recovery-

Good days and bad - that's what recovery is all about. Here we are on the third day out from surgery (which they say is the worst with any kind of surgery)and if this is the worst I'll take it.

Yesterday was a rough day for Camilla. The nursing staff didn't wake us for her 5:00 dose of tylenol and when she awoke at 7:45 she was in pain. It took the better part of the day to get the pain somewhat back under control and try to get her comfortable. She never cried (I don't think she had the strength to) but her eyes plead 'make it better Mama'. She also slept for the better part of the day and barely managed to stay awake during the visit from Occupational Therapy. After seeing Dr. Blount he decided to give her Tylenol with codeine to better manage her pain and to put her back on IV fluids to prevent any dehydration since she wouldn't drink anything (and because she lost what little bit of food she had eaten right in front of him). After the first does of T3 at 11:00pm she went soundly to sleep and other than me having to give her meds every three hours she slept great until 9:30 this morning. Today she has been very alert, awake and happy. She is laughing and smiling and playing with toys. She did great for both the physical and occupational therapists. She is still having trouble with some weakness on the left side (due to moving the right hemisphere during the surgery) and she will not really put any weight on her left leg yet. We were warned that she may have temporary weakness on that side and that it should return to normal within two weeks.

Brandon went to work today so Milla and I had some good 'quality time' together. I crawled up in her bed and we snuggled and since she can't really play with her hair and suck her thumb - she played with mine. She has talked alot today and is regaining many of her words. We also went for a wagon ride around the hospital. We bumped in to Dr. Blount in the Go Store and he was glad to see her out and about. We also went to Children's Harbor and she played some games and played with lots of toys (from the wagon of course). After all that fun - she was EXHAUSTED! After resting for a little while we were then able to get her a good bath and even a good head-washing. The bandages came off yesterday and we attempted to wash her hair then but weren't able to do it well because of her pain. Today she had a good long bath and we were able to wash, dry and comb her hair. She now has little pig-tails all over her head. We have also been able to get a good look at the incision - the big, bad, much larger than we ever expected incision - all 6 inches of it. The swelling in her face is better and her eyes aren't black today either.

As for her eating and drinking - it is a slow battle. She is eating more today than yesterday but is still adamantly opposed to drinking. We know that her throat is most likely sore from the breathing tube but now they are concerned that she may be aspirating on thin liquids since she coughs each time she is forced to drink or swallow liquid medications. We may have to do a swallow study to rule this out but we do have the clear to go home as soon as the 'drinking' situation is resolved.

Still grateful for all of the gifts, visits, calls, messages and most of all prayers. God continues to surround us with peace and strength that surpasses ALL understanding. There are moments when I hear myself say 'brain surgery' and I think "I should be hysterical" but I just can't manage it. Now I don't want to mislead anyone - this isn't easy, there are plenty of tears, fears and questions but I am always comforted knowing that this is God's plan and He is carrying me through every moment of every day. I continue to look forward to seeing what he has in store for Camilla.

As for seizures - we'll see. We have not seen a seizure as we knew it before. We have seen a few unusual shakes and jerks but not sure if that could be a side-effect of the surgery. Unfortunately we are very aware that epilepsy is a disease that can restructure itself and 'fight back' so again we remain cautiously optomistic.

"For I know the plans I have for you" declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you HOPE and a FUTURE." Jeremiah 29:11