Days Six through Ten of Recovery

On Wednesday night, May 5th, Hadrian went to support her teammates in the second round of the state playoffs. Cory is pushing her out to the car! This is the first day she put on compression stockings. One of the main concerns now is preventing blood clots.

After the soccer game, we stopped at Frontera to eat and to celebrate Cinco de Mayo! Yum!! Hadrian kept her legs elevated in a chair.

Thursday, Hadrian couldn't move! She had a few really good days before Thursday, but apparently she did too much too soon. She was in lots of pain again and had to stay medicated so she slept all day. And, we had to get to Warner Robins for her sister's graduation, so we left really late Thursday night after we got Hadrian ready.

Hadrian with her two sisters, Hannah and Haley

Friday, May 7

Going to graduation was a bigger ordeal than I thought it would be. Haley's husband, Austin, helped me get Hadrian loaded in the car and drove us to Macon to the coliseum. But, when we arrived, we quickly realized there were NO handicapped parking spaces! Lots of handicapped grandparents go to graduation ceremonies! So, we had to unload Hadrian out of the car, and then Austin had to go find a place to park the car. And, when we finally got in the coliseum, all of the handicapped seats were taken! Some really sweet old people offered to squeeze Hadrian's wheelchair in between theirs, but Hadrian declined. She did not want to sit in the middle of a group of elderly people that she didn't know for the entire graduation ceremony! (ha) So, we wheeled her all the way to the other side of the coliseum and found a seat for her. Whew! We finally got settled in to watch the ceremony!

Haley had a graduation party at her house on Friday night. Hadrian was given baby duty since she couldn't get up. I think she was perfectly fine with that! Haley's niece, Kaitlyn, is an absolute sweetheart!

Hadrian got Kaitlyn to sleep and loved snuggling with her! : )

We came home from Warner Robins on Saturday afternoon. Hadrian was still using the ice packs, staying elevated, still in her wheelchair, wearing the compression stockings, and occasionally took her pain meds. She seems to be doing well, and continuing to recover!

Days Five and Six After Surgery/Pictures of Incisions!

Pictures of the Incisions on Fifth Day

Outside Right Leg

Inside Right Leg




Outside Left Leg

Inside Left Leg

Hadrian spent her fifth and sixth days after surgery trying to stand up and regain some mobility. She was able to bathe in the tub which was major progress! And, she had good spells with no pain mixed in with some painful episodes - all perfectly normal on the road to recovery. We continued with the ice packs and pain medicine and celebrated baby steps!!

Day Four - Turning Point

Yesterday was the fourth day after surgery for Hadrian. And, it was definitely a good day! She did not need any of her pain medication at all. This was a big change from the three days before when she was taking two pills every three hours. Hadrian woke up yesterday and said she wasn't hurting, and she made it through the entire day and night without asking for her meds! Yay!!

And, I held her up and she actually took some steps yesterday, too! From what I have read, people sometimes have surgery on one leg at a time, so they have one good leg to assist with walking on crutches. Once the one heals, they go back and do the other leg. So, progress will be slower, and it will obviously take Hadrian a while to walk since she had surgery on both.

We unwrapped and checked her legs again yesterday. She has lots of bruising up and down her calves, and she has a big blister under one of her bandaids. I called the nurse this morning, and she said blisters are actually normal, so no worries.

So, we continue with the ice packs. I go out and buy ice everyday to keep her cooler pumping cold, cold water. The girl at the Kroger gas station probably wonders why I show up every day and buy a 20 lb. bag of ice!! lol

So, Day Four was definitely the turning point for us - from constant pain to no pain! And, Hadrian was just a happy girl yesterday. She actually got bored, and we watched funny stuff on the laptop! Laughter is also great for healing!

Thank you very much for all of your prayers! I see that they are working!

The Big Reveal

Hadrian and her friend, Cory, starting to take off the wrappings on her legs.

The ice pack

The ten pounds of cotton underneath the ice pack!

And, finally, we actually see the first big boo boo!

The incisions in both legs!

Not so bad!

Well, we finally got to see what was hiding underneath all of the bandages, then Hadrian and Cory wrapped her legs all up again!

Saturday Update - The Soccer Banquet

Just a quick update to let you know that Hadrian is still alive and . . . . . well, not kicking! She is wiggling her toes which we are proud of. The pain has come and gone with bad moments and good moments. But, overall, she is doing well and remains in good spirits. Yesterday, her day was filled with getting ready for her high school soccer banquet. She started about 1 p.m. knowing that she wouldn't be going to the banquet until around 8 p.m. It was an all day process, and we had to allow plenty of time for resting!

