Raising Chickens and Special Needs Kids

[BantyChooks]

Kendra is SO sweet. I am so very glad she is recovering well, and I will be praying for her. She is a very special little girl!

-Banti

 

[sourland]

Dang, that little girl has a way of melting your heart

She does.

 

[N F C]

Good to see the photos Blooie and glad to hear things are looking up!

 

[TexasLisa]

That little girl sure has a way of making one's eyes water! Give her a big hug from all of us Blooie!

 

[Blooie]

I will, Lisa! Can't wait for this morning's Face Time. I am so glad that we can do that - I don't feel so far away. When the doctors and the urology nurses show the kids how to change the bags and dressings, Kenny is going to be recording it while I'm there via FaceTime. Since I'll be her caregiver when she gets home, I need to know this stuff too, and if we do it that way I can ask any questions I have at the same time. Jenny said they didn't bat an eye when she talked to them about the recording and the FT - apparently that's done a lot since the technology is available. Remember the bad old days when the doctor would come into the room and everyone except the patient and the spouse or parent had to leave so he could talk to them? Shoot, everyone was standing right outside the door anyway, and it wasn't like he was sharing any state secrets - as soon as he left the patient and whoever was in there was going to tell everyone what he said anyway!

Thanks for all the kind words and hanging in there with us! She is so special to so many good people!

 

[Blooie]

Sit down.....no, seriously - SIT DOWN!

Kendra could be discharged today!! I'm not kidding! The surgeon, the urologist and the urology nurses were in this morning and said that Kendra is so far ahead of the recovery curve that there is no point in her being stuck in the hospital over the weekend. The pain pump/sponge thingies are disconnected, her IV is still in her foot but no longer running fluids, she's taking all her meds orally, and they were able to remove one of her urinary catheters - the Foley. The Mitrofanoff catheter is still in place but that stays in for the next 3-4 weeks. Since the kids are staying in hotel close to the hospital the staff said that if Kendra continues to tolerate her oral meds, can stay hydrated on her own, and continues to be as animated and happy as she is keeping her there was pointless - they said hospitals are for sick kids!! Woo hooooo!!

In the meantime they sprung her from her room and let the kids take her down to the cafeteria for breakfast with Mommy and Daddy. That was a huge hit for all of them. I can't believe this is happening so fast!!

The Power of Prayer - and one little girl with an abundance of grit and determination!! God forgot to tell her she's disabled, and by golly we ain't gonna tell her either!!


A good morning kiss from Daddy makes everything better....


She kept playing with the call thing, and the nurses knew that she can't rationalize "I need this" and then ring for them. But if a bell goes off, they need to answer it. Solution? They went into an empty room and brought her a disconnected one. She was happy, they were happy, and the working one was hanging off the side of the bed if Jenny needed to use it.


Down in the cafeteria with Mom and Dad!

If my heart gets any fuller it's gonna bust wide open!!

 

[Kiki]

What a great way to turn your frown upside down..huh?
Congrats!

 

[Tumbling K]

Sit down.....no, seriously - SIT DOWN!

Kendra could be discharged today!! I'm not kidding! The surgeon, the urologist and the urology nurses were in this morning and said that Kendra is so far ahead of the recovery curve that there is no point in her being stuck in the hospital over the weekend. The pain pump/sponge thingies are disconnected, her IV is still in her foot but no longer running fluids, she's taking all her meds orally, and they were able to remove one of her urinary catheters - the Foley. The Mitrofanoff catheter is still in place but that stays in for the next 3-4 weeks. Since the kids are staying in hotel close to the hospital the staff said that if Kendra continues to tolerate her oral meds, can stay hydrated on her own, and continues to be as animated and happy as she is keeping her there was pointless - they said hospitals are for sick kids!! Woo hooooo!!

In the meantime they sprung her from her room and let the kids take her down to the cafeteria for breakfast with Mommy and Daddy. That was a huge hit for all of them. I can't believe this is happening so fast!!

The Power of Prayer - and one little girl with an abundance of grit and determination!! God forgot to tell her she's disabled, and by golly we ain't gonna tell her either!!


A good morning kiss from Daddy makes everything better....


