Update on LiLi and Andrew's 9th Birthday

LiLi is doing great.  All the bruises are gone and most of the swelling.  She still seems to have a little swelling on the right side, but it's barely noticeable.  Her face looks much more symmetrical.  She's definitely back to herself.  You can see in the picture to the right that she has no fear (but I do).  She even seems to be talking a little more.

We took her to a follow up the the opthamologist yesterday.  She still recommends that LiLi have eye muscle surgery because her eyes still aren't tracking together.  She wants to wait a few months though since she just had this major surgery.  We go back to see her in June and then we'll probably schedule surgery shortly after that.

Andrew's 9th birthday is on Sunday.  Kraig's parents came down over the weekend to give Andrew his present and some cake and ice cream.  We're going to go to his favorite restaurant on Saturday and then to the Royals game on Sunday.  Hopefully the Royals will play as well in regular season as they have pre-season.  Trisha

One Week Home

We've been home a week now and LiLi is back to normal.  She's still swollen a little, but is playing , jumping and running around like normal.  We are so happy with her progress.  Although, I was hoping after having such a rough week that she would want to take naps, but that's not happening.  She goes strong all day.

Her eyes were just starting to open before
we left Dallas. She was so happy

Craziness with Andrew.

We can definitely see the difference in her forehead and somewhat in her eyes.  She has an appointment on March 28th with an opthamologist.  We were told a few months ago that she may need eye muscle surgery, but the doctor wanted to wait until the cranio surgery was complete and see if that helped.  Here are a few pictures of her.

It is starting to warm up so we
can play in the yard.

She loves the computer.

We're home

We got home yesterday afternoon.  We surprised the boys when we picked them up at school.  They were so happy to see their sister.  She's doing great.  In fact, I think better than us.  We are exhausted and drained, but when we got home she wanted to go outside and play.  She was playing almost like normal.  She was running and jumping.  I'm just amazed at her recovery.  She still hasn't had any pain medication.  I just know it's all because of everyone's prayers.
She's still pretty swollen. She was able to see a little Wednesday evening and it's getting better.  Her eyes still aren't totally open, but we can see more and more of them all the time.
God is good.

LiLi is out of the hospital

LiLi got discharged this morning. She did really well yesterday considering all she's been through and not being able to see.  She got a little frustrated a couple times, but other than that she was fine.  She's been sleeping a lot which is good.  She still loves riding in the wagon.

The day  nurse we had in the PICU was awesome.  She had a poster made for LiLi's birthday and the Child Life Specialist bought her some gifts.  It was so nice.  LiLi liked opening the presents even though she couldn't really see them.  We got moved to the regular floor around 9 last night.  She slept really well.  I was hoping she could see today, but her eyes are still swollen shut.  The Dr. said she should start being able to see later today or tomorrow.

Neurosurgeon - Dr. Sacco

Craniofacial surgeon - Dr. Fearon

We know we made the right decision on surgeons.  We really loved both of them.  They took great care of our daughter and we could tell that they both really cared about her.  They are both very experienced and highly skilled.   We are so glad we made the decision to come to Dallas and we know through all your prayers, God provided the way for us to get through all the hurdles.  

We changed our flights to come back tomorrow instead of Friday.  We all are ready to get home and the surgeon said she would be fine to fly.  It will be great to get back.  I know the boys will be glad to see their sister.  My mom said the first thing the asked when they got out of school on Monday was about their sister's surgery and wondering if she was o.k.

Thank you all for your prayers!!!  They have definitely been felt.  We appreciate all the support we've gotten from everyone.

Day 2 - LiLi's 3rd birthday.

The surgery is over, but there are still hard times ahead. LiLi slept pretty well last night considering all the times the nurse came in.  Around 4, I noticed that her eyes had swollen shut.  We expected that, but it's hard to explain it to a 3 year old.  Unfortunately the hardest day is probably going to be today - her birthday.  She's off the pain medication drip and is just taking Tylenol.  She did have some other calming medication earlier when she woke up at 6:30.  I think not being able to see really freaked her out.  She calmed down then and ate a little jello and then wanted a popsicle.
After that we took her on a wagon ride which put her to sleep.  She's still sleeping.  I'm expecting her to be pretty frustrated again when she wakes up and can't see.  She's just hooked to one monitor now, which is nice.  She was hooked up to machines in both hands and one foot.  She's so glad that all is off.
Here's some pictures.  The swelling is suppose to get worse today and then start going down.