I think that Anni would agree by now that it's neither an "adventure" nor is it "great" and as we finally get settled into a routine here at home, we look forward to Anni's continued progress–and IS she! It has been just under three weeks after surgery and we are in awe at the daily improvement that this girl shows us. She has begun the homebound study that the school district has arranged for her and we think that she will catch up without too much trouble. On Anni's first visit from the teacher, she gets a bunch of cards from her class which made her feel pretty special. I think this will help spur on her recovery! If nothing else, her own (lazy & spoiled) therapy dog should get her going.


Of course, getting to this point did not come without some bumps along the road. There were some large bumps. Then there were the small bumps. Like today, when the Rover's engine overheated on our way back from doctor's appointments in Jackson and it pee'd coolant at a pullout on the pass. Never mind my misfortune on her last day at the hospital when the Rover's water pump exploded–literally. I kind of figured that those pieces that went flying from underneath the Rover as I drove over the pass was somehow important.


On the other hand, seeing Anni up and about makes every effort we make for her worth it. Of course, she doesn't see our efforts to "make her fell better" as help...I think she thought in the beginning that we may be torturing her.

The forest service controlled burn just east of Driggs is scheduled to terminate tomorrow. I was told that the fires will smolder for a little bit longer so we will continue to enjoy this aromatic experience until it's good and ready to call itself done.


Those who don't have allergies should be so lucky. For Colter and myself, it's an annoying event however impressive the sight may be. Mornings are typically the worst for air quality. The smoke is thick and smell is not something one looks forward to when you open the door. In fact, we pretty much keep the doors and windows closed.


By afternoon, the layer of smoke has cleared and we can see that they've expanded the burn area. It used to be just this speck of smoke behind the mountain when it started. Now it seems like the whole mountain is on fire.
 

We watched this progress from our front porch. One night, Jud and I just sat on our chairs and watched the flare-ups in the darkness. Or we'd hang out in the afternoon out front, enjoy the cool afternoon breeze and watch the fire burn in the distance.

It's 11 p.m. The blasted antibiotic doo-dad is beeping like crazy and I haven't a clue how to shut it off. Of course, I probably shouldn't be messing with all these equipment but it's late at night in the dimmed lights of an ICU room and I can't sleep. I hear the nurses talking outside. I think there's another patient rolling in from OR. I'm surprised Anni seems to be sleeping through that beeping racket. But then again, if I was as doped up as she is now, I'd sleep through anything too. Somebody give me morphine!


We were starting to get nervous by 3:30 this afternoon and no one was calling back to tell us that Anni's done with surgery. It took another hour when we got a call that they're almost finished with her and that the surgery went very well but it wasn't until about 6:30 that we were able to get our first glimpse of Anni as she was wheeled out of Recovery to the ICU. We were a bit shocked. She looked like a blowfish with Fat Albert lips! (Just kidding Anni...)


The anaesthetist, Dr. Domsky, stopped in late tonight and assured me that this happens to everyone who undergoes that long a surgery on their stomach. Colter was surprisingly more distraught about seeing Anni in this condition. I guess he really does love his sister. Poor baby boy...we love you!


Of course, she's still our girl and we don't mind any photo-ops with the little puppy no matter how she's looking. On the plus side, Nurse Katie just came in, turned the offending beeping off and told me that Anni's on very little oxygen now which is a good thing. She's healthy. Strong as an ox. She's only pushed her "pain button" once tonight. Except, I wish I didn't keep getting up from this cot and giving Anni ice chips every time she wakes up...which is often. All this medical equipment, tubes stuck to her up the ying-yang, and they couldn't design a simple automatic ice-chip dispenser. Geez...

I've got a headache. Slept little. Woke up early. We drove to Jackson at 5:30 a.m., got the SJMC at 6:15 and were the first surgery patients to arrive. Had breakfast at the hospital restaurant with Jud after Anni left and now we're just waiting for occasional updates from the OR nurse.








So here's a clip of Anni as we wait for the versed to kick in up to when she gets rolled into surgery. She is a real trooper.  It's 1:30 p.m. and we just learned that they're at the halfway point. The screws are in and they're moving on to the rods. Another few hours to go.

It's Monday. The kids are in school and Jud went fishing to de-stress. Most of the house cleaning is done. The loads of laundry are just about washed. I just have to finish cleaning the garage and tidy up my office and craft room. My parents are able to help out with the little man for the week by staying with him (and hopefully keeping him in line) while we spend the better part of the week in Jackson. Surgery begins at 7:30 in the morning. We leave at 5:30 from home and hop over the pass to St. John's Medical Center in Jackson. When everyone gets home this afternoon, we probably ought to review this tidy little packet that the hospital provided to acquaint us with what to expect.


It will be a long day of surgery. She will be in ICU for the first day or two before being moved to the Primary Care Unit. We ask that you hold off on your visit until the day after surgery. If you will be visiting while she is in ICU, please keep in mind that the hospital has greater restrictions in that unit. I'm sure that Anni will be tickled happy to see family, friends and gifts during her stay but you may want to wait to visit, do the Macarena with her, and give gifts until she has been moved to PCU. Mylar balloons are the only types allowed in the hospital (something about potential allergens). Her expected stay is about 5 days in the hospital so we hope to be home by the end of the week.