Surgery update and the end of 2011

This morning Raven went into surgery to have her infection site lanced. It was a very quick procedure. I think I was actually in the waiting room for only ten minutes before the surgeon came out to tell me everything went great. He said there was a significant amount of fluid in there and that draining it should make her more comfortable and speed up recovery. I was glad to have it done with.

When we came back up to the room, it was almost immediately clear that Raven was feeling much better. She sat up on her own and giggled and signed for the nurses and me. It was awesome to see that. She actually played for a while and the nurses had a hard time leaving the room because she was charming them. I, of course, had a huge smile on my face the whole time.

After they left, Raven’s doctor came in and told us they sent cultures from the fluid they drained just to check to see if anything else is growing. He said she should be covered with the antibiotics she’s on if there were any results but he thinks there won’t be. He also said that for now we are still scheduled for Monday for the LP and bone marrow biopsy. He says its doubtful she will have the biopsy but he does want her to be able to have the LP and that regardless she will continue on with treatment Monday which means chemo that day.

My mom came over today to keep me company and Raven had fun playing with her too. It was nice because Raven got to sit with her and she laughed a lot while my mom tickled her and sang some songs.

Raven has been in a lot less pain today and that makes me feel much better. She has had some discomfort but that’s to be expected with the infection being surgically opened up. She’s done great though and only needed one dose of tylenol. We’ve kind of swung the pendulum though because the last few weeks we’ve been fighting diarrhea but today she seems to be constipated which is why we chose to give her tylenol instead of morphine. Morphine tends to constipate and we don’t want to add to the problem. We’ve given her some medicine to help her go and now we just wait for nature to take its course. Funny how I never thought I’d be this interested in bowel movements but all this medicine makes you go from one end to the other.

Now we are just laying low for the night and quietly ringing in 2012. I could probably say a lot of negative things about 2011 but sitting here reflecting on the year I chose to focus on the good instead of the bad. For example, this year, once again, I was shown just how much love and support is around us. My family has been there for me every step of the way and they all have sacrificed time and holidays to be with us here in the hospital. The hospital is not exactly the most fun place in the world so it means a lot to us that they would sit with us even through some of the most boring moments. And the outpouring of love and support we’ve received from not just friends but complete strangers has astonished us. It is amazing to see just how many people in the world will offer you support and will go above and beyond to make sure you are taken care of. It was really hard for me to hear we’d be spending Christmas here in the hospital but it was honestly a great Christmas. We were surrounded by love. We had a huge turkey dinner delivered to us and Raven was blessed with many gifts, clothes and love.

I’m not gonna lie- this year has sucked out loud but sitting here now I am grateful. I am grateful for all the support. I am grateful for my family and husband who have been amazing. I am grateful to be expecting my baby boy in May, and most of all I am grateful that even though we’ve had setbacks, Raven seems to be responding well to treatment and is in great spirits and great care here.

Goodbye 2011. I hope 2012 is a much better year. I hope Raven doesn’t have any more setbacks and I hope she continues to do well in this fight against Leukemia.