Finally updating

I apologize that I dropped off the face of the earth this morning after posting Matthew's surgery start time. I am just getting back to the computer now.

Matthew's surgery went well. Less than an hour after it started, I was back in the pediatric PACU with him. He woke up from anesthesia pretty well and we were home before noon. I think Dr. K must have remembered how traumatic the huge dressing (and it's removal) were for Matthew last time. It was awful! Anyway... he just placed the sutures and used some skin glue. The down side of this is that there is much more opportunity for the sutures to be pulled out. I was given STRONG advice that Matthew needs to be quiet and limit his activity to nothing more than walking for the next two weeks. Really??? This is the child who approaches life at warp speed. Oh, my - it is going to be a challenge. But, thank you for your prayers for today's surgery. We felt them and I know that they made the difference in how things went. God was with us!

After lunch, we all crashed for the afternoon. Matthew and Mark curled up on our bed and watched tv (Mark was hoping for a nap, but Matthew must have decided that he slept enough during surgery - lol).  Maia and I cuddled up in the living room recliner. At first, she wasn't too excited about being that close to mom but soon settled down and fell asleep. She and I dozed for over two hours. Much needed rest!

Needless to say that the house was a DISASTER when my friend Jo dropped off pizza for dinner (thanks Jo!). I think that is probably one of my biggest stressors right now. When the house is out of control, it makes me frustrated. Somehow, I have to let go of that and accept that for a while, the house is going to be a disaster. Fact of life. And does it really matter? I hope that people don't judge me according to the mess of the house. I guess I shouldn't worry about it, but I do.

Maia had pizza with the rest of us this evening. I wasn't sure how she would do with it since we've been sticking with a pretty soft diet. But, she did well! Ate one square and half of a dessert stick. No vomiting today which is wonderful!!

There are times when I feel overwhelmed and so discouraged. I have to take a step back and remind myself of where we were one month ago. My blog post from May 29 talked about how Maia was not able to hold her head up by herself. Now, she's sitting on her own and walking short distances with support. One month ago, she was still having periods of agitation and anxiety. She was on heavy narcotics and anti-anxiety medications. Today, Maia is no longer taking the Ativan or Oxycodone. We will remove the last pain patch in 10 days. She's showing no signs of discomfort and her personality has returned to it's baseline cheerful nature. Yes, Maia still has periods where she gets a little upset but nothing like while she was in the PICU.  So, there is progress. And even though it is not as fast or as significant as I would like it to be, it's not about my timing. It's about God's timing and His plan. And He knows a whole lot better than I do.