Amazing really. . .

Evan is recovering beautifully from his surgery. I am actually quite amazed at how quickly he has bounced back.

As previously mentioned, his surgery went without a hitch. He spent Tuesday night in the PICU for pain management and was transferred to the floor on Wednesday morning on a morphine drip and Valium (while primarily used to treat anxiety, it is also great for muscle spasms). He spent the majority of Wednesday and Thursday sound asleep.

(He had to have blood drawn from a vein in his head because his arms and hands were not cooperating. His lab work came back showing that his blood count was very low. Thankfully it started coming back up on its own and we didn't have to transfuse.)

On Thursday afternoon he was removed from the morphine drip and began oral pain meds (tylenol with codeine). Physical therapy also stopped by with a wheelchair on Thursday and we were able to get Evan out of bed for awhile. He loved the change of scenery.

On Friday he was a new man, awake, alert, laughing, chatting with the nurses and constantly asking me if he could get up and go play. To say that I was stunned would be an understatement. Richard flew back into Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon (he had gone home to take care of the other kids on Wednesday morning) and Evan was discharged from the hospital. Grandmom and Grandad drove up from Northern Virginia to visit with Evan and we spent a quiet evening at the Ronald McDonald House.

We woke early on Sunday morning to begin the trek home. I was a little nervous about how Evan would hold up on such a long drive, but once again, he shocked me with how well he did. We arrived home around 7 pm Sunday night.

(Happy to be going home.)

Evan has only complained of pain twice since his surgery (and usually it is only when I change his diaper. . .I am still perfecting my technique). The difference between this surgery and his bilateral club foot repair last April is like night and day. There is so much to be said for good pain management and rest (the two things that were lacking the last time around).

(Mommy's little hero enjoying the beautiful weather yesterday)

Evan has a follow-up appointment at the end of the month to ensure that the bones are healing properly and, if all goes well, he should be out of his casts by mid to late April.

For your viewing pleasure, here is a video of Evan on Friday evening. He was in such good spirits (I am sure the pain meds helped) that I wanted to capture it on video (this one is for you Tracey!):