Surgery Scheduled, TODAY!
Well, life just got interesting.
As you may know, Peaches took a fall mid-October. We went to urgent care (no break) and got crutches. It hurt her shoulders to use them, but she toughed it out, but didn't get better. We were referred to the only pediatric orthopedic doctor who will take our insurance in town, but he was on vacation. We scheduled an appointment for when he came back, and waited.
In November, (day before that appointment I scheduled) we went to Shriners Children's Hospital to see her doctor about her Chronic Shoulder Instability. He saw the crutches, and asked what happened. He said she needed an MRI for her knee right away, as well as MRI arthrograms for each shoulder. (Ouch!)
November, we got the MRI.
December, we managed both anthrograms, and the following MRIs.
January, he dropped the bomb. She needed surgery on both shoulders to correct her large Hill-Sachs deformities caused by her frequent dislocations. Her knee also needed repair, for a torn ACL, and probably a torn meniscus. The knee was the priority, and needed to be done "right away".
Late Jan, after pressing them to schedule a surgery date, they explained that we were looking at April/May for the knee surgery. Peaches cried.
February, cleared genetics hurdle. Peaches does not have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, as they thought she might. YES!
March, cleared neurology hurdle. (Epilepsy) Dropped into Shriners to hand in the notes from her appointment. Asked about scheduling- no information. I was promised a call the next day to update me. I never received a call. Called, left multiple messages. No reply.
April, Peaches is now closing in on 6 months post-injury, and she is in pain EVERY DAY. They said we'd schedule for April/May, and have a pre-appointment 30 days out. Here we are... April. No date. No pre-op appointment either.
Wednesday, 4/5, I insisted I speak with someone about scheduling, but all I was able to get was a promise to hand-deliver a message to her doctor's assistant.
Yesterday, 4/6, I received a call from scheduling. I was thrilled that we would finally have a date and could make plans, I wasn't expecting the date they offered.
Her surgery is scheduled TODAY. 😳
Cue the whirlwind! Arranging for a leave of absence from work to care for her in recovery, super long nurse convos with the hospital trying to frontline all the paperwork we can, setting up independent study for school, canceling PT for today and next week, figuring out how to handle getting everyone to school/daycare, calling the shop about my van (it will be finished today, Friday), finding clothes she can wear in her new brace, wheelchair deliveries, documentation, telling her this is all about to happen, keeping her calm, answering her questions, asking Qs to the hospital, packing, informing family, holy crow! Annnnnnd I just realized I never picked up her CT scan. DAMNIT!!! And Lil Dude! I'm still breastfeeding. What will being away for a couple days do to my milk? I have so little these days. :(
Regardless, I still had to finish work yesterday, take Birdie to her brace appointment, and pick up the kids from school. Well, half of them. Then I dropped that half off at home and went back to pick up the rest, because my van is still in the shop, and everyone doesn't fit in my car.
I feel like I just kinda dived in and didn't really process things, but I'm thrilled we're moving forward. This is surgery #1 of 3. The big one, as it is the source of her greatest pain, and limits her mobility the most. Oh! DMV, I need my handicap placard... anyway! Once she is healed from this, we can move onto one shoulder, then the other. We're both excited that this is happening, but both nervous as well. She afraid of the unknown, and the pain she will suffer, but happy and hopeful that he pain (at least in her knee) will soon end. Hopefully by this time next year, all her pain, surgeries, and recoveries will be behind her!
3:18am. Let's do this!
As you may know, Peaches took a fall mid-October. We went to urgent care (no break) and got crutches. It hurt her shoulders to use them, but she toughed it out, but didn't get better. We were referred to the only pediatric orthopedic doctor who will take our insurance in town, but he was on vacation. We scheduled an appointment for when he came back, and waited.
In November, (day before that appointment I scheduled) we went to Shriners Children's Hospital to see her doctor about her Chronic Shoulder Instability. He saw the crutches, and asked what happened. He said she needed an MRI for her knee right away, as well as MRI arthrograms for each shoulder. (Ouch!)
November, we got the MRI.
December, we managed both anthrograms, and the following MRIs.
January, he dropped the bomb. She needed surgery on both shoulders to correct her large Hill-Sachs deformities caused by her frequent dislocations. Her knee also needed repair, for a torn ACL, and probably a torn meniscus. The knee was the priority, and needed to be done "right away".
Late Jan, after pressing them to schedule a surgery date, they explained that we were looking at April/May for the knee surgery. Peaches cried.
February, cleared genetics hurdle. Peaches does not have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, as they thought she might. YES!
March, cleared neurology hurdle. (Epilepsy) Dropped into Shriners to hand in the notes from her appointment. Asked about scheduling- no information. I was promised a call the next day to update me. I never received a call. Called, left multiple messages. No reply.
April, Peaches is now closing in on 6 months post-injury, and she is in pain EVERY DAY. They said we'd schedule for April/May, and have a pre-appointment 30 days out. Here we are... April. No date. No pre-op appointment either.
Wednesday, 4/5, I insisted I speak with someone about scheduling, but all I was able to get was a promise to hand-deliver a message to her doctor's assistant.
Yesterday, 4/6, I received a call from scheduling. I was thrilled that we would finally have a date and could make plans, I wasn't expecting the date they offered.
Her surgery is scheduled TODAY. 😳
Cue the whirlwind! Arranging for a leave of absence from work to care for her in recovery, super long nurse convos with the hospital trying to frontline all the paperwork we can, setting up independent study for school, canceling PT for today and next week, figuring out how to handle getting everyone to school/daycare, calling the shop about my van (it will be finished today, Friday), finding clothes she can wear in her new brace, wheelchair deliveries, documentation, telling her this is all about to happen, keeping her calm, answering her questions, asking Qs to the hospital, packing, informing family, holy crow! Annnnnnd I just realized I never picked up her CT scan. DAMNIT!!! And Lil Dude! I'm still breastfeeding. What will being away for a couple days do to my milk? I have so little these days. :(
Regardless, I still had to finish work yesterday, take Birdie to her brace appointment, and pick up the kids from school. Well, half of them. Then I dropped that half off at home and went back to pick up the rest, because my van is still in the shop, and everyone doesn't fit in my car.
I feel like I just kinda dived in and didn't really process things, but I'm thrilled we're moving forward. This is surgery #1 of 3. The big one, as it is the source of her greatest pain, and limits her mobility the most. Oh! DMV, I need my handicap placard... anyway! Once she is healed from this, we can move onto one shoulder, then the other. We're both excited that this is happening, but both nervous as well. She afraid of the unknown, and the pain she will suffer, but happy and hopeful that he pain (at least in her knee) will soon end. Hopefully by this time next year, all her pain, surgeries, and recoveries will be behind her!
3:18am. Let's do this!