What a day!

The shots were taken right before she went into the OR. I decided to hold off on the current shots because she looks not so happy right now:) I will post some when she can at the very least give us a half smile. She was so nervous and scared but trying really hard to hold it all together. So surgery went well. Our primary surgeon actually had his partner assist on the case so it went a lot quicker than expected. 5 hours and she was done. Since we had been told 6 to 10 hours I was really surprised when out walked her doctor. When he got in things looked a little different than he had expected. Sadly, Ariel's spine was not only curved but twisted as well. So makes things a little difficult for him but the final product looks good. He is estimating about 12 inches in growth which just blows my mind. She looks so tall in the bed. I bet when we finally are able to get her up she is just about as tall as me. There was minimal blood loss in the OR but things have changed a bit since they came out so it looks like she will be getting a blood transfusion tonight:( Pain is the major issue right now. She is in extreme pain. It hurts my heart to see her like this. She is on morphine, toradol, valium, and another pain drip and still hurting. Anyone of us would be knocked out for a week on all this. So finding what works for her is being a little allusive right now. Michaela went with me to the hospital this evening and was so good with her. She was so incredibly cute trying to talk Ariel into going to her "happy place". So patient and kind. I am so proud of that little one. So dad is staying with her tonight. She is such a daddy's girl he wouldn't leave. Mom is holding in there. It is very difficult being mom and not nurse. I didn't really realize how picky I am about the care of Ariel. I know no one will do things like we do them around here but I am having a really hard time letting someone else be the lead. I can only image what shift change sounds like when they are handing off. OK- "so mom is an RN and grandma is a retired nurse they are a bit of a handful so be prepared". I am going to work on that tomorrow. Can't make any promises though:) So that's the update for tonight. Thank you to all of my friends, prayers, helpers, cooks, and cleaners out there. I didn't worry about a thing here at the house, I just knew everything was taken care of. Love you all. Tam