She kept playing with the call thing, and the nurses knew that she can't rationalize "I need this" and then ring for them. But if a bell goes off, they need to answer it. Solution? They went into an empty room and brought her a disconnected one. She was happy, they were happy, and the working one was hanging off the side of the bed if Jenny needed to use it.


Down in the cafeteria with Mom and Dad!

If my heart gets any fuller it's gonna bust wide open!!

dangit Blooie!!!


great stuff!!! the good keeps getting better.

 

[Jessimom]

Sit down.....no, seriously - SIT DOWN!

Kendra could be discharged today!! I'm not kidding! The surgeon, the urologist and the urology nurses were in this morning and said that Kendra is so far ahead of the recovery curve that there is no point in her being stuck in the hospital over the weekend. The pain pump/sponge thingies are disconnected, her IV is still in her foot but no longer running fluids, she's taking all her meds orally, and they were able to remove one of her urinary catheters - the Foley. The Mitrofanoff catheter is still in place but that stays in for the next 3-4 weeks. Since the kids are staying in hotel close to the hospital the staff said that if Kendra continues to tolerate her oral meds, can stay hydrated on her own, and continues to be as animated and happy as she is keeping her there was pointless - they said hospitals are for sick kids!! Woo hooooo!!

In the meantime they sprung her from her room and let the kids take her down to the cafeteria for breakfast with Mommy and Daddy. That was a huge hit for all of them. I can't believe this is happening so fast!!

The Power of Prayer - and one little girl with an abundance of grit and determination!! God forgot to tell her she's disabled, and by golly we ain't gonna tell her either!!


A good morning kiss from Daddy makes everything better....


She kept playing with the call thing, and the nurses knew that she can't rationalize "I need this" and then ring for them. But if a bell goes off, they need to answer it. Solution? They went into an empty room and brought her a disconnected one. She was happy, they were happy, and the working one was hanging off the side of the bed if Jenny needed to use it.


Down in the cafeteria with Mom and Dad!

If my heart gets any fuller it's gonna bust wide open!!

What GREAT NEWS Blooie!! Makes me happy to hear how well she is healing! I hope that the move to the hospital actually speeds things up further. Sometimes being away from all the noises and interruptions you get in a hospital, I think can help!

So, they need to stay close by until the other catheter is removed? Or longer? When do they get to come home?

 

[Blooie]

They'll be there in Denver until at least Tuesday. The kids will run her up to the urology floor once a day to have her incisions checked but she won't have to stay there. Then Monday they'll go to full clinic and have absolutely everything checked out. The Foley catheter is out, but she has an under-the-skin catheter going through the channel they made into her colon and another one from her belly button, through the re-purposed appendix down into her bladder. The one in her colon will be taken out in about 3-4 weeks. The one into her bladder will also come out then. The channels that those catheters are keeping open should have healed by then. After than we'll just run a catheter down the channel into her belly button to do her bladder caths 5x a day, and we'll flush her colon from the top down with warmed saline through the channel every night. Nothing in our routine really changes - we do catheterizations 5 times a day now, and she gets her enema (bootie duty, as she calls it) every night, so the only change is how we do it, not when. So this is huge for her - it's been called a life changing procedure and we believe it!

I can't believe how nice it's going to be not to rely on those flimsy changing tables in restrooms when we have her out and about! Right now we have to put her up there because the catheter has to be lower than she is to function. It's hard to trust those tables, and the option of putting her on a dirty public restroom floor is totally out, even if she didn't need the gravity. And why do they always put those darn changing tables by the door into the restroom right across from the sinks and mirrors? Kids with special needs have their dignity stripped from them in so many ways most of us don't think about! In the past our choices were either deal with it or never take her out with us anywhere. That darn sure wasn't happening!! Now we can just take her into a stall, stand her facing the potty, clean the site, put in the cath, and cath right into the toilet! I know, it seems like a little thing, but for us and for her this is the biggest improvement in her life since she was born!

She'll finish her recovery so much faster out of the hospital environment, you are so right! Now, all of this discharge stuff hinges on her being able to maintain her own hydration and tolerate the oral meds, but it's looking so good right now!!

I'm wiggling all over!