Gotta go back, back, back to school again....

AC just skipped out the door to leave to go to school.  She seemed very excited and ready to tackle a new school week.  She's missed 8 1/2 weeks so far...we are working to get her caught up so that when she goes back after Christmas she'll be on track with the rest of her class.  

Thanks to Jen, Jamie, and Maggie for taking AC to school this morning!   

  

MRI results and our next big decision.

We got the phone call on Friday that the MRI was normal.  She is having muscle spasms as the muscles heal from being cut during surgery.  I can't imagine that happening on the back of  my head...

Our next decision is what to do about school.  AC is still very sensitive to light, sound, and motion.  School is bright and loud so that is a problem for her.  I don't think she could get away with wearing earplugs and sunglasses all day. 

I've  been researching the Georgia Virtual Academy.  It is an online public school in the state of Georgia.  I talked to an admissions counselor this morning and we have to make a decision this week.  Open enrollment starts next week, so we gotta get on the ball.  I like the idea of her being able to catch up at her own speed and once she masters a skill she moves onto something else.  It'd be a big committment but we've got to do something to get her back in the school groove.  She misses Cleveland Road Elem. and really wants to go back, but right now she just can't.

2009 has been an eventful year for our family and we can certainly testify to the power of prayer.   We will reflect this week on all of the miracles we've been blessed with this year.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Freak-Out

AC had a world class "freak-out" at the hospital today.  She decided in the parking garage when we got there that she didn't want to have a MRI today.  I had to pry her out of the car.  It took 3 tear-filled attempts and lots of begging for her to finally submit to doing the MRI.    She got one last shot at cooperating and she finally decided to comply...2 hours later.  The staff at CHOA is amazing and they never showed any impatience...even though I know we completely messed up their schedule for today.  My daughter can be very stubborn and she is also freakishly strong.

We are still waiting for the results.  We paged the doctor after the scan was over and they said he was tied up with some issues at the office...for us to head home and he'd give us a call.  Hopefully that call will come early tomorrow morning.

I hate waiting.

Time set for MRI

We have to arrive at Scottish Rite at 2:00 on Thursday the 19th.  She is scheduled for the scanner at 3:00.  We'll know what is going on before we leave for home that day.

Another MRI..

AC will be undergoing another MRI sometime next week.  Dr. Boydston wants to get a good look at what is going on and try to figure out why she is in so much pain.  He said that she shouldn't be hurting this much at 5 weeks post-op. There is a bump about 2 inches away from her incision that is about the size of a golf ball and it is the main source of her pain.  He thinks it might just be a muscle spasm....I guess that is the best case scenario...

He has restricted her mobility.  No running around, bike riding, or anything really strenuous until we figure out what is going on.  (I bet she is going to use that at some point this week to get out of cleaning her room....)
We just hope that it is something easy to fix...

Setback....

It has been a month since AC's surgery.  It is amazing to see how far she has come since October 5th. 

We thought she was progressing quickly and was on the road to being completely recovered...until this past Thursday.

AC went to the office at school and complained with her scar hurting.  She made it through the week and we monitored her over the weekend.  Her neck started swelling and her pain level increased.  We've been on the phone with the neurosurgeon's office and we have an appointment scheduled for this Thursday at 11:40. 

We are praying that this is a normal part of the healing process and not a complication that would require another surgery.  We just want her to be comfortable and pain free! 

Staples Are Out!

 AC and her 25 Webkinz!!!

We made the trip to see Dr. Boydston on Thursday.  AC got her staples taken out.  She did great and didn't cry at all!  What a trooper!  It is hard to believe that the surgery was 2 weeks ago.  Anna Cate had a list of questions for Dr. B.  She's been cleared to ride her bike in 3-4 days but cannot jump on the trampoline at all.  He said he'd check her out in six weeks and go from there. We go back on November 19th.

We started homebound school on Friday.  Dr. B. said that she had to stay out until she was caught up and was able to stay awake at school all day.  Her teacher will come to the house 3 hours a week to work with her one on one.   Her teacher said she was pretty much on track and just needed to catch up on a few things.  We are looking at going back to school on October 26th.  She might need to only stay 1/2 a day at first but we can work our way up to a full day.  We are both going to have some separation anxiety when she goes back to school.  It will be like Pre-K all over again!

AC is pain-free, and more importantly, pain medicine free.  I asked her on a scale of 1-10 what her pain was before the surgery and she said it was a 10 all the time.  I asked her what she was now...she said a zero!   She also said that she can see without her glasses now.  I am still skeptical about that....we'll be making a trip to the eye doctor after our November follow-up appointment.

We are so thankful that the worst part is behind us and can't wait for AC to recover and get back to a normal life.