper.
Another notch on your mom belt! I am glad that it all went so well!
I heart the Axelsons! What an emotional, but loving experience. I loved reading about how well the hospital took care of you! It really means the world to be treated kind...especially from strangers who just want to do what they can to help. wow. I still can't get over how adorable your kids are. I am not kidding. Your fam is so cute. It would be a blast to meet you all. One day! Have the best month ever and I look forward to more posts!
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