Amanda's Days

It is Monday evening and as we sit together in Amanda's room, we wanted to take some time and share with you what Amanda's days are like.

Following Amanda's surgery on last Tuesday, we were told to expect that she could be in the Intensive Care Unit for 3 days or so. By late Thursday morning, Amanda had been cleared to leave the ICU. We were so very thankful that she had come through the surgery so well and that all of her vital signs stayed strong and good. Unfortunately there were no empty beds in either the Pediatric Unit or the Rehabilitation Unit that Amanda could move to. By late Friday evening, a bed was available in Rehab and we were moved there to begin the next phase of her healing and care.

The Rehab area is where we continue to live. Amanda is getting stronger everyday, and we are so grateful. Her days are still spent primarily in her bed...she has not be allowed to put any pressure on the incision area. When you consider that it wraps around most of her left hip area - both front & back - there are not a lot of comfortable ways to lay. She mostly rests on her right side but must change positions every few hours.

The long hours of the weekend passed much more easily thanks to a visit from her sister, Haley. The girls enjoyed their time together, spent lots of time talking and - thanks to a some special items in Haley's bag - they painted her toe nails. Amanda really thought that was fun.

Another highlight was that Amanda really wanted to practice standing again. Since there was no Physical Therapy scheduled over the weekend for her she asked me if we couldn't do it together. We decided, sure. So, with the help of a nurse who swiped a walker from another room (yes...she really did swipe one for us...the patient wasn't using it...that's all I can say about that...):-}Amanda, Haley & I worked together and got Amanda up and standing. Again, I was so proud, so happy with all that she was motivated to do.

Today, Monday, started out with lots of Doctor visits and lots of words of encouragement and praise. Everyone is very positive about Amanda's progression. Today in Physical Therapy Amanda was able to move herself to the edge of the bed, and with very little assistance, rise to a standing position. She stood three seperate times, once for 7 or 8 minutes. The therapists were so very, very pleased.

Each day we see improvement. Each day her strength returns a little bit more. Each day we are reminded that we are prayed for and we have much to be thankful for. And that gives us all the strength that we need to stand.