The day has gone well. Abby is happy to be home - as are all of us. We are almost unpacked and settled in with a medicine schedule, activity routine, and hopefully, recovery will continue to go very well.
Now we get to start packing for our move to Roosevelt (about 10 minutes away from our current location) next month. Yup - we are under contract!! We are sad to leave Neola, but happy to have a place of our own. I am very thankful for the many long awaited events happening this summer, and am REALLY looking forward to returning to 'normal crazy life' in the fall.
Many have asked me about what is expected during recovery.
Abby CAN: rest, have HEALTHY visitors (she would LOVE to have friends over for short visits - just contact Summer to make arrangements), walk around, watch movies, play, do lots of art projects, reading, crosswords, blow bubbles, make little crafts, etc.
Abby SHOULDN'T: ride bikes, jump rope, jump on trampolines, jump at all, skip, hop, run, ride horses, swim (for 3-6 weeks), go without oxygen, be around large crowds, no church for a bit, etc. Kinda hard to tell a 7 year old that their summertime won't be full of the kind of fun that she is used to. But at least she will be able to enjoy all of those things in several weeks.
It is truly amazing to me how much 'heart surgery' has changed from when Abby had it almost exactly 7 years ago. (Really, her first surgery was on June 22, and this one on June 19 - almost exactly 7 years apart.) Healing happens so much more quickly.
Recovery consists of a few yucky tasting medicines. She ended up getting thrush - so she is taking something for that as well. There aren't nearly as many as I thought there would be. Lasix - to help with swelling and extra fluids. Tylenol and Ibuprofen as needed - pain management. Nystatin - thrush. and her normal amoxicillin and baby aspirin and vitamins.
She is also on oxygen 24 hours a day (rather than just at night as she has been for the last 18 months). The oxygen helps with a few things - mostly to open up airways and help train her lungs to work to their new capacity as the adjust to all of the oxygen rich blood they are now receiving. She is on just a little bit and we will continue to slowly wean her with time. It was amazing to see her percentages going in to the 90's. We haven't seen numbers above the low to mid 80's in a long time.
Recovery also means working hard to regain an appetite, regain weight, regain muscle, and mobility.
Abby looks really good. There are still many achievements to be made in the next weeks and months. She will do well. She always does. :) She is truly amazing. Just love that girl!
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