Before Mallory's Surgery (Part 2)

The morning of Mallory's surgery we had to spend a couple hours keeping her busy and her mind off of food.  She could not eat after 6 a.m. and we did not have to report to the hospital till 11:30.

We met my parents at Union Station which is just a few blocks away from the hospital.

Being the train buffs that we are, we enjoyed the morning.

It is amazing the renovations that have been done to this depot.

You can even go outside and stand on the walk way and watch the trains go by.

We had to stop at the coin drop and watch the coins spin in circles.  The kids always love trying to guess which coin makes it to the bottom first.

There is also a model train exhibit that is spectacular.

Before Mallory's Surgery.

The day before Mallory's surgery, we had the chance to stay the night in K.C.  We had reservations for a room on the 29th floor at the Hyatt Regency at Crown Center and a meal at Skies (the rooftop rotating restaurant).  It was a nice way to relax before heading to the hospital.

Our view.

There was also a rooftop pool so we took in some swimming.

A must read.

My sister's post regarding her brain surgery is a must read.  Click Here

More Home Repair.

Todd has started work on the soffits of our house.
They were in terrible shape.
However, when you are working 2 stories up, you have to gather some gumption to do the work.

We rented scaffolding to make the job a little easier.

The end result is what we wanted.
Better curb appeal?  Definately.

Swim Lessons- Session 2

Another session of swim lessons is complete.

I know that I made the right choice putting Matthew and Hannah in back-to-back sessions. 

It has built their confidance and made summer busy and fun.

Matthew was in Level 3 this round.  They worked a lot on treading water and fine tuning their strokes.

Matthew can now swim across the pool without difficulty.

He now has a love for the diving board.

He loves to experiment with his jumps.

This session he also went off the high dive twice. 

It was not his favorite thing, but he did it.

Matthew passed Level 3.  That's two levels in one summer!

Hannah was in Level 2 this session.

She was one of the smallest in her class.  Shew worked so hard at learning all the new skills.

She loves the slide.

And, she went off the diving board with her swim instructor there to help.

She loved it.  But promptly told me "I do not like the high dive, though."  My reply was "How can you say that you don't like it if you have never tried it?"

She immediately walked over to the high dive and tried it.

As soon as she made it back over to the side of the pool she told me "Now, I don't like the high dive. "

Hannah did a great job with learning all the skills that come with Level 2.  Next summer she will repeat Level 2 to fine tune those skills and progress on to Level 3.

It's a busy 4 weeks running back and forth to swimming lessons but when it's all said and done, I do miss it.  Until next summer.....

Midsummer Nights Festival

Our town celebrates summer with a dowtown festival in mid-July.  They call it the Midsummer Nights Festival and the theme is centered around fairies and ogres.  It's fun to see all the costumes.  The downtown businesses participate with sales, there are food vendors, and games.  The highlight for the kids is the face painting and fairy makeup.  I had the chance to take Hannah this year and she loved it.

Mallory Surgery Update- Post 9

Well, here ya go.  Not for the weak-stomached.

Mallory Surgery Update- Post 8

We are home!

It was slow going getting out of the hospital but we made it to discharge. 

Mallory's knee looks great.  She is ambulating without much difficulty.  Her pain seems to be controlled. 

She has some restrictions on activity for the next few weeks, but should be ready for action by the time school starts.

We follow up with our local doctor next week.  We will see Dr. Olney at his Salina Clinic for xrays and a check-up in October.

Mallory Surgery Update- Post 7

Yeah, for Dr. Olney!
He came in this morning and said Mallory looks great.  We were able to get her out of bed right away.  She walked to the bathroom and back twice.  They are tapering off the IV and have started oral pain meds.

Mallory Surgery Update- Post 6

Well we are awake this morning and have been since 3 a.m. 

Mallory finally fell asleep last night around 10 p.m and stayed asleep for a whole 5 hours.  She has been up ever since with brief little cat naps here and there.  Even Smith Magenis Syndrome doesnt' take a break for a hospital stay.

She has not been out of bed since surgery, which is frustrating.  We are awaiting the surgeon, so that he can move things forward.  Mallory has done well with pain tolerance and needs to try to ambulate.  I fear that if we don't get her up soon it could spell TROUBLE.

Mallory Surgery Update- Post 5

Keeping Mallory entertained and busy is challenging. 
We did our best to be prepared for her hospital stay.

We brought Big Hanna along for some respite.

Made sure there were balloons and flowers waiting.

Has plenty of toys available.

Took advantage of room service.

Tried to chill when we could.

And when nothing else worked, we broke out the Ipod.