I posted our thank you too soon!

More well wishes continued to arrive in our mailbox this week .... more cards from my parents' friends (Linda and jake, dan and sue), a ball from great aunt kathy which was sent through the mail as a blown-up ball, beautiful handcut snowflakes from a teacher (miss lauren), more pictures and drawings (from claire and dee dee, cousin jenni and brooke), 2 books from kristin, photographs and a letter from one of my colleagues (sarah).

Thank you again -- to everyone.

There cannot possibly be more, can there?

The amount of mail has so far exceeded my expectations.

Mail-Call

Before Carolyn's surgery, I put out a message asking friends and family to write a letter or draw a picture and to drop it in the mail, so our mailbox would be full as she was home recovering.  I want to offer a big THANK YOU to all of you who have sent things, and to those of you who forwarded this request even further.  This has made recovery pretty exciting.  Here is a recap:

First, there were a couple of pre-surgery deliveries -- flowers from RJ and Nikki & Joshua.  Both said they would be thinking of her during surgery.

Day 1, the Day of Surgery -- the mailbox was not that full, but already notes were starting to come in.  Thanks to a package from my parents (with the Christmas stuff that did not fit in our suitcases), there was a new book and a new nutcracker to bring a smile to a very drugged-up Carolyn.  Kim, Nick, and Sebi sent a book, which she enjoyed as much as she could in her foggy state.  Great-Great Aunt Margie and Uncle Harry sent a letter with stickers.  And, a notecard from Kara Lohbeck, my mom's goddaughter, also arrived.

Day 2 - Friday -- fairly early in the morning, the doorbell rang with a cookie delivery from her piano teacher Sammy.  Just a few minutes later, the doorbell rang again with a flower delivery from Grandma and Grandpa Utz.  Carolyn kept asking when the doorbell would ring again.  It did not, but the mailman filled our box later that afternoon with a package from Uncle Bill, who asked his middle school students to write notes and draw pictures (there were probably close to 100 letters in that package alone!).  A handwritten letter from Grandpa Harry was also in the box.

  

Day 3 - Saturday - a full mailbox!  A bunch of letters and cards and hand-drawn pictures from friends, family, and classmates.  A hand-made bracelet and a new movie from her friends Lukas and Oliver.  A book from cousin Lauren.  Carolyn asked if she could invite over a friend for a quiet movie date. Annie came on Saturday morning for a movie date; she brought powdered sugar donuts with her!  Max (and his mom Michelle) dropped in for a visit later that afternoon, and brought a beautiful necklace, a book written by Madonna, and other treats for Carolyn and me.  Then, on Saturday night, Joshua, Nikki, and Persephone came over and cooked all of us a beautiful dinner, as Carolyn was starting to move around quite a bit. 

Day 4 - Sunday - No Mail.  But, another friend visit.  This time with Sevilla.  Carolyn was tired and had a pretty short fuse, but was very happy to see her friend.  Sevilla had been skiing in the morning, so was happy to curl up on a couch and watch a movie! 

Day 5 - Monday - Another Really Full Mailbox.  The highlight of today's delivery was a package of hand-made cards from her classmates and teachers.  The mailbox also had a package of sweets and wax lips from her friends Zoe, April, and Aiden.  And, of course, there were lots of cards, many filled with stickers and other goodies, from friends and family in Ohio, Salt Lake City, and elsewhere.  This was probably the biggest delivery day!

Day 6 - Tuesday.  Today was her first outing; she chose to go to "Eggs in the City" for breakfast.  When the owner saw that she was moving so cautiously getting in and out of her chair, he asked if she had been in the hospital.  Of course, she told him that she had surgery and that this was her first outing since the surgery.  Our meal was free!  The mailbox was not as full today, but it did include a special letter from Miss Shiela (her former teacher who moved to Texas) and Isabella (her daughter who has had similar surgeries in the past).  Her classmate George stopped by with some pretty pink flowers.  There were handwritten letters from other friends and a package from RJ which included Hello Kitty lip gloss and make-your-own tatoos (notice her feet in the picture).  Steve spent the afternoon doing science experiments with her, while I went into campus to teach my class.  Zoe and April came over for dinner. In the middle of the evening, Carolyn wen to take a nap on the couch.  At another point, she put on her PJs.  She is feeling better, but definitely gets tired with even a little bit of activity.

