Day 2 Post-Op

Today we saw some great new progress in Kayla's recovery. We had a rough night last night trying to get the NG tube placement to pass the x-ray test. They take an x-ray to make sure the tube is in the right place before they can give her any food. It showed an air bubble and it took forever to get the doctor in to ok the "odd" bubble before she could finally benefit from that most uncomfortable tube being placed. Finally at around 1:45, Kayla got her first smidgen of nutrition. She hadn't had any food since Wednesday night. So on top of all the other pain, the hunger was excruciating. Not only for her, but for us to witness. We all felt so helpless. Denny was, as always, an amazing advocate. He pushed and pushed until he got that x-ray confirmed "ok" and refused to sleep until she got food.

By the time Donna and I got to the hospital today, we noticed a huge change in her coloring and her orientation. She was still sleeping, but we knew she wasn't hungry. Count your blessings, right?

Lunch time rolled around and Thalia and Carolyn brought Anthony by the hospital for a quick bite to eat and a visit. It was SO great to see him. Denny hadn't seen Anthony since Monday! (today is Saturday... right?) After lunch, Thalia's husband, Bob met us to say hello and offer support.  We all thought it would be cool if Anthony could run outside and see Bob's Fire "car" and get to wear his gear! He LOVED that. That was one of the highlights of the day.

Look at this ADORABLE Assistant Chief!

On the day of Kayla's Sedated MRI at UCSF (Tuesday) we met an amazing family in the waiting room. They have a little girl, Amy, who is 10 and also had a brain tumor. They were also having an MRI done. It was the day before Amy's surgery by Dr. Gupta! Amy's tumor was in the frontal lobe. Her mom and dad were so sweet and her recovery was, and is, a huge source of strength for us in this process. Being that her surgery was one day before Kayla's, we had an idea of what we might expect after surgery. Well, sort of. Now we are realizing that Cerebellum surgery is a little more complex and a much harder recovery. Amy was walking around the day after surgery! Today, she and her family will begin their journey back home to Oregon.... cancer and tumor free!

Amy, you look SO pretty here! I do still love the pony-tails. Dr. G could have another profession if the whole "brain thing" gets old! ;)

We had AWESOME posters and get well art dropped off today by my friend Tracy's 6th grade class! (Tracy, we hung it on the wall where she can see it) Thank your kids for us!

Progress:
The Art line has been removed. It was a huge annoyance. A constant BEEEEEEEEEP while everyone "tries" to rest.

We gave Kayla a sponge bath today. She was awake for at least an hour straight!!! She even said she didn't want to sleep and would tolerate a little pain to stay alert. SO, no more Valium! That is awesome. Donna, Denny & I were able to massage her muscles and stretch her arms and legs finally. She was so stiff at first, but then she was determined to help and try to stretch by herself needing only a little assistance. She was brave and so so so determined!!! The nurses just keep nodding and smiling every time she gets in her little kayla mode. It's incredible to witness.

Kayla went from 1:30-8:00 with NO pain meds what so ever. That was HUGE.


We were able to move the inter-cranial pressure drain (it drains the extra cerebral spinal fluid out of her scalp) up! We started at pressure level 5 and now are up to 25 and she is doing GREAT! The ICP is one of the main things keeping her in the PICU. 


Her incision is healing really well. We got to see it today for the first time as we gave her the sponge bath. I snapped a quick picture because I KNOW kayla will want to show it to all her friends. She is a warrior. She has survived brain surgery. Not many people get to say that in their lives. 

She was actually comfortable during this picture... believe it or not! Ouch, right?

Tomorrow we are hoping that once they clamp the ICP line her head pressure stays the same. They will monitor her for 24 hours and then if all is well, they can move her to the regular floor! I have to admit (as odd as this may sound) that this is almost sad b/c we have become very close to a couple of her nurses in the PICU. They have been incredible.  

Ok, off to bed and ready to see our little girl even more alert tomorrow. She is doing great. The big hurdle is done and we are just so grateful to God that she made it this far and her spirit is untouched! 

ps. Thank you for the socks we have gotten so far. I am optimistic that some pink will arrive. Denny is happy with any colors really. The brighter the better!  

Sleeping Angel