We Are Home

 We made it through that great vacation.

 This is about 12 hours after surgery.  Lauren`s face was rather swollen.  She was not talking or moving much at all.  She just hung out with her purple teddy bear (Violet) buried somewhere in the blankets,

 This is the next morning when she got in her chair to work on her goal of going home.  She had to be able to sit in her chair for at least an hour and a half, but this look on her face after only about 3 minutes made it clear that she was not going to be going anywhere.  She made it 10 minutes and was put back in bed.  After tears, medications, and a shunt adjustment she rested well for the remainder of the day.  She got her nails painted, played with the therapy dog, and the music therapy group came to her room.

The next morning she was able to be in her chair long enough so we got to go home.  She is a pretty happy girl laying on the couch with the cat.

Now we deal with some pain issues while she adjusts to having the pressure in her head at a normal level.  This process could take several months.  We also wait to see if there will be improvements in her neurological function.

Anyway we made it.  I am going to a retreat this weekend.  Lauren`s care will be in the hands of wonderful people who I am sure can handle this shunt thing just fine.  Dad gets to hold the fort down here with 3 PCAs to help him out.  I will be back to deal with all of this first thing Monday morning.