Day 7 - Wednesday.  The mailbox had a stack of about 10 cards today.  Among them was a package with a very special pillow case signed by lots of people in Ohio and several notes and drawings from classmates.  One of her teachers, Miss Ruby, called to check on her (which made Carolyn very happy!).  And, I took her for a movie date in the afternoon.

Day 8 - Thursday.  Given that she is moving really well, is not taking any more pain medicine, and that she is getting bored (which I take as the most positive sign of recovery), we decided it was time to go back to school.  Her energy is low and she has very little reserves, so we limited it to a short day (9 to 1130).  Mail continues to trickle in. There were 4 new cards and letters today - from a classmate, grandpa Harry, a friend from Dayton, and Great Great Aunt Jan.

Day 9 and beyond -- She made it for about 4 hours of school on Friday.  After the MLK holiday, I bet she will be able to handle a full day of school.  She is mostly back to normal, with perhaps just getting a little more tired than usual.  The mail has slowed down, but continues to come in.  Each day, there have been a handful of cards in the mailbox, mostly from my parents' friends in Centerville.  A few to note:  A card from "Kramers" (my uncle's favorite watering hole).  A package with books and cookies from Poppy and Grandma Sue (Addie and Emerson's grandparents).  I imagine that the mail has come to an end, but more packages and letters just keep arriving.

Seriously.  I cannot tell you how impressed and thankful I am with the amount of support and attention she has received.  Everyone's response and participation has made the recovery fun for her, and hopefully is the perfect start for her to begin healing and getting back to being a kid. The past 12 months have brought a lot of pain, worry, and sickness of her.  I think that she, and we, are ready to put it behind us.

Lizzie B -- the Toddler, the Tornado!

Elizabeth has been a laid-back, mellow baby. Of late, she is showing more of her personality and independence. She throws fits and protests when she does not get what she want. She can open every cabinet and likes to explore just about everything she can find. She has resisted going to bed, and has mastered how to jump over the side of her crib.

This weekend, I removed the side of her crib, thinking that would be safer. However, it is not easy to convince her to stay in the bed (I would even settle with staying in her room -- but she has mastered how to open doors too). Last night, with the side off for the first night, it was nearly impossible to get her to go to bed. And, then in the first few hours of her sleeping, I found her asleep all over the house. Once on top of Carolyn's head. Once on the floor in the living room. And once just walking around the upstairs like a zombie, sucking her fingers. Eventually, I just put her back in the bed and fell asleep on the floor next to the open side of the crib. She got out or rolled out many more times before the sun came up, but when she saw me on the floor, she would jump back in her crib. Ugh. I am not sure which is worse, her jumping over the side of the crib or her having free reign of the house. Hopefully, it does not take us too long to get over this stage.

(Elizabeth is sound asleep, but not where she is supposed to be sleeping!)

In other news related to Elizabeth, I thought she was looking too shaggy and needed a haircut to get rid of those whispy ends.  I did OK with the back and sides, but whoa, got those bangs a little too short and much too crooked!  Oops.  At least they will grow fast.

  

By the way, she has not yet peed in her little potty (and I just got it out this weekend).  She loves pulling down her pants, climbing on to the regular toilet, getting toilet paper out, wiping herself, flushing the toilet, and then repeating that many, many times.  In fact, she did it so many times this weekend that the toilet upstairs was backed up.  I realized that perhaps I should be monitoring this little tornado a little more closely, and that it was probably time to get out the potty chair for her.  Who knows, maybe she will luck out and actually pee in the potty.

My clear priority, though, is to get her sleeping again, not the potty training.  I will happily change diapers, if I can get a full night's sleep again!

The dreaded hallway

The night before surgery, Carolyn and I stayed up until midnight having a popcorn party (since she was allowed to eat and drink up until midnight).  We watched movies together.  Then, we tried to close our eyes and sleep for a few hours before the alarm went off at 530.  She woke up nearly every hour, asking if it was morning yet and whether it was time to go to the hospital. I, on the other hand, saw this image every time I closed my eyes.

The dreaded hallway.  

That hallway that you have to walk down before you reach the yellow-black tape line on the floor, where you say good bye to your child and watch them walk with the anesthesiologist back to the Operating Room.  Any parent who has had a child needing a surgery knows about the dreaded hallway.

