First night

     The first night went pretty good. A baby joined her in the middle of the night and cried for a but, but then settled down. So she got pretty good. Sleep considering. Dad got some rest (as best as expected in a recliner). Her new nurse came in this morning and took all her vitals. Amaya has a low fever which is normal after surgery. She's taken all the antibiotics that they prescribed for her. The epidural is doing a good job, she said her pain level is at a four. One of the assisting surgeons came in and looked at her leg. He said it all looks great. The incision on her hip looked good(it's about four inches long) and her fixator looked good too. He took the bar out(there's a small bar that screwed into to bottom and top piece to keep her leg straight). He said we have to put it in at night (to force the leg to stay straight) then remove it during the day, so she can bend her knee. He said there are no restrictions in movement, but she's not allowed to bear any weight on her leg yet. She can step on it lightly, but not bear weight. He said a physical therapist would be in later to work with her and get the leg moving (were not sure what time yet). He asked if therapy was in place yet so that she could start it as soon as she goes home. He said that they didn't want her released if it wasn't in place. They're going to put the orders in today and hopefully they'll be set soon.
     Right now she's resting, watching movies on dad's laptop. She has little pain and is comfortable. The biggest thing were noticing is that she's nervous, scared and edgy. She still doesn't want to eat, or see her fixator. She's been very confused and disoriented since her surgery (wondering where she is, why she can't feel her legs, wondering when her surgery will be, if she has a fixator on yet, etc.). It's sad to see her so distraught emotionally. She told dad she doesn't want to talk about the surgery yet. But she is looking forward to visitors (and hoping to get some goodies; small stuff that cheer her up). We talked to the doctor about her anxiety. He put in an order for Valium, as needed. That might help, especially before physical therapy.

A review of yesterday...
     Last night we got to see her at about five. We met her in recovery (there was no room in the pediatric one, so she got to go with the adults). She was pretty out of it (crying, shaking, and wanting to see us). The anesthesiologist was there trying to get her pain under control. Dad and I both had a moment of shock and pain (just to see her that way), but had to pull it together quickly. The anesthesiologist said the shaking was from the medication. She got the pain under control pretty quickly. She calmed down in about an hour and we started her on ice (she was so thirsty and hungry). The ice made her nauseous. They gave here medication for that then she fell asleep. I sang Puff the magic Dragon and she slept (it was so sweet). She was in and out of sleep until she got moved up into her room. Dr. Nelson came to see us and said that the surgery went well. He was pleased with how the hip turned out and how the fixator looked. It was so nice talking with him (I just wanted to hug him, but didn't). There's one break in her femur above her knee. The fixator looks so big next to her skinny little legs. It goes higher up than we thought it would (to her waist). It looks like she has nine pins (three below the knee and six above the knee). Once she got moved to her room she calmed down and settled in pretty quickly. Her nurse was great. They got her vitals quickly but had to get a sheet under her (which hurt a lot). That was rough, but she did okay.
     After that she got a quick visit then rested. I left to go get Lidie from her aunt (thanks so much Hilary for keeping her busy).
     As for Josh and I were doing okay. We're both tired, but so relieved that her pain is under control (that was the hardest thing about last time). We're thankful for all the love and support; it makes this so much easier to deal with. It's hard to explain to others how I feel when they ask. At times I'm hungry, but have no appetite. Tired, but don't want to sleep and miss anything. Exhausted, but relieved. Thankful, yet wish I could remove the pain from Amaya. Sad, yet hopeful. Overwhelmed, yet know that I'm not alone. It's all kind of complex. But our journey is just beginning and I'm keeping positive that it will only get better. Thank you again for all your love and support.

Please excuse any typos and grammatical errors, I'm exhausted and my brain isn't quite working right.