Post Op - Day 3

We are now three days Post Op and Rachel just keeps getting better and better as the hours pass. We once again set the alarm for a middle of the night pain med. After a cup of applesauce and Tylenol taken, we were all back in our cozy beds within ten minutes, where we slept until after 7:00, when Rachel came in to snuggle with us.

We were able to stretch the next dose of pain medication to six hours. She wasn't saying she was in pain, but again, we're trying to stay atop of the pain cycle for a couple of days. Just the fact that she went that long without getting grumpy was awesome. Yesterday she would start melting and become grumpy about 5 - 5 1/2 hours. This was a great accomplishment.

This morning, for the last several hours, she's been on the floor playing with Lego's, putting together a new set. She's talking more and even trying to smile the best she can. I noticed she has a little bit of her sassiness back here and there. Post Op instructions were "No Baths" but showers were okay, this is because of the incision above her hip bone. With some hesitation on her part, we proceeded with a modified bath whereas I only filled the tub about 3 inches. She admitted it did feel better to get a little bath. Now we just have to convince her to let one of us wash her face.

This is the incision from where the bone graft was harvested from her hip bone. When she came out of surgery, there were no bandages, no stitches. They closed her up using a superglue-like substance. The swelling around the area continues to go down with each passing day. There's really no evidence of it slowing her down, or being a hindrance to her. You do have to be careful with side hugs and squeezes, as she sometimes grimaces if you squeeze too hard. Rachel received a package in the mail this morning and inside was this cuddly bear. I convinced her to let me take a picture of her with her bear in hopes of getting another shot of her face. It worked. The swelling is really down from yesterday.This morning Hannah told me what Rachel had told her. Rachel told her that she didn't like looking at herself in the mirror because she was ugly. That broke my heart. It's hard for her to comprehend that in a few days, everything will be back to normal and she'll look like the usual cute Rachel. We've spent the last six years telling her how cute she is and building up her self esteem. It's sad to know she thinking this way. Last night, she mentioned wanting to go to church on Sunday, but after hearing what she thinks of herself, and how self conscious she is right now, I think it'll be better to not take her to church. There'll be kids that ask her what's wrong with her face, or what are the things in her nose. Forget the kids, there will be adults that will stare and make a big deal of her face. Better for them to do that next week when she's feeling better about herself.

Things are going great and we only anticipate it to continue to go well! Thank You again for praying for Rachel.