She did very well yesterday, despite the circumstances. She started off very well, allowing the men to hover over her while getting ready to saw the casts off. We had a DVD playing with headphones to hopefully muffle the noise. Well, yeah right! As soon as the cast saw started up, she lost it. She began trembling like I have never seen before. We felt so sorry for her, and couldn't get to her fast enough after the sawing stopped, which by the way felt like an eternity. It took her quite some time to calm down and stop shaking, and from that point on, she would not allow anyone to touch her except Nathan and I. Hopefully that is a plus for attachment!
We then learned the stretches for her feet and how to put on/remove the braces. She is supposed to wear the braces for most of the day for the next three months, with the exception of bath time and a little bit of time out to run and be a kid. After three months, she should be able to transition to wearing them only at nap time and nighttime, as long as her feet are looking good. Three months is not that bad, right? We can do it...we can do it...we can do it!
Yall, the skin on her poor feet and legs looked terrible. Not to gross you all out, but I have never seen so much dry skin, raw skin, and dead skin on such a small surface area ever! She immediately began scratching, or shall I say clawing, after the casts were removed. She scratched so much her legs started to bleed. We felt so sorry for her. For those of you who don't know, she has not slept well (at all) for the past couple of weeks due to scratching under her casts. Now I completely understand! Wow, is all I can say! I took some pictures of her oh so moisturized skin (yeah right), but I spared you all and did not post them. You can thank me later.
Karlye did enjoy free reign of the M&M bag and a new toy that we bought her to help get her mind off everything!
After returning home, she got to take a BATH! She was very quiet and shy at first when we put her in the bathtub, but quickly began dunking her face under water and dumping water over her head. She was in heaven! Nathan and I almost wanted to cry. I have not see a smile that big on our daughter's face in a while! We could have left her in there all day, but we knew the braces were waiting on her.
Karlye is not yet walking on her own, and is having some difficulty crawling at times. The doctor said that her skin is just very tender and sensitive and that it may take her some time to be able to tolerate rough surfaces touching it. She actually flinches if you touch her skin sometimes. Her poor little legs just tremble when she attempts to stand, but guess what, that is already getting better with this! Yes, this is our very determined daughter! The doctor also said that it may be a couple of weeks before she can walk on her own due to the muscle weakness and atrophy from the casting. Soon enough!
We wrapped up the day with movie night in mama and daddy's bed, which lasted all of ten minutes before she fell asleep. And an added bonus...we all FINALLY got a pretty good nights sleep, even with us all sleeping in the same bed! I can't remember the last time she slept that good.
We have posted a video below of her last few days in the red casts (dancing and walking), her first moments attempting to crawl after the casts were removed, and attempting to walk in the brace this morning! We hope you all enjoy!
Oh, and we wrapped up this crazy 24 hours with 4 immunizations and a flu shot this morning! But...no more scheduled doctor's visits for one month! You can't get much better than that!
Well, I needed a good, happy cry this morning! That video is so precious! Just think, a year ago Karlye was sitting in a crib in an orphanage alone with crippled feet. Now today, she sleeps peacefully, snuggled next to her Mommy and Daddy with new feet, surrounded by all the love and support from her forever family and friends! God is soooooo good!
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