Conquer the Curve: 3 weeks Post Op

It's hard to believe that three weeks ago today Danielle had her life changing scoliosis surgery. At this time three weeks ago we were in St. Louis Children's Hospital PICU. It's still hard to believe she has 2 rods and 22 screws in her back. Her back is straight! We are patiently waiting for the day when Danielle can say she is pain free! I am so happy to say that she is no longer taking Oxycodone (or Tylenol for that matter). She is still taking prescription medication twice a day for muscle soreness. Her incision doesn't hurt and she just can't wait until the glue starts to peel off. Her back gets very stiff and sore. She explains it as "tired" sometimes. When her back gets sore she lies down to rest. Having said that she has had TROUBLE sleeping at night lately. Yesterday she tried eliminating her afternoon nap and just laid down to rest. She slept much better at night, only waking up once. Her main problem with sleeping is that after awhile she is just simply uncomfortable and she gets very frustrated. She felt like her bed was hard so we put the box springs back on the bed and flipped the mattress back to the pillow top. That has helped too and she still feels like she is getting plenty of support.

Danielle is walking and doing more every day. Saturday afternoon Danielle was getting pretty down about school and not being able to be with her friends. Her dad decided it would be OK to take her out to eat. We traveled 30 miles down the road to a pizza place we love. I was just a LITTLE nervous. It was just what Danielle needed. It was the most I have seen her eat since surgery and she was laughing and having a nice time! We then came home to watch a movie. Since we've been home, Saturday evening was the best Danielle has felt both inside and out. On Sunday before it got FRIGID outside once again, we walked down the driveway and to the corner and back. It felt so good to her to be outside to walk and get fresh air!

Danielle is really working to get caught up in her classwork so that she can go back to school at least for part of the day next week. She did do some homework over her Christmas break but still has a ton to do. This is very overwhelming to her at times. It is getting easier to focus for longer periods of time.

After a couple of days of just seeing family she gets a little down. Seems like her friends always know when it is time for a visit!! Her friends play basketball and she realizes that she just won't be able to sit through both a girls and boys game in one evening. Only the girls played this evening and she got to go watch them win! She loved that!

We are both excited about going back to school next week. I miss my class and friends as much as Danielle misses her friends. I think Monday will really wear her out and she will have to listen to her body and come home when she is tired and rest.

Thanks for checking in on us. Thanks for your continued support and prayers!

My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. Psalm 121:2