Recovery II

I am happy to report that when I was writing my last post, I didn't know it yet, but the worst was over. When she woke up Sunday morning, she was markedly better than the previous days. I also instituted my "forced hydration" policy - if she hasn't voluntarily taken a drink within an hour, we hold her down and force her to drink a 2 Tbsp syringe of water. It has really helped, and just as the ENT said - the more that goes down her throat, the more she'll be willing to drink. I rarely have to force her anymore. She still isn't drinking as much as I'd like, but it's enough to keep her out of danger.

She is still eating pretty well. Her favorites are watermelon (thank God! A great source of water), macaroni and cheese, eggs, mashed potatoes, and sonic ice. I think I might venture out to try her on hot dogs today for lunch. We'll see! Can anyone suggest other slimy, soft foods for her to eat? I feel like she's eating the same things for every meal! I alternate yogurt, applesauce, and pudding through the meals as well. She won't touch Jello. I have Pedialyte pops as well, but she doesn't really "get" how to eat them, and just ends up poking at it, or wanting to carry it around the house and spill it all over the carpet.

Our buggest challenge lately was her drowsiness. That tylenol with codiene really knocks her out. She'd fall asleep while eating or in the bath tub! As much as she hated taking it anyway, I was pretty eager to get her off of that stuff. So as of today, we're attempting to keep her on regular Tylenol! She's about 2 hours into her first dose, and so far so good! She isn't complaining of pain or anything! I think for a few more nights we'll still knock her out with the "good stuff" but try to maintain her during the day on regular Tylenol.

Jeff and I have also come down sick. Of course. We're not sure if we caught the virus Kate had just after surgery, or if we caught something different all together. So if you've been praying for us, now we'd appreciate prayers that we don't pass this on to Kate!