Paige wanted some time in the blog spotlight (she reads now so I can't make up new stories while reading posts to her) so here goes:

Paige and Jason are great helpers. They help Sada get better by giving her shots with their souvenir syringes, giving her hugs and giving her kisses. Paige would like to share Sada's dresses, but Sada doesn't think that will help with the whole healing process. Overall, they are helping out instead of hindering especially when it comes to helping with Kyra. They keep her from eating papers and books while Sada and Alexis get in the hyperbaric, and they know where all the baby toys are for when Kyra starts getting frantic and Mom is counting out vitamins. They really like having Sada and Alexis home because playtime and school time is much more fun with a couple extra friends/teachers.

Paige and Jason

Do you have something to share with the rest of the class?

For all those who have tried to leave a thought or two and ended up in cyber neverland, the comment form should work now. If you're still having troubles, try commenting as "anonymous" and leave your name in the comment. And don't fret if your comments don't show up immediately - due to a number of little issues, they will go to our inbox to be accepted before they show up on the blog. We'll see if this tweak fixes past problems!

By the time we finally get Sada's supplement regime figured out, she's only going to need one real meal a day.

This afternoon, her pupils weren't constricting much no matter how bright the lights were, and unusual dilation is usually what precedes the bug-eyed look that seems to indicate extra pressure in the brain... goody gumdrops! (Please excuse the sarcasm - it's been a very long night.) In the treat bag from Jeff's office came another 8 supplements/ homeopathics/ nutrients which will add around 18 more pills each day, all specific to inflammation, swelling, bruising and trauma. I've been told that with brain surgery it can take 3-5 months for inflammation to subside. No horse pills this time, just some little vitamin E caps, bromelain, EFA & DHA to go along with everything else.

She doesn't have headaches and she's not throwing up, so there's no "proof" of the swelling and no way to test it without getting inside the skull... been there once and not going to do it again, thanks! It would be really frustrating right now if we had to wait until things got worse before being able to do something about it. Maybe that's why Sada got to be our oldest instead of growing up in another family!

Today's school lesson focused on construction - industrial and grammatical. Before rearranging the kitchen and family room to create a 5 bedroom, 8 blanket (queen & king sizes) fort that takes up all of one room and part of the next, Sada and Alexis were tasked to create a mini-opus. But that was way too much work to do with such an edifice waiting to be raised. Sada settled on an ingenious composition, reflective in more ways than one. Meant to be read backwards and forwards, it sums up her current outlook on life pretty well. I've typed it out twice to make it easier to read. Her teacher is awfully proud ;-)

Recovering

Recovering is ok
Though visitors must wear masks
You can talk on the phone
However you can't go anywhere
You can eat fruit
But
You can't eat sugar
Recovering is hard work
I know

I know
Recovering is hard work
You can't eat sugar
But
You can eat fruit
However you can't go anywhere
You can talk on the phone
Though visitors must wear masks
Recovering is ok

Sada started a countdown for the next time we can go to the zoo. Why? She misses seeing the animals. The child hasn't hit stir-crazy yet because we've been doing LOADS of activities, but she misses normal life. She still has some massive knobby nodes on her neck so her immune system is still working overtime - little by little. And with the 5-8 grams of vit. C she's getting each day, she'd better be healing fast!

Tucking Sada in, I asked what the best part of the day was. We had made a ton of crafts, played games, danced, had puff pancakes for dinner - all good stuff. But not good enough. "For physical therapy I didn't have to wear the NeuroSuit!" They did a lot of midline crossing exercises to help with her balance and perception but it was a lot easier without a couple dozen elastics providing resistance - she was sure it had only lasted 15 minutes. Time plays funny tricks on your mind when you can appreciate how good you've got it.

Good thing Sada's not a groundhog - she wouldn't have been able to look to see her shadow. The latest adventure is a stiff neck... she was fine all weekend, but today she kept saying it hurts in a stretchy kind of way back by her incision whenever she looks down. She also didn't do any stretches or exercises this weekend because she was feeling fine. Welcome to the wonderful world of scar adhesions and healing! I rubbed it out a little and stretched her some more, which helped. She said she would remember to do it herself so it won't get bad again like it did today. Experience is a fine teacher; just brings with it a bit more pain than learning the other way.