Saturday!

The physical therapist is here again! I'm taking advantage of her 10 minute sitting up period to get a picture of her back with her after surgery bandage.

Abi's first time standing! She had to stand for 30 seconds.

This is Abi's roommate, Melissa.  She is 11 years old.  She made this picture for Abi.

Friday Afternoon

This is Friday afternoon after Abi was moved out of ICU and into a regular room.  This is her first time doing physical therapy.  The physical therapist rolled her over and then helped her sit up.  She had to sit for 10 minutes and then her physical therapy for the day, was finished.

It was a very long 10 minutes for her.  To help the time pass a little more quickly, we helped her open her package from her Grandma Smith.  Abi absolutely loves stuffed animals.  She chose the name 'Heart' for this bear.  Thank you Grandma!

Kailan, Hallie, Nikki, Jordynn, Kennedy & Shayne all visiting Abi.

Abi and Aunt Cari and Abi's family of bears!

Lots of great nurses & a lot of great care!

Cari and my kids made this poster for Hallie.

They also brought her balloons and some other little goodies.

ICU

These are Abi's nurses in the ICU.  The dark haired nurse was her nurse all day yesterday and the other nurse was Abi's nurse during the night. Both really nice.

And this was her nurse for today.  Also very nice.

Here's Abi's legs receiving lots of massages as the air feels up and tightens around her.  She calls them her 'hug' tights.

Brooklyn came to visit!

When she needs a little more pain medication, she presses the button and is able to give herself an extra dose of morphine.

The Surgery

Yesterday at the pre-op appointment I asked Dr. White if at some point I'd be able to get pictures of the x-rays - the before and after shots.  He told me if I wanted to bring a camera to the surgery and give it to the nurse that she could take some pictures for me during the surgery.  That was a fun, unexpected surprise for us picture happy people!  The x-ray above is a 'before' shot.

Inside the surgery room.

The Dr. said he had to get out the whole tool box for this one.  He said her top curve was pretty tough.

This is her anesthesiologist.

We paid the anesthesiologist to ONLY put Abi to sleep!

Grandma and Grandpa were troopers waiting with us in the waiting room throughout the entire surgery.  They actually were only able to doze off for a few minutes.  They were wonderful company and great support! We really appreciate them. 

Working diligently.

Tightening the screws!

Bravery bear & Abi's bear from the nurse observing it all.

Abi's new back! Nice and straight! The Dr. was able to get the curve down from 70 to 16.9!

Preparing for Surgery

Yesterday, Aunt Cari gave Abi some blonde highlights.  They turned out really nice!

This is a picture of Abi with Aunt Cyndi.  We are at Costa Vida for Jordynn's birthday lunch! Abi had lots of family and friends wish her well.  It was right after lunch when we went for her lab work and pre-op appointment.

Before she went to bed, Grandma and Grandpa gave her some really cute silky PJ's for the hospital.  Amanda, from our tour told us how much nicer it was to have silky PJ's for the hospital bed.  They have to move you around a lot and the cotton pajamas stick quite a bit.

It's 4:50 a.m. and we're headed out the door to go to the hospital!

Bravery Bear has come along for the entire experience! Abi's dad, Scott, gave her Bravery bear on her first visit with him after being placed in foster care.  It's been a security and a great comfort to her ever since.

Now Abi is really looking good with her beautiful hospital gown on, along with her new nice white and very tight, tights!

We decided to play a couple of hands of 'Golf' while we waited for the Dr.! Abi won both games - must be her lucky day!

Abi and her Dr.! Dr. Gregory White. He gave her a little 'tatoo' on her back and told her it was the only tatoo she was ever allowed to have.

Shannon, the nurse is wheeling Abi down to the hall of 'Hugs & Kisses' - one of the most difficult parts of the entire process.  Abi held it together great until we reached the double doors where we had to say our goodbyes and be separated.  She and I both struggled with the tears at this point.  The nurses were so good with her though.  She told me just a few minutes ago how they pretended that she won a NASA award for science and they were sending her off to a planet full of crystals.

Happy 17th Birthday Jordynn

I know everyone always says similar phrases, but it IS really hard for me to believe that I now have a 17 year old!!! For breakfast Jordynn wanted Kix cereal, so that was simple! For lunch we took her to Costa Vida's.  She had a steak taco salad that she absolutely loves.  Aunt Emily and Jackson, Aunt Cyndi, her cousin Janessa, and Janessa's friend, Mark and I, along with Kailan and Abi enjoyed her lunch with her.  After lunch she and Kailan went with Janessa and they went shopping at the mall.  We all met back at Aunt Cari's house for her favorite dinner - Spud-tacos.  Grandma Cindy and Grandpa Randy came up from Thatcher and enjoyed her birthday dinner with us - they actually ended up making the dinner as well! Thank you! We had a lemon cheesecake cake, ice cream and also Krispy Kreme donuts that she was able to get for FREE since it was her birthday (a dozen!). Then Mark took Jordynn, Kailan, Janessa and her friend out to the movies.  Afterward Jordynn and Kailan went with Janessa to stay at her apartment with her.  The day before, Aunt Cari dyed Jordynn's hair dark, fulfilling one of her birthday wishes! It will take her mom a little bit to get used to, although Cari said in a couple of weeks it wouldn't be quite so dark.  Jordynn loves it though and of course I think she looks beautiful!