Hadrian had to put on her bathing suit to get her hair washed.

Hannah washed Hadrian's hair! What a great sister!!

Hannah and I were exhausted running up and down the stairs for Hadrian all day. We had to get her tweezers, her makeup bag, the hair straightener, her body spray, her dress, her underwear, and on, and on, and on. LOL

And, in between this, I was packing the cooler for her ice packs, getting her drinks, her pain medicine, her food, and trying to keep her comfortable. : )

She was allowed to go to the banquet for 30 minutes (approved by her doctor), so we didn't go until after the dinner and jv awards were over.

Her teammates were really happy to see her!! Hadrian was just glad to be there!

And, I was thrilled that we were able to get out of the house for an hour! We feel really blessed to be doing so well!

First Night After Surgery

Bath Time from a Bucket!

Hadrian described last night as the "worst night of my life." I actually thought she did well. She and I slept some, so that is always a good thing! She was in a lot of pain off and on through the night, but the pain medicine does give relief. I spoke with a nurse today, and she said we can bump the time between doses up to every 3 hours, so that should help.

She woke me up at 5 a.m. and made the announcement that she had to go to the bathroom. So, here we go. We turn the light on, get all of her hoses unhooked, slide her to the edge of the bed, and now what?! LOL

Her toes were so swollen, and when she put her feet on the floor, she decided she was not going to be able to stand up. So, we get the wheelchair, and went through the process of transferring her from the bed to the chair. We roll to the bathroom, and again, now what?! LOL

I tried lifting, she tried standing, and we tried everything we could think of to get her to the potty, but it wasn't happening. I got the crutches, and we pushed, pulled, and tugged with the crutches for a while. Finally, after thirty minutes of her trying to pull and stand, and me trying to lift and pull, Hadrian decided she would just hold her pee because that was a whole lot less painful than getting to the toilet. I reminded her that she couldn't hold it forever! It would come out sooner or later! HA

So, here we go rolling the wheelchair back to the bed, getting her transferred from the chair to the bed, repositioned with all of her pillows, reconnected to all of her pump hoses, and now she is in tremendous pain from this whole process. So, she gets more pain medicine and is trying to get comfortable again from the potty escapade. So, an hour after we started, she is back comfortable again, but she still hasn't emptied her bladder which was the whole purpose to start with! Whew!! I called her dad to see if he could come help, but before he was on the way, Hadrian decided she didn't need any help. She was back in the bed and that is where she planned to stay!

So, she made it until about 8 a.m. this morning, and she had to go! Well, she called a boy friend (Cory) from work over, and he just carried her to the potty. Seriously easy considering all of the painful drama we had gone through earlier trying to get the same result!

So, she went potty and brushed her teeth, all while not having to stand up, and Cory carried her back to the bed, and wella!! Mission accomplished!! Hurray!! But, that caused her legs to hurt and made her tired, so she took a nice nap.

Earlier today, we had bath time from a bucket, changed into fresh clothes, and she was ready to go!

And, now Hadrian is watching Avatar (her favorite movie) from her bed and life is good . . . . . . for now! : ) And, a wonderful friend, Monica, is bringing her specialty brisket over for dinner! Yummy! Life is wonderful! : )

The Big Day Has Arrived! Surgery!!

Hadrian had her surgery today! The nurses took her back at 10 a.m. Right on time! She was finished just before noon. Dr. Cullen said that she did great and everything turned out as expected. He said he did his very best not to clip any nerves, and he made all of her incisions the same so all of her scars will match! Awesome!! We certainly wouldn't want any mismatched scars! ; )

Hadrian was super impressed with the fashionable hospital gowns!

Hadrian talking on her cell phone and facebook to kill time before surgery.

She was saying all of her final goodbyes.

The last picture of her legs (calves) before surgery! We like how the doctor has to sign the body parts he is performing surgery on.

Recovering after surgery. She was going in and out of consciousness.
I am sure she doesn't mind me taking a picture and posting it for all to see! HA

Made it home and Hadrian is laying in bed! She has the water pump keeping her legs iced at all times!



Those pain pills make it hard for a girl to stay awake!

I know a lot of people have been praying for Hadrian today. We appreciate your prayers very much!! So far, so good. According to Dr. Cullen, we are probably in for a few rough days. She has to stand and walk on these legs to go to the bathroom. Lucky for us, Hadrian can hold her pee for a very long time! LOL

Dr. Cullen said the first week is bad, but then we will see steady improvement with the pain during the second week. I am just hoping we can manage the pain so that Hadrian can stay comfortable. So, please continue to pray for good days!!