Phase 2 went really well, she only needed meds for about 5 days or so and the day after surgery she insisted on wearing a skirt, she was ready to go!
This was Thanksgiving morning (48hrs post op!) she was marching along with the marching bands in the parade.
So although she is doing very well she does have a little bit of struggles with her port placements this time. For those of you unfamiliar the port looks a bit like a gumdrop under the skin, it is a dome that we do the injections into that is a little ways away from the actual expander and connected by a tube. So the dome part is a material that is injectable with the needle and the flat bottom is metal so you don't accidentally poke through. We have had trouble in the past with the ports flipping over, not too much maybe 5-6 times but it's rather unpleasant for Sophie, she screams bloody murder while you are trying to remain composed and flip it back over under her skin. So that means, we would like to avoid doing that ever again if at all possible. So we thought the best solution would be to put the port against something more firm which would hopefully deter flipping and we chose to put them against her ribs. The are both on her back just behind her armpits and 2.5 weeks after surgery they are still very painful, if you bump them, try to pick her up under her armpits or even sometimes she is just sitting and complaining that they are very sore. I would imagine that having a metal dome under the skin is very sore but I was hoping by now she would be getting used to it. It's possible we will spend the whole 7-8 months with them being sore and sensitive. Please join me in praying that this gets easier for her to deal with.
So as we embark on phase 3 we have a little residual pain from these ports that we are dealing with. She saw the injection supplies sitting out from when we had been taking inventory to order. She looked at them for a minute and then said "Are you going to give me shots?" I reassured her that even though we did have to do that again that we would make sure we used the magic lotion (Emla numbing cream) so that she didn't have any pain and that she would get her M&M's for being brave. She kind of shrugged and said "Okay!" so we seem to be doing good in terms of anxiety. Please pray this keeps up and that as I reassured her the injections will go OK with minimal pain. And just Craig and my sanity. This doesn't maybe sound like much but it is a very big commitment. We get the cream on and covered with Press and Seal (yup Sophie is leftovers!) and then we have to wait 2 hrs - too early and it hasn't kicked in, too late and it has worn off, for us 2 hrs is the magic number - and then we do the shots which is really an "all hands on deck" situation and we need to get back into a rhythm for this. And we have to do this EVERY other day. Towards the end I literally throw a party on every NON-shot day because it is kind of exhausting performing this elaborate medical ritual every other day.
Finally I would like to end with a cute anectdote: The other day Sophie pulled up her shirt and shouted "Where did my belly button go!?" I know I had told her before surgery that she would be losing it but I guess she was still surprised. Luckily I quickly followed up my "it's gone" explanation with a tickle and a "but your tickle spot still works" and we forgot the temporary alarm. Well today we read one of our library books and I received a blessing from God in the form of Pete the Cat. We love the Pete the Cat books! He is hilarious and they all come with a free song.
So as we embark on phase 3 we have a little residual pain from these ports that we are dealing with. She saw the injection supplies sitting out from when we had been taking inventory to order. She looked at them for a minute and then said "Are you going to give me shots?" I reassured her that even though we did have to do that again that we would make sure we used the magic lotion (Emla numbing cream) so that she didn't have any pain and that she would get her M&M's for being brave. She kind of shrugged and said "Okay!" so we seem to be doing good in terms of anxiety. Please pray this keeps up and that as I reassured her the injections will go OK with minimal pain. And just Craig and my sanity. This doesn't maybe sound like much but it is a very big commitment. We get the cream on and covered with Press and Seal (yup Sophie is leftovers!) and then we have to wait 2 hrs - too early and it hasn't kicked in, too late and it has worn off, for us 2 hrs is the magic number - and then we do the shots which is really an "all hands on deck" situation and we need to get back into a rhythm for this. And we have to do this EVERY other day. Towards the end I literally throw a party on every NON-shot day because it is kind of exhausting performing this elaborate medical ritual every other day.
Finally I would like to end with a cute anectdote: The other day Sophie pulled up her shirt and shouted "Where did my belly button go!?" I know I had told her before surgery that she would be losing it but I guess she was still surprised. Luckily I quickly followed up my "it's gone" explanation with a tickle and a "but your tickle spot still works" and we forgot the temporary alarm. Well today we read one of our library books and I received a blessing from God in the form of Pete the Cat. We love the Pete the Cat books! He is hilarious and they all come with a free song.
Here is a preview but as the book goes on Pete keeps losing buttons and in the end he looks at his belly button and is still mellow because he had but he reiterates several times in the end that "Buttons Come and Buttons Go" but it's important to keep rocking along and singing your groovy song. I saw that there was a new Pete book and the library and I snatched it up but didn't ever think that it would be an answer to prayer! Our new motto: Buttons Come and Buttons Go. Sort of reminds of another wise old "Cool Cat" Job, "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” Job 1:21 Thank you for praying for us! We are held in His hands sustained by these prayers!
