Just What We All Needed

It was great to see Claire for weekend visit.

We are grateful for FaceTime and texting which allowed us to keep in touch throughout Eliza's time in the hospital and recovery in Minnesota.  Nothing matches an in person visit though.  

Because Eliza's birthday is coming up this week we had a celebration while Claire was home.  We were fortunate to also have 4 grandparents to help celebrate.  There was lots of love for Eliza. 

Going to church and spending time together at our new house was a fun way to end the weekend.  Claire is a great big sister and I know that time together was just what we all needed after a stressful month.  Silliness and laughter boosted everyone's mood.  Love you, Claire!  

Continuing On...

Since arriving home last Friday night, Eliza has enjoyed time at home.  A lot of time at home.  It's still hard to get her in and out of the house, but because she's getting stronger each day, it does get easier and easier.   Eliza appreciated a few opportunities to get out this week.

Also, she started having visits from her home bound teacher.  Each day she is working on homework and hopefully with some assistance she will be caught up academically soon.  Because she can get 

onto the piano bench from her wheel chair, she started practicing again.  Piano and voice lessons can probably begin again in the next week or so.

For a fun outing the other day we went to the Omelette Shoppe for brunch after physical therapy with Grandma Sue and Great Grandma Betty.  It was a beautiful, unseasonably warm day so Eliza and I walked home after we ate.  

Because we live across the street from the high school right now, Eliza benefits from the convenience for her friends and they stop by to visit often.  Almost daily she has lunch with friends and frequently we see them after school too.  

We are so thankful to Grandma Sue who is staying with us for a couple of weeks.  I'm not sure what we would have done in the past month without the support of grandparents.  

Two times this week Eliza went to physical therapy.  They worked her hard, and gave her lots of homework, but it's really helping already and we know that with her motivation she'll progress quickly.  I'm so proud of her determination and positive attitude.  

It is wonderful to have so many different people who care about Eliza and are taking different parts in helping her recovery.  We continue to be thankful for all of you who keep up with Eliza's story, show concern, and keep her in your thoughts an prayers.    

Home

Here is Eliza all packed up and ready to leave our temporary home.  We did make it to our actual home Friday night.  Though it feels good to be here, it hasn't been without challenge.  The trip went pretty well, all things considered.  Thankfully we had plenty of help at the airport and Eliza was able to comfortably get into the airplane seat with a airplane sized wheelchair.  

The actual trip home was fairly uneventful.  Once we were in Traverse City, we quickly learned how challenging it is to get Eliza safely into somewhere that is not handicap accessible.  Though she is getting stronger each day, she still has limited ability to move her legs by herself, and standing is still very difficult.  Dan and I did eventually get her safely in the house, figured out how to get her into the bathroom with a combination of wheelchair, walker, and gait belt, and into her bed.  Shortly after we got home, Eliza developed a fever and started vomiting.  That led to very long night and day on Saturday.  We were worried about her illness, did she just catch the stomach flu, or was this an infection?  Thankfully she feels a lot better today and her fever seems to be gone.  

Today went much better.  We are grateful to Grandma Sue who is here to help out.  This week brings Eliza's homebound school teacher and hopefully the start of physical therapy.  She has enjoyed some visits from friends and family and looks forward to more in the coming days.  We trust that additional improvement will happen this week.  There is no place like home, and now that we are more comfortable, we really appreciate being here again.

Cleared for Take Off!!!

Today was a big day.  Our afternoon at Gillette started with a photo shoot.

The communications department at Gillette asked Eliza if she would be willing to share her story to be featured through their social media.  She (and Dan and I) were happy to agree and hope that her testimony might help another child and family seeking a solution to a situation similar to Eliza's.  The surgeon, Dr. Novacheck, met us so he could be in a few pictures as well.  

Next it was time for X-Rays and lunch. 

In her appointment with the doctor, we learned that her bones are healing well.  On the X-Ray, he 

showed us the new bone growth that has already started in the last three weeks.  Because every

thing is on track, Eliza's weight bearing restrictions were lifted.  Dan, Dr. Novacheck, and the nurse helped Eliza stand for the first time since surgery.  You can tell by the look on her face how she felt about this new freedom.  It is such hard work for her.  Not only does she have two large bones that still have a lot of healing to do, her legs are now positioned in a significantly different way then they were when she walked into the hospital on January 24.  The motivation to gain strength is big and we trust that she'll work hard to stay on the expected path to her return to mobility.

Finally we went to physical therapy for an evaluation and to learn how to help Eliza start walking again.  One of our biggest worries is how to get her into our house when we get home.  With great effort, she learned to walk up a few steps with assistance.  Getting around our house won't be easy for a few weeks, but we know how to do it safely now.  With the help of a walker and a belt, she should be able to transfer and move into a chair in tight areas where the wheelchair won't fit.

We are so ready to go home.  A month is a long time to be away, especially under these circumstances, but we are grateful for the fact that we had the support and resource to give Eliza this life changing opportunity.  A huge thank you to my parents that stayed with us through the entire experience and provided needed help and respite for us both, especially during the two weeks that Dan was back in Traverse City.

Tonight we are packing up.  Thankfully the good report today means that we are ready to head home for the rest of Eliza's recovery.  We can't wait!

Feeling The Love

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day.  As we continue our stay in Minnesota we feel love from so many different people.  Over our several week stay, we have had the chance to get to know many of the staff at the hotel.  They all greet us each day and check in with Eliza to see how she is doing.

We enjoy the cards, care packages, calls, facebook and blog comments, and texts from people all over the country that care about Eliza and her recovery.  

We've met another family at the hotel that is here for an extended stay while they wait for their new house to be built.  After talking to them a few times at breakfast, they showed up one day with a basket for Eliza.  The little boy thought that might help Eliza feel better.  

Today Dan surprised us from Traverse City with possibly the sweetest Choral Aire singing Valentine ever.  What a nice call this afternoon!  All of these are great examples of Grace that show up just when they are most needed.

Our time here is drawing to a close.  We know there are challenges to face with this transition, like traveling in a plane and car for hours at a time, and figuring out how to get Eliza's wheel chair 

around our very non-handicap accessible home.  I think we are all ready to figure it out though, as we are very anxious to be home.  She still has a long road ahead of her, but each day continues to bring signs of improvement.  

Getting Out

For the first time in 11 days, Eliza left the hotel!  It wasn't easy to figure out how to safely get her into the car, but now that her knees bend a little bit, we were able to do it.  There were only a couple of problems, like when I pushed the lever and the wheel chair leg rest fell down quicker than I expected, taking Eliza's leg with it.  I felt terrible, but she seems to have forgiven me already.

You can see Eliza's feelings about finally getting outside in our family group text.  When we were eating breakfast this morning, then temp was 1o outside.  By the time we left, it was up to 3o.  We decided to go to the Mall of America since it provides miles of walking indoors and we weren't up for the freezing temperature .  

After spending a couple of hours at the mall, we are back.  Eliza's showered, done PT and is in bed elevating and icing her legs.  She may be done for the night, but it was so good for her to finally breathe some fresh air and get away from 'home' for awhile.

"So Happy I'm Crying"

This was the picture and quote that was texted to me this morning while I was at a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the gait and motion lab at Gillette Chidlren's Specialty Hospital.  Eliza was back at the hotel with my parents.  During her daily PT exercises, Eliza decided to try sitting on the edge of the bed and was pleasantly surprised when her knees bent so she could sit. 

Yesterday and today I had the chance to give back a little and celebrate the 30th anniversary of the lab that helped diagnose Eliza's gait abnormality and plan both of her surgeries.  In 2014, after Eliza's first surgery, Dan and I were invited to be a part of a parent advisory committee at Gillette.  Typically we 'meet' during monthly conference calls as we live all over the country and the world.  As a part of the 30th anniversary celebration, it was decided that we would have a face to face meeting and dinner for those of us who were able to attend.  It was easy for me, since we are right in the middle of Eliza's recovery and still in St. Paul.  It was great to be with a former patient, some other parents of Gillette patients, as well as get to know some of the staff better.  Learning more about the history of Gillette and the gait lab was very interesting and that, combined with the connections I made, helped affirm that we made the right decision to bring Eliza here for another opinion and treatment.  

A Few Days Later

In the past few days since I posted, Eliza continues to gain strength and healing.  Now with the PT, she is able to lift her knee some by herself.

Her range of motion and ability to stretch without pain in her incisions has also greatly improved.  For the past couple of days Tylenol and ice have been her main pain relief.  It feels like a huge accomplishement to rely on less pain medication for so many reasons.

Eliza is now known by many of the hotel staff and she is greeted at breakfast each morning.  To break up the day, we enjoy spending time in the lobby with the fireplace. 

Eliza can drive herself most of the way down the hall and just needs help around some of the tight corners. 

We are thankful to my parents for all their help.  It would be very difficult to manage with just me and Eliza.  Actually it probably would not be possible.  All of the cards, care packages, FaceTime, texts, and other messages have brightened the days and helped make recovery more pleasant.  THANK YOU!  

There are still challenges, like painful muscle spasms last night and today, but Eliza is managing well.  She has an amazing amount of determination and patience.  We still have a couple of weeks here before heading home.  Hopefully by the end of next week we can get Eliza safely in a car and she'll feel up to getting out of the hotel.