Little Miss Tenacious K

As of Monday, we will be one quarter of the way through Katelyn's twelve-week stint in her plaster cast.

A lot of people have asked how Katelyn is doing since her operation, and my best response is "she's adapting". And so are we.
Not a day goes by where I don't marvel at Kate's willingness to accept being confined to an awkward, uncomfortable and heavy cast and her determination to make the very best of her time in it. Little Miss Tenacious K.
The first few days at home were hard for us all. The passing of each hour without tears (from anyone) was something to be celebrated. Our glass 'whiteboard' on the kitchen wall became Katelyn's medical chart where we recorded each administered dose of a suite of 'special medicines'. We found this was the only way to keep track of where we were up to as fatigue blurred our consciousness. The days became an endless three-hourly cycle of shifting Katelyn's position (from spica chair, to tummy, to back, to bed, repeat) and changing her double nappies. The nights were long and, at times, lonely, because all though Grant and I have been taking turns sleeping in our bed with Katelyn and being 'on shift', dealing with the frequent wake-ups and continuing the three-hourly ritual on your own can make you feel as if you're the only one in the world awake at 2am. And 3am. And 4....
And then it got better.
I quickly figured out that Katelyn (like her Mummy) is happiest when she's got something to do and places to go. That first week at home saw us visiting our friends at work, taking in a trip to Oakvale Farm and a commencing a staged return to daycare. We found out that Katelyn's frequent wake-ups (there was one night where she woke every 3-5 minutes until 3am) were the result of muscle spasms (which are common side-effect of osteotomies) and were prescribed some Diazapam to help Katelyn get better rest at night. Following an unfortunate spate of poo-nami's during our first week at home, the nappy-changes suddenly didn't seem as daunting and we can literally now do them in the dark (and in Katelyn's sleep). Before I kiss her goodnight, Katelyn shows and tells me where I need to put the rolled up blankets which go under her knees to support her legs and prevent bed-sores. And, exactly two weeks after her operation, Katelyn started to commando crawl and is all the much happier for it.
Don't get me wrong. It's still hard-going. Despite being the fittest and strongest I have ever been, I have aches in muscles I never knew I had from lifting and carrying Katelyn, who, in her y-shaped cast, weighs close to 20kg. Katelyn has reverted to the very clingy baby she once was and doesn't like us to leave the room, so it's hard always being 'on', especially on those longs days when Grant's at work and I have all the kids on my own. And, if I thought the daily 5pm 'witching hour' was trying before Katelyn was in her cast, well, let's just say that bedtime now can't come quick enough.

Kate playing with her vintage Family Tree-house. 

A change of scenery in the front yard. She's showing off her ubiquitous bed hair. We're going through a lot of  'detangling' spray right now!

Cheeky xx

Making a friend at Oakvale Farm.

Beautiful afternoon - nice break from the rain.

Painting our nails!

Sleeping beauty with her 'Jaime' doll xx

Rocking her tartan look

Forget 'Princess Grace' - this is 'Princess Kate!'

But, I'm glad to say that Kate, with her family, is 'adapting' and we are 'adopting' our new normal. 

One week down, eleven to go

Wow.
If I could describe DDH in one word, it would be "rollercoaster". Sheesh, what a week, probably best illustrated by a recap of my Facebook posts. I'll draw a breath while you read ;-)


Monday

Striking a bit of a pose in her gown

What I said: Incredibly tired, but elated that our baby girl's surgery went well today. She was soooo good, despite a 5hr wait for the 4.5hr operation. Kate's surgeons are very pleased with the outcome and she was transferred to the Ward tonight around 7pm. She had a tenotomy, a reduction of her hip and a pelvic osteotomy; and has a lovely purple cast. Dolly has a matching pink one. She was so amazingly brave, and we are completely in awe of her. She is still drowsy from the anaesthetic, but is no pain, thanks to her epidural. Daddy is doing the night shift...hope he gets some sleep! We will try to upload some pics as we go. Thanks everyone for your messages. It means a lot xx

Way too much energy for a little girl who'd been fasting for ten hours!

