Chloe's Recovery

January 30-February 6, 2008---Chloe has been recovering wonderfully from her surgery. The swelling has gone down more and more each day, along with the discoloration and bruising. She mastered taking off her "no'no's" the day after her surgery. But, who could blame her?!? Would you be comfortable walking around like Frankenstein? We call her Baby P-Willie because she can take you out easily when she siff-arms you! She's cleared a few tables too. (For you non-Ole Miss people, that is a reference to former Ole Miss linebacker Patrick Willis---P-Willie--- whose arm was wrapped like a club his senior year. He took people out easily with it too! )




Patrick Willis during his senior year at Ole Miss:










Chloe has had some trouble sleeping because she likes to sleep on her stomach curled up like a ball but has had to sleep on her back. She began crawling the first day as well. The "no-no's" have helped her keep her balance when standing alone and she's actually taken a few steps before falling. She dislikes have the antibiotic put on her stitches and the Tylenol with codeine must taste awful because she spits it out quickly. All in all, she has had a very easy recovery.




Wednesday 01/30/08:




Thursday 01/31/08:




Friday 02/02/08:








Saturday 02/02/08:








Sunday 02/03/08:






(Forgot to take a picture on Monday---BAD MOMMY!!)

Tuesday 02/05/08: We left home at 1:30 a.m. and headed for Little Rock to have Chloe's stitches removed. That's right--a.m.!! She was the first surgery that morning which was nice because she hadn't had anything to eat or drink since 9 p.m. Monday. The time was tough on us because Rick has class on Monday night. We got 2 1/2 - 3 hours sleep before leaving. We took Anna Catherine and Jackson with us since this was going to be a quick trip. I took Chloe to the surgery center and Rick took AC and Jack for breakfast and then to play in the hospital's atrium/outdoor play area until Chloe was ready to go home. Chloe received "goofy juice" again but didn't have any adverse reactions. Either she was just exhausted or the "juice" zoned her out because she seemed to be in La La Land this time. She was entertained by putting her fingers in her mouth repeatedly. The procedure took five minutes total and we were in recovery for almost an hour. The incision area is very red but that is due to a reaction to the antibiotic ointment we had been putting on it all week. We assumed that was normal healing but have now stopped using it. The redness is fading and should soon be gone completely. That will leave Chloe with only the incision scar. Dr. Buckmiller thinks that it could fade on its own in the next year. If not, she'll have another cosmetic procedure to remove it. So, unless Chloe needs a touch-up, this was our last trip to Little Rock. The pictures do not do Chloe's face any justice . It looks soooooo much better! Just wait until you see her in person and you'll be amazed!

Wednesday 02/06/08: Chloe's very excited to have her "no-no's" off so she can feed herself, play, and sleep on her stomach!











Thank you to Dr. Lisa Buckmiller, Diane Bussard, R.N., the Vascular Anomalies Center, Arkansas Children's Hospital and and the many other doctors, nurses, and staff memberswho interacted with Chloe for taking such amazing care of my Boo-Boo.






Dr. Lisa Buckmiller:



Diane Bussard, R.N.: