Shriners - 2 week wound check

Yesterday, E.R. went back into Shriners to have her foot checked. J.T., she and I were there at 6am. We took her down where the anesthesiologist put her under at 7:30am. They removed her cast, checked her wound, and then re-casted her leg.

She was back up in our room at about 8:20. I could hear her screaming as they wheeled her off the elevator. Apparently there are some people whose bodies have a terrible time coming off of one of the anesthesia medications. She is one of them. So that explains the extreme reaction we had post-surgery 2 weeks ago. It was the same today. Endless screaming, ripping off of clothes, trying to jump/roll off the bed, trying to hurt me, etc. I think all the staff on the floor came by at least once to see if we were okay. Which we weren't really, but at least I had been through it once with her, and it really is very similar to her most extreme tantrum/rages, which I am very familiar with!

There were 2 things that saved us:

1. I had planned J.T.'s care well (and had a bit of divine help here I'm sure). I nursed him as soon as we got back from taking E.R. down for the procedure. Then he had breakfast, and then I miraculously got him to go to sleep. He slept through almost all of it in the stroller. (He's pretty used to her screaming fits!)

2. We had a fabulous nursing student assigned to us that helped me with everything. She took J.T. when he woke up, and helped with whatever I needed. She is my new best friend...

The surgeon came in to let me know that unfortunately her wound had come open in the cast, They re-stitched it, and now she'll be on antibiotics, since an infection is not what we want. She also needs to continue to stay off of it for 4 weeks. That prospect alone could have killed my morning!

We were there for 4 1/2 hours, and then set out for home. I was absolutely exhausted. I made the mistake of trying to talk to E.R. last evening about going to Shriners. I am a big believer in giving kids as much information as possible that is appropriate for their age. In foster care, I totally believe that kids need us to respect them enough to give them information that is important to their lives - as long as we balance it with their anxiety levels. I guess I underestimated E.R.'s anxiety around hospitalization after the last one. She was up almost the entire night, and screamed most of it. It was the worst night we've had so far with her. J.T. was up most of it too, since they share a room. So by the time we got to Shriners this morning, all 3 of us were exhausted (and I'm sure Chris was just as wiped out at work).

So I've learned my lesson. I now understand better about how extreme E.R.'s anxiety is, and next time I won't be telling her we are on our way to Shriners until we are in the car after a blissfully restful night's sleep. Or maybe I'll even wait until we get to their parking garage.

It's funny how idealistic we can be before the reality of parenting sets in...

So we made it through, and thankfully, E.R. was pretty much back to normal after sleeping on the car ride home. I had worried that she would regress more after being at Shriners again. But I think she was so relieved to not be staying there, that she bounced back pretty quickly.

Now we just need to continue to keep her off of her leg, so it can heal.