Pretty in Pink

Ashley was released from the hospital after 6 nights on Tuesday afternoon. She was thrilled to change into her own hospital gown after leaving the ICU for the last night. The nurses actually came to move her to the regular room at 2:45 in the morning! David convinced them to wait until 5:00 am instead!

She has now settled in to a comfortable and quiet bedroom with a bathroom, downstairs in the basement at our friends' house. We are SO incredibly grateful to Kevin and Yihung for opening their home to us. Being in a home for an extended time is so much better than being in a hotel.

Her progress remains steady, and we are so grateful. The doctors have been pleased as well, and she will see Dr. Henderson on Monday. We anticipate he will release her to fly back home to San Antonio once she feels up to it. She is also experiencing some post-surgery nuisances, so she will be asking about those, too.

David flew home yesterday, and we miss him terribly. He has a way of being stedfast when needed most and of adding humor at the perfect time. Our friends also have an adorable yellow lab named Angel, and the two of them became fast friends. I have a feeling they are missing each other also.

Looking ahead, we ask for prayers for Ashley's continued smooth recovery and especially for the plane ride home. She will have to sit for several hours for that, so she needs to be in minimal pain for that journey.  Our three hour flight is non-stop, fortunately.

Thank you again for all of your support and prayers. The prayers definitely worked as so many pieces we were worried about fell into place, including all three boys being safe in Texas until David's return

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surgery sidenotes #2

Ashley has asked me to post another update on her post-surgery status. 

She remains in the ICU due a pain medication that she is receiving via IV drip. The doctor wants her to wean off this pain medicine today so that she can be moved to a regular room tomorrow. At that time, he will have her take her regular pain medicine instead to make sure it is effective before checking out of the hospital most likely on Tuesday.

Overall, Ashley has done well through all of this. Her attitude has been wonderful, although she is regularly concerned about her pain being managed due to prior experiences. She has an appetite and has short conversations, yet she is not up for doing much else like watching sports (which is one of her passions), responding to social media, etc. She does love hearing us read messages we receive, however.

Moving forward, we would ask for prayers that her pain be managed well as we transition to our friends' home here in Maryland. Ashley's body does not process oral medications properly in general, and due to previous traumatic hospital visits, we are always concerned about her pain being managed.

Thank you again for your continued prayers and concern. Knowing others are praying and care so much makes all the difference in the world.

surgery sidenotes

Hello to everyone from Baltimore, Maryland! This is Ashley's mom updating her blog on Ashley's behalf. Today is Thursday, January 23. Ashley's spinal surgery was yesterday, and we were thrilled when Dr. Henderson beautifully prayed for Ashley with all of us right beforehand.

Ashley's occult tethered cord surgery went "perfectly" according to the surgeons' reports yesterday. She was in surgery for about 3 hours and then spent a very long time in the recovery area. Due to one of the drugs that the doctor placed her on post-surgery, she is required to be in the ICU.  However, the ICU was full until about 10:00 pm that night, following her 7:30 am surgery time.

One of the surgeons, Dr. Henderson, mentioned that Ashley's spinal fluid pressure is high. While the normal range is from 0 to 5, hers was in the 20's. He indicated that this could be causing her constant headaches and frequent migraines as well as contributing to increased pain in her back. He started her on a medication to lower this pressure.

For today, Ashley will continue to stay on bed rest to protect the surgical site. She could be asked to walk to the bathroom tomorrow and might be moved to a step down unit in another room also. The doctors will make such decisions depending on how she responds to the surgery and on how well her pain is managed.

We are all so appreciative for all of your care and concern yesterday. None of us slept hardly the night before the surgery, so the messages throughout the day were so uplifting for all of us. David and I read each one to Ashley, and she kept asking to hear more of them.

In the coming days, we would ask that you continue to pray for Ashley's pain to be managed and for her body to heal sooner rather than later. We know there is power in prayer and are grateful for each and every one of them as we are grateful for each and everyone one of you.