I love Lucy: The big surgery

WHEW!
The worst is over.
Here we are, almost 24 hours post surgery... what a crazy 24 hours it's been.
Currently, my little muffin is resting and watching Jungle Book on tv, (refusing to nap- pretty normal) and my big muffin (daddy) is playing on the iPad reading about football... I thought I would do my post as it's fresh in my mind!

So, Lucy's surgery yesterday wasn't until 2:30. After having the 'case of the M and M's' we decided it was best not to give her anything to eat. (After hearing a story of a child aspirating, we weren't going to take chances.) Lucy got to have a popsicle and juice. That's it. :-(
Figures, the day we are early, Dr. Segal and staff are behind. We requested for Lucy to have 'pre meds' so she would be a tad bit loopy and happy, so she would go with the nurses without screaming and crying for mommy.
Well, that backfired.
She was loopy for about a half hour. The anesthesiologist was late. The meds wore off and my little angel Lucy turned into tantrum throwing-devil Lucy! It was awful. Long story short, they took her away from me. Screaming and thrashing. I felt so helpless. It took every fiber of my being not to chase them down the hallway and get her back.
After about 1 hour and 20 mins, Dr. Segal comes out. We are the only ones in the waiting room- and it feels like he is walking the green mile! SLOW! I am like 'hurry up!!!!!'
He sits down and tells us that her surgery went well, and shows us pictures of the bone he wedged into her pelvis. OUCH.
Her hip socket looks beautiful. PERFECTION! Just like we knew it would be! Dr. Segal said we will see him again for a 2 week x-ray, then a 6 week x-ray. WAIT. WHAT!? What happened to this 4 week thing? He is going to be out of town at the 4 week mark, so I told him that I am going to make an appt for 5 weeks. He said, 'ok, you win. 5 weeks.' So, 5 weeks it will be.
We wait about another 20 mins before we are allowed to see her.
Again, the longest walk of my freaking life. We turn the corner and it hit me. Surgery is over. There she was. A little 32 lb person that holds my heart in her hands. This little person that gives me the inspiration and courage to be the best mother I can be. MY WORLD.
She was laying there with a mask on. I could smell the strawberry scented oxygen, just like she had last year. It made me nauseous and so thankful at the same time. Weird, and hard to explain. I was so darn happy to see her- knowing that she is ok, that again- the world could have collapsed around me, and I wouldn't have even noticed. I have been so strong up to that point, that I just lost it. I layed my head next to hers and sobbed. All the crying that I didn't allow myself to do up until now- it all came out. Thank you GOD for keeping this little girl safe.
After that- things got rough. Lucy woke up, and the first thing she said is 'ow mommy, I'm stuck! OUT OUT OUT!' She started thrashing around and screaming. IT WAS AWFUL. She was pulling at her pillow and saying NO NO! Talk about ripping your heart out. The nurse gave her some additional meds which settled her down.
To me, that's the worst part. Kids do eventually accept this. It sucks, but they do. That minute where they realize they are stuck, and the panic sets in. That's the worst part of this.
But that's over.
We get to her room and honestly- things couldn't be going smoother at this point.
Her caudal (similar to an epidural but only lasts about 8 hours) has worn off, and up until a few hours ago, she was comfortable on IV anti inflammatories, antibiotics and valium. Valium is for muscle spasms.
No morphine needed!
She woke at around midnight and we had a full conversation about Deer, the Lion King and all kinds of cool stuff. :) She drank apple juice and had some crackers.
She fell back asleep and woke at around 5 am.
Around 7 I ordered her some breakfast, which she ate well! The nurses even took her off IV fluids since she is downing apple juice like it's going out of style.
She's been off and on resting all day.
Around 11 am she said, 'Mommy, leg hurt.'
At that minute I called the nurse and requested her pain meds. They are oral pain meds. Once the pain is managed, it should be pretty smooth sailing. You just don't want to let the pain get too far out of control.
OK, so this pillow.
It's been cut down a lot (thank you Dr. S) and it seems pretty flimsy in my opinion. But hey- I am not a surgeon nor care to be one, so I will trust Dr. Segal and his decisions. Thank GOD it's not a cast. I hate those stupid casts and I plan on never seeing one again. SO LONG, FAREWELL.
It's super light, like a sponge. The velcro straps around her knees. She's been kicking her toes all day long. She's able to sit up at a 90 degree angle, and she can move, unlike the stupid cast. This pillow and I are going to do just fine. I have already changed her diaper a ton of times. You have to roll her on her right side (the good side) and slide the diaper underneath her.
I haven't picked her up yet, but we will once we get a wheelchair to take her for a walk in.
She keeps getting so sweaty on her neck from laying in bed.... I keep wetting washcloths and cooling her down...
So- basically what they did to her- they cut her pelvis. Yep, you heard it. They made a cut in her pelvis, and tilted it down. Then they added a chunk wedge of a cadaver bone in there to make it bigger and wider. The reason they had to do this is because since her hip was dislocated for so long, it actually rubbed a 'false socket' on the top of her pelvis trying to create its own socket. So that had to be fixed. (Again, let's not get started on why/how her hip was dislocated for so long...) Anyways...
All of that is hopefully behind us.
Brighter days are ahead. Or some pretty crappy ones. Whatever it is- WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS! The worst is over.
Once this little babe was back in my arms, I knew that if I have to do stand up comedy to keep her entertained for the next 5 weeks, so be it. I will stay up all night, all day, do ANYTHING.... anything at all to keep her happy and comfortable. I know it's going to be hard for her... but with TEAM LUCY (aka Mommy, Daddy, Lucy and Lily) there is pretty much nothing that can stand in our way.
Let's just hope her bone accepts its new position and grows perfectly.

Thank you God for all of our blessings. Our friends and family who texted me, called, e-mailed, messaged- whatever! We are so lucky to have such an amazing support system. Someone told me their mom's church is in Ireland, and Lucy was on their prayer list! Amazing.
Lucy is living proof right now that God answers prayers! She has had such little pain so far, that I am almost shocked. Yes, it could get worse, but this has sure made our hospital stay a lot easier.
I am so thankful today for everything.

More to come!

Karen