Six Days After Rhizotomy

This morning Nina was singing one of her Bible songs from Bullfrogs and Butterflies, "Be Strong and Courageous." And I paused a little thinking how strong and courageous Nina has been for the last week.

"You know Nina, you are strong and courageous"
"I am?"
"Yes, yes you are. You are teaching all of us what it looks like to be strong and courageous."
"Thanks mom, you teach me a lot too."

I had not seen Nina from Sunday night to Wednesday afternoon, and I was impressed at how well she is doing. She is doing incredibly well emotionally, but also physically. She is moving around, sitting on her own and crawling.

You see, after a rhizotomy, kids are weak. The spasticity is gone, and all of a sudden they need to re-learn how to sit, stand, and move. They say it takes about a year to regain the muscle strength from before the surgery. The difference is, the right muscles will actually be working! So while Nina could "run" with her walker, right now she can barely hold her weight.

I did not expect her to be doing as much as she is doing now. Andy and I were talking, and we are reminded that our little girl is a fighter. She was born at 27 weeks and has Cerebral Palsy. She grew up in an orphanage, but she was a fighter, and she continues to try so hard. I am not surprised at how well she is doing, but rather in awe of this little girl, who has gone through so much in life, yet stands assisted with a big smile on her face. She is indeed teaching me what it looks like to be strong and courageous. She is amazing. I feel so incredibly grateful that I get to be her mother. It is an honor to call her my own.

She is doing so well, that they are thinking she will be realeased next Friday! All along we thought we would be here for her birthday, and now we migt be able to have a party and celebrate at home! We will have to come and stay at the Ronald McDonald house for about a week or two, but that is better than the hospital and all 5 of us can stay together!

As for pain medication, Nina is basically only taking Tylenol 3 or 4 times a day and then a stronger pain medicine in the morning.

Nina is supposed to sleep wearing leg braces (that keep her legs straight) and she hates them! So that has not gone so well. Nina is a belly sleeper, so instead we will incorporate time during her day to wear these.

Today, as we were playing with Nina's friend, Nina pulled herself up to a stand and stood for about 10 minutes. I helped her with balance and positioning. She is phenomenal.