January 7, 2015 ONE YEAR POST-OP

One year ago today we were in St. Louis.  After a grueling 6 hour surgery the news that all went well and we could see Danielle in the recovery room was a relief. It has been a year full of progress and great recovery.  Danielle is doing so well!  In the spring she went to prom and had graduation.  Prom dress shopping was very difficult.  She didn't want to order anything and wanted something to show off her scar that she is so proud of.  We went in late February due to our son's basketball schedule.  We drove 1 1/2  hrs to the city.  Trying on dresses tired her out. She was determined and found a beautiful dress.  The back wasn't as open as she wanted but it showed a good portion of her beautiful straight back and scar.

In May Danielle went to Lake of the Ozarks with her class for senior trip and graduated.  The class invited me as one of the adult sponsors.  It was a fun trip with a great bunch of young adults!  Danielle could not get in lake water but could swim in the pool.  It was unseasonably cold but she and her classmates swam anyway.  Danielle couldn't jet ski and tried the go carts but they were just too rough..  She was stiff and sore after the bus ride but as usual, didn't complain.  Graduation was a wonderful beautiful day!  I had many mixed emotions.  She has such a wonderful class and great friends it was hard to see them graduate!

Typically Danielle works at the swimming pool for summer employment.  She decided that if she couldn't lift the children it probably wouldn't be a good idea to lifeguard.  She was doing more and more each day, sometimes more than I would like.

On July 1 we had her 6 month checkup.  The doctor pretty much gave her the green light to do what she wanted!  He asked if there was anything that she wasn't doing that she would like to be doing and her first answer was playing softball.  He said that he didn't see why she couldn't play and that she should ease into it.  Well.....he doesn't know how Danielle plays softball.  She gives it her all on third base!  Her travel team is so wonderful.  They welcomed her back on the roster!  However,  it was difficult on both of us.  She had to play outfield instead of her normal 3rd base position because she wasn't playing up to her full potential. I didn't want her on third and she definitely wasn't ready for that.  It was scary for me to watch and it was frustrating to her because she couldn't move as quickly or hit as hard as before.  She had to be reminded that the doctor said she could ease into her game.  It was so hard not to be able to do everything right off the bat!

 In August we packed her up and took her to the University of Missouri Columbia.  She went a week early to participate in sorority rush. She pledged Sigma Kappa and absolutely LOVES her roommate, and college life at MU.  I was so worried about her sleeping on those dorm mattresses and purchased a foam mattress topper.  (Still not even close to her mattress at home!)  After about 3 weeks she told me "Mom you are not going to want to hear this but my back is really hurting and I am so sore."  My response was, "I am surprised I didn't hear that sooner from you."  She lives on the 6th floor and she and her roommate choose to take the stirs for everything and she has several long walks to class with her backpack.  Getting ready for Homecoming was also hard on her back.  She spent many hours pomping the float and house decoration.  Usually by Thursday she was pretty sore and tired and didn't go to the rec center on Fridays due to a tired achy back.

Danielle and her older
brother, Tyler at MU

Our family.  Homecoming at MU.  October 2014.

Danielle and her roommate.

There have been times throughout the past 6 months that her back has hurt.  She said about a week ago on a Saturday evening that her back really hurt and she had no idea why because she hadn't done much that day.  She still gets sore and tired. Once in a while she feels a hard bump in areas of her back.  If you run your hand across the area she is talking about you can also feel the bump on the surface of her back.  Her dad teases her that her screws are coming loose.  In July we did ask the doctor about these hard bumps.  He said that yes the hard bumps are the screws and no they won't come loose.  She doesn't feel them daily but every now and then you can see or feel a screw on her back.  She is still stiff. She picks up things "correctly"  by squatting and keeping her back straight.  She leads a normal life with friends and family, exercises and does pretty much whatever she wants.  I have asked her several times throughout the last year if it was all worth it.  Her response is always the same "YES!"  She says that she has had times of tiredness, and soreness but can't even imagine how much pain she would be in DAILY if she would not have had the surgery.  So once again we thank Dr. Lenke, and all of his fellows and the nurses at St. Louis Children's  for their kindness and expertise! 

I love this picture from prom in April.
Kind of shows Danielle's personality.

Danielle and her 2 brothers before Christmas Eve mass 12/24/.
She is the shrimp in the family LOL.  Alex is 17 years old and Tyler is 21.

6 month Post-Op (July 1st, 2014)

It has been a very busy spring. Danielle is doing fantastic! I was invited to go with her class to Lake of the Ozarks in May right before graduation. What a great class! The go carts were a little too rough for her and she still wasn't allowed to swim in a lake or pond so the jet skis were off limit as well, but she had a wonderful time!

Graduation Day 5-18-14

Last day of High School

Danielle's Senior Prom

Graduation day was a wonderful and exciting day for her. I am so happy for her and can hardly believe this day has come so soon. She is very excited to see what the future holds for her as she has decided to begin the next step in her life at the University of Missouri, Columbia. Danielle usually works at the public swimming pool in town but has decided not to this summer. She is missing travel softball so much! She still goes to every single game and is even the new first base coach! We had her 6 month post-op visit in St. Louis on July 1st and we got wonderful news for the doctor was very pleased. Danielle is doing amazing. Below is what Danielle posed on Facebook after our visit.......

I had my 6 month post-op appointment in St. Louis this morning and heard GREAT news! Due to Dr. Lenke being such a busy, demanding man, my appointment was with his fellow (his surgical assistant). He told me my x-ray looked perfect but my bone would continue to fuse for another 6-10 months, which is normal. He told me the stiffness that I get will probably never go away but to me is definitely tolerable. He said the soreness I have in my right shoulder is very common and will last for the longest period of time. He said eventually I should be PAIN FREE! Two days ago I woke up with a sharp pain on the right side of my spine. There was a pretty good knot on my spine. I told mom and dad that it was a screw sticking out and they didn't believe me. The fellow told me I was right. Since I am so thin there isn't much between the rods/screws and my skin but there is enough tissue surrounding it that there will be no problem! The best news of all..... He then asked me what the one thing I was not doing that I want to be able to do. My automatic response was "to play softball again". (Dr. Lenke originally told me no contact sports for a year!). He said he remembered softball was so important to me and said there is no reason for me not to be able to play now. He said I would have to ease into it knowing what my body can do but no sliding. There isn't a very good chance that I can mess anything up now! So I pretty much have ZERO restrictions! I am so excited and I never thought it would happen. Hard work and dedication truly pays off! I love my new scar and back and am SO happy with my decision. I am so thankful for Dr. Lenke and everyone who has helped me get to this point!

X-ray on 7-1-14

4th of July

Danielle's first time batting since before surgery!