We got back to the Ronald McDonald House and relaxed a bit before it was time for the first post-removal surgery shower. I have been dreading this for 48 hours. I asked them to go easy on the tape, but apparently nobody listens worth a crap because this poor girl had surgical tape across her belly and down her leg on the front and back. I guess the boys had a different OR staff, because they didn't have hardly any tape and Ava had a ton. She is so anxious about everything that just pulling the tape off was horrible. We hadn't even tackled getting the gauze pads off the actual pin sites or anything - it took 45 minutes just to get the tape off!!! We worked slowly - tried using baby oil to loosen the tape, but that didn't work. I also asked them three times for adhesive remover at the hospital and she told me they didn't have any. What a crock! I should have pushed more. :(
After nearly an hour of getting the tape and pads off, it was time to get the gauze off the actual skin. I knew there was no way we would be able to pull them off without getting them wet, but I also knew that getting them wet might not be good because of the amount of blood that the gauze pads had soaked up. The minute the water soaked them, the blood just started pouring out. Which freaked Ava out entirely. I tried explaining to her that she was not bleeding AT ALL - it was just the gauze that had, like a sponge, soaked up everything 2 days ago and now that it was getting wet, it was just running out. But it didn't really help. She had fibers of the gauze pads literally stuck to the holes where the pins were! It was every bit as bad as the first few pin cares. :( She said to me again, "I never wanted to do ANY of this!" as she sobbed and sobbed. It just breaks my heart that she blames me for doing this to her. I know that it will be a distant memory one day....she won't really remember all the details of this whole process. I can only pray that all of this heals her as much as possible and she never has to do anything like this again for Perthes.
After nearly an hour of getting the tape and pads off, it was time to get the gauze off the actual skin. I knew there was no way we would be able to pull them off without getting them wet, but I also knew that getting them wet might not be good because of the amount of blood that the gauze pads had soaked up. The minute the water soaked them, the blood just started pouring out. Which freaked Ava out entirely. I tried explaining to her that she was not bleeding AT ALL - it was just the gauze that had, like a sponge, soaked up everything 2 days ago and now that it was getting wet, it was just running out. But it didn't really help. She had fibers of the gauze pads literally stuck to the holes where the pins were! It was every bit as bad as the first few pin cares. :( She said to me again, "I never wanted to do ANY of this!" as she sobbed and sobbed. It just breaks my heart that she blames me for doing this to her. I know that it will be a distant memory one day....she won't really remember all the details of this whole process. I can only pray that all of this heals her as much as possible and she never has to do anything like this again for Perthes.
Once the gauze pads were OFF, it was fine. The water didn't hurt the sites, we put antibacterial soap on and made sure she was clean, but didn't really touch them at all. She has a ton of adhesive residue across her belly, but we will have to work to get that off later. I have lots of pictures, but I'll just post one of the sites in the shower and one of the Barbie band-aids we put on afterward! Ryan said he thought they looked really great - and I guess I agree. I mean, it could be worse. None of them are big gaping holes - actually, the top back pin site looks nearly closed already! But it is hard to look at for sure.
After dinner tonight, the three Musketeers (Ava, DJ, and Cooper) got to have some of the cake that Cooper's mom had made for them. We were missing the fourth, Buddy, but he wasn't able to come to the RMH. So we saved him a big piece and went ahead and gave the kids their little sweet reward! They really are doing AMAZING. They are all up and walking around - we are having to yell at them to slow down and stop pushing it already! The little hops, the fast walking with crutches/walker, the climbing up onto things (yes, really!) to get something just out of reach.....they are just incredible kids!! And they have gotten along so well. Three is sometimes a hard number, and although the boys have definitely paired up and gotten a bit 'boyish' at times, they've all three played together and the boys have been great about including Ava. Probably helps that she's more of a tomboy than a girly-girl. :) She loves playing air-hockey with them and even beat each of them once or twice!!!
Tomorrow is our first PT appointment at RIAO - so we are all hoping that they do as well 'working' as they have playing!!
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