Hi all,
Lucy had her hip surgery on Monday, and it went well. The operation itself took less time than expected as the hip slipped back into position much easier than anticipated and the hip ball has a nice secure fit in the socket, which is very good news. Lucy has a bright pink plaster and fibreglass cast from her chest to her ankles, and a small wound in her groin from the surgery, which didn't need stitches. After she woke in recovery, she was very distressed and took a long time to settle. We were expecting this but it was still awful to try and comfort her, as nothing really worked very well. She was totally disoriented and uncomfortable and in a bit of pain no doubt too. She did calm down after a few feeds, loads of cuddles and some more pain relief. Thankfully, both DH and I were able to meet her in recovery, as we could see this was definitely going to be a 'tag team' parenting situation, with both of us taking it in turns to hold her and rock her as best we could. Lucy eventually fell asleep and slept through her MRI, where we went after recovery. Lucy's doctors were able to reassure us that it had all gone well, as the MRI showed a very good fit between hip ball and socket. We also arranged to stay overnight up at the hospital, as I was concerned about pain and discomfort during the night, especially being an hour from the hospital in case something happened.
Monday afternoon Lucy was sleepy but she did get her smile back late in the day, amazingly! She did give us both really serious 'death stares', as if she was saying 'what have you let them do to me', and she'd look from one of us to the other, as if to say 'make her/him stop this!'. We spent the afternoon trying to juggle her as best we could, talking to the physio and occupational therapists, and learning how to do the whole nappy thing with a plaster cast in the way! So far only one leak to report! The first night in hospital she went well considering what she'd been through. She was a little more restless, and was quite frustrated when she woke and realised that the cast was still there. She tried to crawl out of it, and even grabbed the bars of the hospital cot and tried to pull herself out of it. Poor little thing, it's upsetting to see her frustrated and not be able to explain it to her, like you would an older child. It will just take her 'getting used to it' everyday until she stops noticing it as different and adopts it as normal, which to me sounds so un-normal. She growled at me in the early morning when she realised I wasn't going to, or couldn't take it off her, and then called out for Daddy. Of course he was at home, so she was crying and I had a tear in my eye and a lump in my throat while trying to comfort her. Thankfully she fed really well, albeit really awkwardly, all night. She was no doubt catching up on the feeds she'd missed out on!
We came home yesterday (Tuesday) around lunchtime and slept the whole afternoon. Last night was better still in terms of sleep, I think it'll be a case of trying lots of sleeping positions til we get one that works well for us all.
So for the moment we are tired but the immediate anxiety about the surgery has passed. We are just now learning to adapt! Last night Lucy actually crawled across the bed, dragging her stiff legs behind her! I didn't think she would be able to crawl in it, especially when I saw how awkward and heavy the cast was. I was very surprised when she did that last night! Thanks to you all for your kind thoughts and messages and prayers for Lucy and our family. Warm wishes,
Pip.