Carolyn has been quite anxious about this surgery.  So anxious, in fact, that I thought she was going to be basketcase during our walk down the dreaded hallway.  To tell you the complete truth, whenever my eyes closed, I pictured Carolyn kicking and screaming and hysterically crying, as the anesthesiologist peeled her from us.  I thought, for sure, we would have to sedate her the morning of the surgery.  

However, to my surprise, that was so far from what actually happened on the morning of surgery.

When we woke her up at 540am, she first rolled over and said she wanted to keep sleeping.  Then, she quickly sat up and said "It is surgery day.  Let's go."  Upon check-in and registration, she was sweet and thoughtful and did not appear to be nearly as nervous as she had been the weeks leading up to surgery.  After she was all checked in, she wanted to learn how to play video games in the waiting room.  She was not good at them, but she was laughing and having fun.  

The video games distracted her until it was time for her nurse, anesthesiologists, and surgeon to talk to us.  They reviewed what would happen, how long it would take, and made us sign the final consent forms.  She introduced them to Froggy, her surgery buddy, as well as showed them her purple diamond of bravery and strength (something we got to help her get through medical appointments in the past year).  All of them rubbed the purple rock, and assured her that they would get through this together, especially now that they rubbed the purple rock together.  

At 8am, the anesthesiologist came back to the waiting room and said they had the the whole team assembled and the operating room was set-up and ready for her.  She grabbed her purple diamond and froggy, pumped her fists in the air and said, "Let's do this!"  A smile of relief was on her face, maybe a bit of nervousness, but nothing like what I was picturing.  

She chose to walk, rather than go in a wagon or wheelchair, down the dreaded hallway.  She held my hand, and clutched her diamond and froggy in the other.  We got to the yellow-black line taped on the floor, signaling the good-bye point. She gave each of us hugs and then quickly walked through the doors holding the hands of her two anesthesiologists.  As she turned the corner and the doors were closing, she did not turn back to us, but I heard her say that she wanted cherry flavoring in her mask and to do it quickly.  Her anesthesiologists said they have it all set up and that it tastes just like a cherry lollipop.

  

About two hours later, the surgeon walked into the waiting room and told us that it was over and that he felt confident that this surgery should solve the reflux.  (fingers crossed!)  About 15 minutes later, Steve was called back first to be with Carolyn  in the first recovery room, as she was coming back from the OR.  I joined them 10 minutes later in the second recovery room, when she was waking up.  Here she was in the second recovery room, relieved that it was over. Within about 10 minutes of seeing both of us and knowing that the surgery was over, she was asking whether the nurse would take out the IV and let her go home to her own couch.

Ah.  It is over.  It feels like a huge weight has been removed.

  

A few more photos from our trip

Caroly, lizzie, zoe, gavin (gretchen's kids)

Lizzie and gavin on a train

Christmas Trip to Ohio

On December 23, we packed up and flew back to Ohio.  We came back to SLC in the evening of January 1.  Thanks to storms holding off until after our trip, and direct flights, there were absolutely no hiccups in our travel schedule.

We spent Christmas Eve in Dayton, drove to Cleveland on Christmas day, and then spent a couple of days in Cleveland, followed by a couple of days back in Dayton. The time spent with family was great and I would not trade that for the world, but I am not sure I like traveling over the December holidays.  It was hectic for me to finish all of my grading for Fall semester before we left and to have my course syllabi ready for the start of Spring semester on Jan 6.  And, now that we are back, I feel like I had no "holiday" (at least not at home) .... Plus, the christmas decorations are still up in the house, the gifts are still out, and I am still unpacking our suitcases.  Yuck!  It seems a whole lot easier to travel over thanksgiving or the summer, when there is less going on.  But, for this year, we enjoyed spending time with both families for Christmas.  It was so nice to be "home" (with family) for the holidays.

Here are a few highlights from our trip .... I did not pack my camera and there were only a few photos on my mom's camera.

HAPPY NEW YEAR  (with cousins, Aunt Heather, Uncle Jason)

ENTERTRAINMENT JUNCTION (Fun House & Mirror Maze w/ Gretchen and her kids)

ICE SKATING (with Addie and Emerson)

CRAB APPLE (Elizabeth had double ear infections)

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?  Santa found us in Dayton, OH.  He brought an assortment of splat balls to Carolyn and a book about puppies to Elizabeth

Jailbreak ... already?!

Look who I found walking around upstairs at 2am?  Apparently, she can climb out of her crib.  She did it twice tonight. 

And, now she hates her crib! 

Shit.  That sucks.