I went back and looked over my blog entries and I realized I never blogged about Kylie's surgery! I certainly didn't want to leave this adventure out...
On December 10th, we drove Kylie to Scottish Rite Hospital in Dallas to have heel cord lengthening surgery. The hospital is an amazing place for children. Everything centers around kids and the people who work and volunteer there are very friendly and helpful. There are tons of elder volunteers who serve at the hospital and they are adorable and seem so happy to be there.
Kylie wasn't scared at all, in fact, she was almost giddy about the surgery. We met with some different people and got her checked in, she got her blood checked by this awesome lady name Sheila who had all of her walls covered with pictures of children. She was so cool and Kylie didn't feel a thing when she took her blood - she was a pro! After she was done, Kylie got to pick out a Barbie from their toy closet (so cool) and she found the perfect one. It was a ballerina Barbie who could go up on her toes. It's like it was meant for her!
After meeting with the doctor and getting settled in, they let us leave the hospital to take her to dinner that evening. We headed to the Galleria and ate at the Grand Luxe Cafe. Very yummy and lots of food. It was bedtime by the time we got back to the hospital so we said good night to Adam (he went to a hotel) and I stayed with her since only one person could stay in the room.
She didn't have her surgery until after 2:00 on the 11th, so she got to hang out and go to Child Life which is a great place they have for kids to play with toys, play games or do arts and crafts. A great little getaway in the hospital. Kylie did some glitter snowflakes and Christmas trees for us to take home and whooped her dad in air hockey a few times.
When it was time for the surgery, she was still so brave. I could tell she started to get a bit nervous when it was go time, but she stayed calm (just wanted me to be close:) They gave her a sedative to relax her a bit and when it took affect, oh my goodness, it was hilarious! I was laughing so hard I was literally crying. She was being so silly, like a tipsy sorority girl (I can say that because I was a sorority girl). It completely blessed me to be able to laugh so hard at a time when I would have otherwise been a nervous wreck. Laughter really is the best medicine. It does a heart good.
So, they took her away and we didn't get word they were done for about an hour or so. We stopped in the gift shop to get her some goodies while she was gone.
They made two incisions in her heel cord so that it would allow them to set her foot in a neutral position and the heel cord would be able to stretch and also heal in the new position. Amazing! She came out with two beautiful casts, one pink and one purple. They were super cute! She was pretty drowsy for a few hours, but back to her same perky self before too long. Walking around went super slow at first as she adjusted to her knew "shoes" and discomfort from the surgery.
We were taken care of so well at Scottish Rite. I am so glad we chose to go there. It was a great experience. When we got home, she used her walker for a few days, but before too long, she was walking on those casts like they weren't even there. It didn't slow her down that much at all. All of her friends, family and sweet teachers signed her casts and I know that made her feel so special.
Bathing proved to be quite interesting. I had to buy a bath seat because it was just too hard to do baths another way! Soon enough, we had our system down though.
Fast forward six weeks...
By now, she is running and practically jumping in her casts. They don't slow her down a bit! It's become second nature to her at this point.
On January 23rd, we headed back to Scottish Rite to see the doctor and have her casts removed. I had no idea what it would be like once they were off. Her feet were extremely sensitive to touch. I wasn't sure we were going to walk out of there. She was able to wash her feet and soak them for a bit(peeeee uuuuuuuwwwww). Casts are gross! Not washing an area for six weeks is just wrong! Luckily, they got clean again:) Walking is still somewhat difficult as she retrains herself on how to move her feet and hold her posture. She has been such a trooper and hasn't complained at all! I admire that little girl so much. She is so brave.
Looks like we'll see some big improvements in a few weeks!!!!
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