Aunt Cari coloring Jordynn's hair

Jordynn opening presents.  Nikki & Taige.

Hallie & Jordynn

Jordynn & Kailan

Jordynn & Jackson at Costa Vida's

Janessa

Costa Vida's!

Make a wish...

and blow!

Pre-Surgery

Tuesday evening we had a tour of the Phoenix Children's hospital along with a class on spinal infusion. We were able to have many of our questions answered and left with a much better understanding of what to expect. When giving these tours, they like to bring someone along who has gone through this surgery before so we can talk with them and ask them questions as well. Amanda was the name of the girl who volunteered on our day. She is 19 years old and had the surgery 3 1/2 years ago. It was great to be able to talk with her. At the end of our tour, she asked if we knew Jeff Martin from Flagstaff. I told her not only did I know him, but we were 2nd cousins. She said my mom is his sister. Amanda's mom is Mary Ann, who I do know! We don't see her very often and I don't know her children. But what a small world! That was really fun for us.

Wednesday we had to go back to the hospital for some lab work.  This is Abi and her dad waiting somewhat anxiously in the waiting room.  Needles are the most dreaded part of all of this for Abi!

They numbed her before they put the needle in her arm.  I was distracting her with candy from Aunt Cyndi when I looked down and noticed they already had a tube filled.  Abi never even knew they had begun! Unfortunately I noticed before the nurse was finished.  Once Abi saw the needle in her arm her fear of needles instantly showed.  She was a trooper though!

Her nurse was absolutely wonderful and gave her this bear.  She also told her she would see if she could be her nurse first thing in the morning when she came in (which she did) and asked if she could be 'put to sleep' with a mask instead of an IV.  Abi liked her instantly!

After the hospital, we went to the Dr.'s office for her pre-op appointment with Dr. Gregory White.  She had more x-rays, which showed us that her curve was continuing to increase.  The top curve was now at 70, and the one right below it at 65! She was definitely ready for surgery.

Upcoming Surgery

I've been looking online for information about Abi's upcoming surgery. The information that I posted here is from the Mayo Clinic.

If a child's spinal curvature is greater than 40 to 50 degrees, (Abi's is greater than 50), doctors typically recommend surgery to correct and to fuse the vertebrae along the spinal curve.
Scoliosis surgery is one of the longest and most complicated orthopedic surgical procedures performed on children. The operation takes approximately six hours. Hospitalization can last several (usually around six) days, and activities are restricted for several months.
Mayo surgeons often use a modification of a two-rod system (or instrumentation) for spinal fusions, following a procedure that was invented in 1984 by two French surgeons named Ives Cotrel and Jean Dubosset. Two metal rods and hooks or screws are attached to the spine to provide as much correction as possible. A portion of the spine fuses (heals together) to hold the correction in place. The patient's ability to bend or move may be altered minimally.
The instrumentation is left in the body, even after the bones have fused, to avoid another surgery. In addition to supporting the fused area, instrumentation also applies force to the spine to help correct the deformity. This surgery may straighten the spinal curve considerably.
After surgery 
Following successful surgery, the patient's back is straighter and all or most of the rib prominence is corrected. A red or pink scar typically appears on the back, along the spine, but it will fade. Following surgery, there is usually no need for a brace.
Once a patient returns home, activity should be limited to allow the spinal fusion to heal. During the days and months after the surgery, patients may reinstate activity incrementally:
For three months after the surgery, the patient should refrain from physical activity such as gym class or running.
After three months, the patient may return to normal activity, except gym class, diving, contact sports, horseback riding, amusement park rides and lifting more than 25 pounds.
At six months, with a doctor's permission, the patient may resume all activity except contact sports.
After one year, with a doctor's permission, patients can resume all activity including contact sports.
One drawback of spinal fusion is that it stops growth in the area of the spine where surgery occurs. A child's final height is not drastically affected, however, because most growth occurs in the leg bones and in the unaffected part of the spine.

I have no doubt that I'm a lot more nervous about this than Abi is! Ignorance is bliss! Although I am trying to prepare her best I can. My heart goes out to her for the days and first few weeks right after her surgery. It's a lot for a little girl to have to go through.

Scout Camp

Chase had a great time at scout camp! Mark is one of his leaders and was able to go with him and the rest of the group of boys for the week.  They had a really fun time.

Chase scored very well shooting.

Quite the crew!

He's weaving a chair.

Chase earned 8 merit badges this week!