Raising Chickens and Special Needs Kids

[TexasLisa]

Blooie, are you sure she had surgery??? I never looked that good the day after. I want that little girl's spunk!! I am really happy for everyone involved. Thank you LORD!!

 

[Blooie]

Blooie, are you sure she had surgery??? I never looked that good the day after. I want that little girl's spunk!! I am really happy for everyone involved. Thank you LORD!!

Amen and AMEN! Shoot, I didn't look that good after a simple heart cath! She's one amazing little girl! I keep telling people that God has something very special in mind for her, and I darn sure want to hang around long enough to find out what it is!!

 

[3goodeggs]

 

[BantyChooks]

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!!

Oh my goodness!!! That is SO AWESOME!!! e

 

[Blooie]

Aaand....she is officially discharged!

 

[TheKindaFarmGal]

I'm kind of new here but I had to say...wow! That is just amazing Blooie! I read this whole thread today, and Kendra is a beautiful, spunky little girl. I will be praying for you all in the coming days, especially as she continues recovering!

God has truly blessed her with a wonderful family. What a fighter!

 

[Blooie]

Thank you so much, and welcome!! Yep, our Kendra is one in a million, and we are so blessed that she's in our family. I guess to know her is to love her!

 

[FridayYet]

So happy to hear the good news!

 

[Bunnylady]

Well, knock me over with a feather! That is fantabulous.

Thank you, Lord!

 

[Jessimom]

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!

Well deserved wiggling!!!

The horrors of public bathrooms. Jess was in diapers until she was 6, pull ups until she was 8. She still occasionally has accidents, but not nearly as often. I can't tell you how many bathrooms I had to go in to a regular stall with her since able body people use the handicap ones, and clean up a very upset child. I still bring a full change of clothes (including socks) with me when I know I will be out for extended periods. I have a complete set (including shoes) in my trunk. She has changes of clothes at school.

But, what I'm seeing more and more around here, are much sturdier changing tables INSIDE the handicap stalls. I just hope that becomes the standard.

I am SO VERY HAPPY Kendra has been discharged. I'm sure the kids are so relieved as well. I know the absolutely worst feeling in the world is seeing your child hooked up to IV's lying in a hospital bed. Until they are home, or at least out of the hospital, that feeling just multiplies. I hope that every visit she is facing the next few days goes smoothly, and that they have a safe trip home!!