Our Big, Dumb, Not-So-Fun Adventure

**ETA** This all happened yesterday but I couldn't post until today because our internet was down.

So... I had a great idea to entertain the kids this afternoon. They were both going a little crazy and I decided it would be fun to take them across the street to the movie theatre, which has a cool water jet fountain for them to run around in. It was about 78 degrees but very sunny and humid because of the massive rain storm we had yesterday and last night, and I thought this would be awesome fun for them. So I started to get them ready.

I stripped Rissa down to her diaper, (yes, we are still working on potty training **beating my head against the wall**, but that's a story for another time) took her out on the back patio, and got her sprayed with sunscreen. Next, I got Sully out there to do the same. Before I could squirt the first spray of sunscreen on him, Rissa reached up and shut the backdoor. A cold shock of panic immediately ran through me, as I realized the door knob was locked from the inside and I had no keys and no phone. It was about 2:15 pm at this point. Sully's mom comes to get him at 4:30 and Jeremy doesn't come home until 5:00. AAAGGGHHH!!! I sat down on the patio swing for a moment, trying to figure out what we were going to do.

Really, the only thing I could do was take the kids, Sully in a diaper and t-shirt and Rissa in only a diaper, all three of us with no shoes, and knock on neighbor's doors, hoping they were home and would let us use their phone. We went across the street and knocked on the door. No answer. We went back across the street and up one house and knocked on the door. No answer. I knew our retired neighbor to the back of us was probably home, so we walked back down the sidewalk and around the corner to his house. Luckily, Larry was home. He let us in, gave the kids cookies and drinks and let me use his phone to call Jeremy. We had a nice little chat about the state of the Union while Sully sat there calmly and Rissa ran around Larry's living room like a crazy woman.

By this time it was 2:45. Jeremy went to his boss and said "My wife locked herself and the kids out of the house". Almost before he could finish what he was saying, his boss said "GO!". His boss is the absolute best! We left Larry's house and came back to our backyard and sat on the patio swing until Jeremy let us in about 3:15. Whew!!

We were so lucky in so many ways. It wasn't too hot or too cold, it wasn't raining, both kids had fresh diapers, we had sunscreen, and we had a very nice neighbor to take us in during our time of need. Even though it was a pain in the butt at the moment, we can all laugh at the situation now, because it could have been so much worse. Now I have a very funny story to tell.

And now I am going to have a beer. Or three.

I put the kids in a bath to cool off and to wash the sweat and grime off. As you can tell from the water coming down the outside of the tub, they had a great time!

It Sucks

Well friends, we went to the orthopedic surgeon to look at Rissa's hips again today. It looks as though surgery to correct the dysplasia in her left hip is on the horizon for next Spring. As I have blogged about before, she has Developmental Hip Dysplasia. If you look at the four bullet points where the risk factors are listed, she fits all four. The cards are stacked against her. Incredible!

There is a possibility that she won't need surgery. The doc explained to me that kid's bones, up to the age of four, are still developing, are pliable and moldable, and have the potential to form further. Marissa's left hip socket does not form a complete cup, thus allowing her hip to pop out of place. Up until the age of four, she had the potential to still form the socket properly. She is now almost four and a half. However, the doctor says her bone development seems to be delayed by six months to a year because both her hip sockets have developed even more in the last six months since we saw her last. The doctor wants to give her another six months or so, to see if she can develop the left socket more completely. Finally, one of Rissa's delays works in our favor! The doc said it is possible for her socket to form enough to avoid surgery, but pretty unlikely because of how open her socket is right now. So we really have to prepare our hearts and minds for an intense surgery in the Spring.

The surgery performed would be a Pemberton's Acetabuloplasty. Mouthful, I know. As simply as I can put it, the doc would take a piece of bone from another area of Rissa's hip and use it to construct a more complete socket. If that weren't grueling enough for her to get through, she would need a gnarly spica cast for at least six weeks. Holy $***!

We are going to see the doc again in February to determine the final word on if she needs the surgery or not. Because of Rissa's awesome Summer experience for the first time in her life this year (which I promise to blog about soon with a lot of pictures), I did not want her to have the surgery at the beginning of the Summer, when school lets out, only to be stuck in a body cast for the majority of Summer. So, if she needs the surgery, we will schedule it for sometime in March, after her birthday. We will take her out of school for the year at that time, which is OK by us, since it is only preschool. That way, she should be fully healed and ready for a fun Summer.

