Portland Day 9, Surgery Day 5

Sierra had her epidural removed today, at first they turned it down half way and gave her some oral pain meds, then they turned it off, and eventually, after she appeared to be tolerating it fine, they removed it. She wasn't thrilled about it coming out, and it was a bit of an ordeal to do it because it was so well taped, she hates having tape removed from her skin, and even though they used adhesive remover, she was still quite upset. Once it was done she settled down to watch a movie and has been fine since. Later on they will remove her catheter, which means she will be starting to get out of bed to use the bathroom. I am a little nervous about this because she doesn't really enjoy being moved right now, and it will have to happen several times a day, so we will see how that goes. Reece and Evy had a chance to come visit today for the first time, apparently we didn't do enough prep for Reece because he seemed pretty upset when Sierra showed him how she could wiggle her toes. I guess we were so focused on preparing Sierra, that we didn't realize that it would be a big change for Reece too. He was pretty anxious to leave and didn't want to see her"small leg" again. Dave and I got to meet a little boy who is 4yrs old that had rotationplasty a few years ago, and is now running and playing. Reece and Sierra will meet him tomorrow, and I think it will be a big help to Reece. I am still unsure of when Sierra will be released, but sometime over the next few days, we should be heading home. I can't even explain how excited I am to be in my own bed, with all of my own things. We are so blessed to live nearby an amazing hospital, I can't imagine having to travel long distances for treatment like some families do. Hopefully this is our only long distance trip, and the rest of Sierra's treatment and therapy will be able to happen near home.