here are some photos from how our house looked last time surgery came around.
She is back to sleeping through the night without the help of Tylenol (we haven't had to give any in a few days now) and takes a nice mid-day nap like she used to. She is happy to play with her toys, though still asks to watch "shows", just not as often (and we definitely give in here and there). The last few days, she has been eating normally, too, which is such a relief. She doesn't eat as much, but she is starting to have full meals now (as much as a 2 year old eats a "meal").
We have all been doing pretty well, adjusting and giving her and ourselves a little more grace than usual. I know I need it sometimes. It is hard to hoist a 25 pound kiddo up from the bum... ahk. Try it next time, trying to get your kid out of their car-seat, or out of a chair or stroller. It is not so easy. But we are managing. It's hardest to tell people mid pick-up "oooooo, don't pick her up by the arm pits!". They are just trying to love her. Anyways, a little thing in the long run.
Her scar is looking pretty good, too. We don't put a dressing on it anymore, as the tape seemed to be bothering her skin. She has been free of for the past few days and it seems to be doing just fine. We just have to keep it clean and dry. We still give it a good saline wash every night and keep her hands off of it. That is a little tough, as she loves to lift up her shirt and point to her belly button, and then she sees her chest-tube scab and says "scar" and kinda winces a little sometimes. That is the ugliest scab right now, and looks like if it were to open again, it would easily become infected. But her paws are always getting to it. We try to tell her just to pat it, or rub it through her shirt, but mostly just leave it alone.
We're also calling it just what it is: scar. It's not an "ou-ee" or "boo-boo". She can say scar and knows where it came from, so we might as well say it. She can sorta say "surgery" and sometimes references it, too.
You can sorta tell from these photos that the incision is slightly raised, but that will fade away in no time. The stitches underneath are still dissolving, I think, so it will flatten out soon. There is just a tiny bit of bruising around the area, but not much. The most annoying part to look at now is all the tape stickiness that isn't going away. Oh well... just gotta wear that skin away, I guess.
We went to my family doctor this week for a check-up and to remove the stitch at her chest-tube hole, and to take a general listen and see how things were. Everything seemed to look good, and continues to look pretty straight forward. Also, the nurse-practitioner (NP) called from BCCH just to check in and see how Piper was doing, which was nice. She just wanted to remind us that her incision could easily get infected and to keep it clean. Right-o. Will do.
For now, we just need to keep on with what we are doing. And we go back to BCCH this Tuesday to meet with the surgeon and the NP to see how things are going. She will get a chest x-ray and an ECG, but probably not an echo... that is just me assuming. I think it will be pretty straight forward. They will most likely tell us to come back in 3 or 6 months and go from there. And actually, we will still meet with the cardiologist in another few weeks still (yes, the cardiac surgeon and the cardiologist are two different people who need two different check-ups. Not entirely sure why). I am not worried about something getting missed here.
Again, we've just felt a great sense of love and support this last week. It's been such a gift having all of your support and prayers throughout this journey. Thank you for all the hugs, thoughts and food :)
We have all been doing pretty well, adjusting and giving her and ourselves a little more grace than usual. I know I need it sometimes. It is hard to hoist a 25 pound kiddo up from the bum... ahk. Try it next time, trying to get your kid out of their car-seat, or out of a chair or stroller. It is not so easy. But we are managing. It's hardest to tell people mid pick-up "oooooo, don't pick her up by the arm pits!". They are just trying to love her. Anyways, a little thing in the long run.
Her scar is looking pretty good, too. We don't put a dressing on it anymore, as the tape seemed to be bothering her skin. She has been free of for the past few days and it seems to be doing just fine. We just have to keep it clean and dry. We still give it a good saline wash every night and keep her hands off of it. That is a little tough, as she loves to lift up her shirt and point to her belly button, and then she sees her chest-tube scab and says "scar" and kinda winces a little sometimes. That is the ugliest scab right now, and looks like if it were to open again, it would easily become infected. But her paws are always getting to it. We try to tell her just to pat it, or rub it through her shirt, but mostly just leave it alone.
We're also calling it just what it is: scar. It's not an "ou-ee" or "boo-boo". She can say scar and knows where it came from, so we might as well say it. She can sorta say "surgery" and sometimes references it, too. 
You can sorta tell from these photos that the incision is slightly raised, but that will fade away in no time. The stitches underneath are still dissolving, I think, so it will flatten out soon. There is just a tiny bit of bruising around the area, but not much. The most annoying part to look at now is all the tape stickiness that isn't going away. Oh well... just gotta wear that skin away, I guess.
We went to my family doctor this week for a check-up and to remove the stitch at her chest-tube hole, and to take a general listen and see how things were. Everything seemed to look good, and continues to look pretty straight forward. Also, the nurse-practitioner (NP) called from BCCH just to check in and see how Piper was doing, which was nice. She just wanted to remind us that her incision could easily get infected and to keep it clean. Right-o. Will do.
For now, we just need to keep on with what we are doing. And we go back to BCCH this Tuesday to meet with the surgeon and the NP to see how things are going. She will get a chest x-ray and an ECG, but probably not an echo... that is just me assuming. I think it will be pretty straight forward. They will most likely tell us to come back in 3 or 6 months and go from there. And actually, we will still meet with the cardiologist in another few weeks still (yes, the cardiac surgeon and the cardiologist are two different people who need two different check-ups. Not entirely sure why). I am not worried about something getting missed here. 
Again, we've just felt a great sense of love and support this last week. It's been such a gift having all of your support and prayers throughout this journey. Thank you for all the hugs, thoughts and food :)Just for interest sake, here is a glimpse from last time at how Piper's scar was doing first time around. You can tell already here that the top of her scar was infected... boo. It does get me a little worried for her chest-tube hole, as it is looking a little red around there. Hmmm... time will tell!
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