What I was too tired to say: we had to arrive at the Ward by 7am but had a five hour wait as we were last on the list. We arrived armed with our books and a swag of toys to keep Katelyn amused and, due to the ward-wide 'no hot drinks' rule, managed to survive the morning without a caffeine fix. We figured if Katelyn had to fast, then we would, too. Still can't believe how well she coped with the demands of hunger and boredom; we think she was just delighted to have both Mummy and Daddy all to herself for the morning! We got the big call-up around 12.30pm and it started to feel real. We dressed her into her hospital gown and loaded her into the bed to be wheeled upstairs to Theatre. A kindly nurse, David, met us there at the Desk and I managed to keep it together as he did all his checks and obtained all his consents. Then he said it was time for me to say goodbye. Our little girl was laying quietly on her pillow, looking up at us. I pressed my face into her chest as the tears started to fall. I just didn't want to let her go. I told her I loved her and I was so proud of how brave she was. As I drew back and reached for a tissue, Katelyn pulled herself up to stand in the cot. She reached her arms up to me and pulled me close for another cuddle. Then she lay back down, smiled and waved bye-bye. That was pretty much the end of me. Poor Grant bravely managed to hold it together as they took her into Theatre to send her off to sleep. Then we both lost it. Big time.

Recovery Room

The hours passed. Lunch was mechanically chewed. Coffee was greedily gulped. An entire book was read. Some more coffee. And as night began to fall, so too did my spirits while impatience began to simmer. Finally, at 5.30pm, Katelyn's Surgeons came to tell us they were happy with the operation and that she was starting to wake. Cuddles with our brave, dozy little girl, and her recovery begins.


Tuesday
What I said: Grant and Katie had a reasonably restful night last night....and I managed to find some zzzzzz's as well. I was on the day shift today, and Kate was really great - played, slept and ate - until about 3pm when we think the epidural needed a bit of help. She was very upset for a few hours, which was soooo hard to watch. On the plus side, however, we have now been initiated into the dark arts of changing a nappy around a hip spica plaster cast. Fun. Not. Anyhow, Grant's just reported that she has now settled into some good sleep, and I'm hopeful that will continue tonight.
What I found out later: humph, 'reasonably restful' is all relative. Turns out Grant somewhat sanitised his version of the nights in hospital in the interests of keeping me somewhat sane. The screaming, which would often start seemingly out of nowhere, was horrible. Our baby was in pain, and there was nothing we could do except keep up the pain medication and cuddle her. Not even ice-cream helped, which is when we knew we were in trouble. The day further descended into disaster as the cyclonic Bailey boys tore through the Ward to visit their sister. The offered her a fleeting kiss before ripping into the play-dough provided by the Play Therapist (Harrison) and hypothesising "how the wee comes out of Katelyn's grub into that bag" (William). Exhausting. The late afternoon arrival of a cheerful bouquet of well wishes from the lovely Ausgrid girls provided us with a real boost when we needed it the most. And the choccies were yum!

All wired up in the Ward

Wednesday
What I said: nothing. 
What I wanted to say: nothing. Can't talk. Too tired.


Thursday
What I said: Following a very welcome move to a private room yesterday, Katelyn had her epidural, drip and catheter removed today and is now, to a degree, mobile!! With both the boys occupied at preschool and daycare, Grant and I got to share some time together today with our little girl. We also ticked a few of the logistical boxes, with the OT modifying our stroller and car seat to fit around the cast. Katelyn enjoyed going for a stroll around the hospital and through the wonderful Fairy Garden before settling in for some serious playing at her new spica chair which is on loan from the hospital for the next twelve weeks. While she still seems to experience severe bouts of pain (or frustration?) and dissolve into tears at times, overall, we're seeing a wonderful return of our daughter's beautiful, bright personality and it's just so good to see. Hopeful, too, that we might only have one more night left in hospital :-)
What I didn't have time to say: thank goodness for our ever supportive family who have spent the week ferrying the boys to and from preschool and daycare. We braved another visit from the boys on the Thursday evening and it was much easier having them contained within our own room. And I had the best spag bol for a late dinner, courtesy of Aunty Amanda.

First wire-free cuddle with Mum!

"Who, me?" Loving her new spica chair

"Home time!"

Watching me make the boys' lunches this morning

TV time

Friday and the weekend

It was wonderful to come home on Friday and be back in our own space. We worked out that Katelyn won't fit in her cot or on her change table, so our bed is now her combined bed/change table. We're taking turns, for the foreseeable future, sleeping on the lounge so Katelyn can have the comfort of a parent and our bed. Her sleep can be fitful with pain and because she needs her nappy and position changed every couple of hours (to prevent spoiling and bed sores respectively), the parent who's 'on' doesn't get the best rest going. Coffee is good the next day. On the plus side, however, I think her pain is beginning to diminish and the smiles and laughs are more forthcoming. But is it too soon to start counting the days?