A Day of Major Progress

Gracie has made a great deal of progress today. This morning she was getting Valium, Fentanyl and Benadryl through an IV. She couldn't be moved without feeling pain in her back where the surgery was performed. She wouldn't drink or eat anything and had a catheter for the other end of the digestive system.

As of 6:00 tonight, the IV is gone, the catheter is out and she is drinking AND eating!!! She is able to move and the pain has decreased so the cocktail of Fentanyl and Benadryl are no longer necessary. Her pain is now managed through periodic doses of Tylenol with Codeine and she is still taking Valium for her muscle spasms.

We were able to move her enough to take her hospital gown off and put one of her favorite t-shirts on and she didn't complain about any pain in the process.

Dr. Park came by to see her and he was obviously happy with her progress. He said that tomorrow we will start the physical therapy at her bedside and hopefully by Saturday she will do her therapy in the physical therapy room.

She has been playing with the remote for her TV and her bed. She loves being able to raise her head up and down. She has received many balloons and she enjoys playing with them by pulling on the ribbons. The stuffed animals, Elmo and her new American Girl doll have been big hits and her grandparents have been using them as characters in the stories they tell her.

Gracie has also enjoyed all of the emails. The lady at the front desk laughed about the large number of messages Gracie has received. Thank you to everyone for making our little girl feel so loved.