Back to "Normal"
July 21, 2007 6:00 PM

Finally, an opportunity for an update!—I tried to do this last night, but I was exhausted and my brain would not work.

So here we are three weeks out from surgery. Juliana is Super Girl! Since surgery we have been back to Miami twice for Dr. Wolfe to adjust and tighten the device. Maybe this has to do with the fact that she does not slow down for anything. During the first week after we came home (in addition to several Dr. appts) she was riding her bike, her skateboard, playing on the swing set, and we had gone bowling.

After a major surgery we have to watch her labs very closely even after we came home. Everything stayed stable and she continues to do well.

We made an earlier than expected trip back down this week because it seemed that part of the device was moving out of place. I won't go into all of that because Jeanne already has. While he had her in the OR tightening everything down again, he removed part of the hardware. We had already finished turning these screws, but we didn't expect him to remove it so soon. It's nice, though, to have one less point for infection to find its way into.

Hopefully we will be home for a couple of weeks now and life will be "normal." I don't think this whole distraction process is going to take as long as we had originally anticipated. She may not be missing as much school as we had expected.

School starts a couple of weeks later this year. They will be returning on Aug 20. Kendra is more than ready. We have already picked up her back pack and all of her supplies. She has everything ready and hanging on the hook by the door.

I will update again when I have time. Now I have to wake Sleeping Beauty so we can go get some errands done.

—Tami

From the Planet WonderKids ...
July 02, 2007 9:30 AM

From the Planet WonderKids comes Juliana!

I called to check on her this morning when I woke and Thom said that her swelling had receded quite a bit over night and she could actually see.

There really is no reason to keep her in-patient any longer, so we are heading home today. I have just finished packing up our hotel room and I am leaving now to go pick them up at the hospital.

We will be returning in a couple of weeks for a checkup with Dr. Wolfe. Just an overnight trip then, and Kendra will be coming with us. That should help ease much of Juliana's worries.

I will update later in the week.

—Tami

Love, Prayer and ... Attitude!
July 01, 2007 11:00 PM

Finally a chance to fill everyone in …

Juliana is doing amazingly well!—considering that she is only three days out from surgery. She is trying very hard to get back to herself. The funny personality started to come back first, now it is more attitude. She will slap our hands and shake her finger at us if she does not approve of what we are doing.

She is so ready to get back home to Kendra and Jeanne. She is in need of some sister love and her nightly parties with Jeanne. At this point we are basically waiting for her swelling to recede to normal. She cannot see anything, so she is relying on her sense of touch.

For some unexplained reason for the last week before surgery she chose not to wear her “ears” hearing aide, but she was still hearing normal voice tones without it. She is still able to hear without it, so she has been listening to Dora movies and Signing Time. Last night she was signing the “Signing Time” theme song and one of her favorite songs, “Turtle Rock”. I don’t think she will be able to wear her “ears” with her halo on, so maybe this is another one of God’s blessings right now.

I am on “sleep night” tonight. Last night was my hospital night. I just called Thom to check on her and he said that she was sitting up and her right eye (one with vision) is looking better than it was only a couple of hours ago when I left. He said that she is actually able to see a little bit from it.

At this point I am not planning to post any pictures of her with her halo. As she heals I may change my mind. It is a very intense device. I am even concerned about how Kendra will react to it at first.

Keep the prayers coming for her quick recovery and no complications. And also for her to be pain free as we continue to turn the screws and push ahead as we climb this mountain.

—Tami