I hate having to think about this, but I know in the end, if she does need the surgery, it will serve in her best interest for the rest of her life. My mom had a hip replacement several years ago in her fifties and it turns out, she had Developmental Hip Dysplasia. It was also in her left hip, just like Rissa. For several years, I have had pain in my left hip, and my sisters have as well. So, this obviously runs in the family, and if we had all known about it when we were younger, we wouldn't be having the problems we are now as adults. At least we can allow Marissa to have the best chance at not having these problems when she grows up.

But, it still sucks.

Discharged!

I was sure this day would never come. Not in a million years. But...

Marissa was discharged by her ENT, Dr. P this morning!

We are over five weeks post-op since her stoma closure. She has been struggling quite a bit with the suture material that was used and stitches keep festering, pus-ing up, and popping out of her skin. But Dr. P says we just have to wait it out until she gets rid of them all or they dissolve. I'm cool with that, but just tired of her neck being an open sore all the time. Oh well.

So, back to the discharge... If you would have told me four years ago that, halfway through 2011, Rissa would no longer need the services of an ENT, I would have looked at you like you were from another planet. I am so thrilled at how far she has come, she amazes me! It is a little sad though, as Dr. P is our most favorite Dr. that Rissa sees. She has taken such good care of Rissa. Honestly, I believe Rissa would not have her trach out right now if it weren't for her. She moved forward when others were content to let things be. She has been such an integral part of Rissa's life and development and we will miss seeing her. I'm glad we are friends on Facebook so we can keep in touch.

And now, a cute Rissa & Sully pic to wrap up this post...

Sully is turning the big NUMERO UNO on Sunday!! Happy Birthday, Sully Man Bud Bud! We love you!

Blessed

Having Marissa's trach stoma closed has brought us so much freedom. We are, once again, finding out how much we are blessed.

We are finding so much joy in the small things that we could never do before Rissa got her trach out, such as splashing in the bath, tubing down the Colorado River this Summer as part of my little brother's Wedding Extravaganza Week, and her newest backyard toy... the inflatable water slide!!

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Can't you just feel her joy?

Surgery Done and We're Home

Rissa had her surgery yesterday and came through it just fine. Everything looked great this morning so the doctor discharged us and we made it home by 11:00 am.

She is in a little pain, but more than that, she is pissed. She won't let us even change her diaper without throwing a major fit. She doesn't want to be touched for any reason. For an entire hour before we left the hospital she was making mean faces, clenching her fists on her hips, and saying "Stop! Don't ever again!!", even though we were giving her space. I totally understand where she's coming from. If I were her, I would be mad at us too! I just hope she'll come around and forgive us quickly.

Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers. Keep sending them for the coming days. As always, thanks for checking in!

Happier Days...

Closure

Finally. Exactly four years to the day that Marissa's trach was placed, we will have closure.

Marissa will have surgery to close her trach stoma on Monday, May 9. Although we are disappointed it never closed on it's own and we are anxious and stressed about the surgery, we are also very excited! She will finally be allowed to have a Summer like so many other kids her age. She'll be able to get in the swimming pool, play in the dirt and sand, and splash in the bathtub. Finally, she won't have snot coming from her neck all the time. She won't have a permanent red, irritated area on her neck caused by the tape and gauze we use to cover her stoma. We won't be worried about her going outside without a covering on her neck, in case a strong wind comes by and blows dust and dirt at her.

We hate that our baby has to undergo one more surgery (this will be her 7th so far with possibly more to come) and deal with the pain and recovery, but we can't wait to see her splash in the water, carefree like she should have been this whole time. We'll finally close this chapter in our lives. And that, my friends, is an awesome feeling!

I will try to update the blog and Facebook when I can. As always, your prayers, good vibes, and thoughts are greatly appreciated.

See you on the flip side!

Every Day is a Dance Party!

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'Raining Sunshine' by Miranda Cosgrove from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

'On My Way Home' by Nina and the Imagination Movers