Second Day After Surgery

Generally speaking, there isn't much to update today.  Most of the day was spent resting again.  Eliza has a lot of healing to do and the big casts and epidural are best suited for staying put. This evening Eliza did get into the wheelchair and took a ride to the family room down the hall.  It was good to see her up, though the process wore her out.  Not only was it physically taxing, it's scary to have someone move your legs for you after such a big surgery.  The nurses were very gentle and Eliza's upper body strength really helped everything go smoothly.

The anesthesiologist that was with Eliza in surgery stopped by to check on her too.  Tomorrrow he'll take out the epidural after she has the soft casts removed.  At that point she will transition to all oral pain medications and 'ki's, which we learned is what the staff call her knee immobilizers.

We did have a delicious dinner from our favorite Thai restaurant, Sawatdee.  It's become a tradition that we eat there at least once every time we are visiting Gillette.

Seeing the other patients and meeting their families in the Ronald McDonald room is helpful and also humbling.  The stories about their kids, many of whom are significantly disabled, are stories of strength and perserverance.  If your family has to go through something like this, Gillette is the place to be.  They do these types of surgeries all the time, and everyone on staff seems to know how to care for the patients and their families during the specifics of recovery from orthopedic surgery.  Tomorrow will be a big day for Eliza.  We know it will be hard, but it helps get one step closer to leaving the hospital and ultimately, recovery.