Going Home

Whitney's doctor just released us to go home! Whitney will be ecstatic to lose the IV in her right hand and regain access to her comforting thumb.

As Susan mentioned, the surgery went well. It lasted about an hour, and when we got into the recover room, Whitney was crying and ready to be held. She had that unique cry that told us that she was scared and disoriented. The anesthesia is a real bear. The doctor showed us x-rays that demonstrated that Whitney's leg is in the hip after surgery. Now we pray that the pelvis responds and the hip socket develops.

Last night was a bit rough. Whitney was getting used to her brace and feeling a little discomfort from the surgery (the pain and swelling have been rather mild). At about 10:40, after we had settled her down twice, the IV pump started beeping for no apparent reason. It took the staff (who are exceedingly polite) about an hour to figure the problem, but which time Whitney was disgruntled and upset, and her dad was too. Fortunately, she snuggled back to sleep on my lap and slept relatively well for the rest of the night.

This morning, she seems to be her normal self, smiling and babbling away. The doctor was happy with how her incision (it's very small) looked and ordered our discharge. It will be nice to get Whitney back onto a normal schedule.

After the surgery, Whitney will be wearing a brace for a few weeks to a few months. Longer is actually better here--it means the hip is developing, so the brace is providing additional support. She'll wear it 24/7 for the next week until we follow up with the doctor. We should know next week whether the hip is responding.

We are so blessed that the surgery went well and our only problems were minor inconveniences. We praise God that we are being discharged on schedule and heading home, and we are praying that God will cause her hip to respond. It's amazing how many things have to go precisely right in the right order for a baby to develop into an adult, and yet we take it for granted.