Go Kaela!

Kaela is progressing exceptionally well after just having major surgery on Monday. She felt well enough that she is able to move to a wheel chair. The transformation that has happened already is amazing. Her back is so straight! She looks much longer than she did before. Currently she is keeping food and liquids down. The doctors decided to keep her in the ICU for one more night because there were not any general rooms available today. Tomorrow she should be able to move to another room off of the intensive care unit where she will be for the remainder of her stay here at the Alfred I du Pont Hospital for children in Wilmington, Delaware. Go Kaela!

Kaela Is Out of Surgery

Kaela is officially out of her first surgery and it appears to have been very successful. During this procedure Kaela got a central line implanted in her chest. It is basically a tube that will allow for pain and other medication to be administered quickly. She was also outfitted with a halo that she will have to wear for the next 6 to 8 weeks while her spine straightens out. The surgeons cut some ligaments near her vertebrae to allow the spine to unfurl more easily. As you can see from the pictures below, the change was very dramatic. Dr. Mackenzie said it was the most dramatic change in curvature he has ever seen from a procedure like this.

Kaela's spine before the surgery (almost a 100 degree curve).

Kaela's spine after the surgery. It has virtually vanished!

Kaela is now resting in her bed in the intensive care unit of the hospital. She has weight applied to her halo so that her spine will continue to straighten. She will likely have to stay in bed for the next few days at which time she will be able to move to a wheel chair and then eventually a walker outfitted with a pulley system and weights.

Pre-Op Appointments

Kaela spent the last three days visiting lots of different doctors in preparation for her first surgery on the 9th of April. She has been evaluated by pediatrics, anesthesia, pulmonary, cardiology, and folks in physical therapy. She has also had some x-rays, a CT scan and MRI performed. Everything seems to be going smoothly. We met briefly with Dr. Mackenzie on Friday and he went over details of the initial surgery.

These will be the last days that Kaela will have outside of the hospital for about 8 weeks or more. We spent the day playing at the Ronald McDonald house and then went to a local park called Can-Do Park. We played there with the kids for a couple hours before grabbing some McDonalds and coming back to our temporary home.

Check back soon for more updates!