We had a nice calm weekend. Amaya had a good night Friday night, but was up at five a.m. on Saturday. She had a great day and didn't need pain meds all day (wow, it's so nice to be back to where she doesn't need pain meds often). On Saturday evening Josh and I went to his Principal's retirement dinner. While we were there we realized it was the first time we had both been away from the girls since the surgery (three and a half months ago). It was a nice break, but I felt a bit strange. Thankfully Amaya's pain was manageable and made it easy for us to leave without worrying about her. People had offered before to give us a break or a night out, but Amaya just wasn't in a position where we could leave her alone (she didn't want anyone but her parents, and she had high needs).
On Sunday morning I gave Amaya her shower and changed her gauze since we didn't get to do it the night before. She cried a lot because the top and middle pin sites were very stuck. Thru tears she asked me, "why am I the one who has to have the fixator?" "Because you're the one with the short leg." I said, then added "But how did I get to be so lucky to have you as a daughter?" She smiled and that was enough to distract her until we finished. Once we got out and we're getting dressed she asked, "do you remember that first time you gave me a shower and put my gauze on for the first time?" "Of course, how could I forget." I said. Well I think about it. Later I asked her why and she said, "its a good memory." I'm not really sure what that means or how it could possibly be, but we'll see. I remember it as a traumatic terrible experience that we some how survived. We drove down to the beach then to my brother and sister-in-laws baby shower. On the ride down Amaya complained about some hip pain, and that her foot fell asleep (I massaged it as we drove). While we were at the baby shower Amaya was up walking the entire time and playing with all the kids, but at one point she got bumped by a friend and got knocked over, then our friend fell on top of Amaya's left leg. Ouch! It hurt a bit, but Amaya was fine. She just took a few minutes alone and recovered quickly. Our poor friend was so embarrassed and sad that she hurt Amaya. It was nice to see Amaya up and walking the entire time we were there.
Today Amaya went to school again and was there all morning. I'm so glad that she'll end the school year with such good attendance. School is such a good distraction for her and keeps her mentally and socially stimulated. Today was the first time she was at school without dad on campus (he works there as an RSP teacher).
We made a special to stop to take Amaya and Lidie to visit Oscar (this gum ball machine) to get some gumballs. That was Amaya's request/goal/reward for a hard week of therapy last week.
Oscar is located in Seal Beach and we were so close to the beach we couldn't skip the chance to at least walk on the pier. It was so nice to breathe the sea air. We're looking forward to returning to the beach to swim and spend more time. While we were there Amaya got so many stares from people passing by. It's funny after all this time, I'm still not use to it. Josh said he's over it and it doesn't bother him at all. I wish I felt the same way but, it still bothers me. I just never know what to do, or how to react. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. Maybe its a maternal instinct, to want to spare your child from any stares and unwanted attention.
Here's Amaya at her Tia Hilary and uncle Juan's baby shower. She started using dad's old Polaroid and wanted to take their picture and give it to them as a gift.
Here's Lidie at the baby shower. What a silly girl.
We had some time before our appointment so the girls got to play on the playground. Dad got to spend the day with us again (hooray for non-work days).
Here's Amaya sitting in the lobby before therapy.You can see that the bend in her knee is improved since last week. She's wearing her ankle weight to help it stretch before her session. She also wore the weight on the drive over.
After bends, and riding the bike Amaya rode the bi-scooter. This is the first time she rode it up the hill. It was also dad's first time seeing the hill that she rides up at therapy. This is the first time she's gone up the hill since she stopped lengthening.
Amaya stepping off the stairs. Jay had her lunge and bend on the bottom step. These are the small steps but were a good warm up for Amaya's knee. This was Josh's first time in this gym as well.
Next Jay had her do the bend off of the big steps (normal size stairs). The bigger ones were harder and Amaya had a hard time keeping her hip level as she stepped. Jay said she was compensating for the bend by lifting her hip.
Once we went back into the peds gym Amayafixator on. Amaya worked hard, and jumped up in numbers quickly. When she got to 80 Jay was happy with her knee bend so we stopped there (although I was hoping to get 90, but he's the pro, so we did what he suggested.) Jay brought Amaya some Milano cookies as a reward for her hard work.
Here's what Amaya's top pin sites look like today. Tonight was her last dose of antibiotic. And even though when we saw Dr.Nelson had said that it didn't look infected yet, we did see an improvement in the hip once she was on the antibiotic. Her pin sites no longer have pus, the inflammation has gone down, the bubbling is no longer there, and the pain and sensitivity that she felt is no longer there (that's the best thing).
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