11/22/2007 Olivia Broke her Leg!!! UGHHH!!!

As you all know Olivia started Kindergarten a few weeks back, which she loves.

Well today they call me and tell me that there was an accident, and Olivia got her leg stuck in her stroller. She has a personal aid, and this is the person that was pushing the stroller. They said that she has been screaming for over 15 minutes. So they put her on the phone so that I can talk to her and try to calm her down. She says "mommy my leg hurt... please come". They tell me they don't think she is REALLY hurt. I said my daughter is very tough and didn't scream like that after her surgery. So SOMETHING is wrong… So I said I was going to come pick her up.

So I drive to get her, and she is still screaming… clearly in pain. Her eyes are big and puffy, like she has been screaming awhile. The aid again tells me that she doesn't think she is REALLY hurt... I didn't say anything to her, because I was a little in shock that she would say that. My daughter NEVER screams like that, even when she does get hurt, she normally just brushed it off. So I KNOW that something is wrong. The aid did apologize and seemed to have felt bad that she was crying.

I take her to the car… she is still sobbing and she screams when I have to lift her to put her in the car (despite how careful I was being) so I decide to take her to Shriners … I was actually scheduled to go there this morning anyway to get a temporary handicapped parking sticker (parents are rude when I leave my car at the curb to take my daughter in and pick her up from school, and I didn't want to ILLEGALLY park in the handicapped space, I don’t have time to explain her situation to every parent at that school) She was also in pain since her cast removal last Thursday, so we had used her left over codeine from her surgery for the weekend and now we needed more. However this morning she did fine with no pain meds, she didn’t cry when I got her dressed or put her in the car at all. Which she had the previous days, so it seemed that her stiffness had worn off to some degree.

So I go straight to Shriners, Olivia cries the entire way there (about 30-40 minutes) It took allot longer since I had to drive really slow as every little bump she was screaming. I called my husband and told him that something was really wrong with her.

I finally get there and ask to see her doctor (I didn't want to go to an ER as Shriners is awesome, and is more familiar with her medical condition... which is rare, and I knew they would be faster and they are FREE, which is great since we are still trying to pay for her dental bill this month.

Olivia’s care coordinator comes down, she sees how Olivia is crying and I explain to her what little I know about what happened. They take her to x-ray and take several x-rays of her leg were she said it hurts. And her hip to make sure it is still in socket. Which of course she screamed almost the entire time. The x-ray techs asked what the heck happened to her, as she is always so happy for them (you always see the same techs at Shriners), so I explained the situation. They all felt so bad for her, even Thursday when she was in pain after her cast removal, she was laughing and happy most of the time even at x-ray... just when you moved her she would say "BE CAREFUL MOMMY...OWIE"… pointing to her leg.

So we get the X-rays back, and they tell us that it looks like her leg is BROKEN.... nice!! My first though is they would put another huge cast… her hip is fragile still and I know she can't have a heavy cast on her leg, as it can pull on her hip, which could dislocate it. I was very happy to learn that this type of break (and were it was) heals quickly and they only had to splint her leg, so we can remove it and bath her, and they said it should heal in 2-3 weeks.

I called the school and told the receptionist (who is so sweet by the way) and she couldn't believe it. She said that they would need to fill in an accident report. I told them that they could call Shriners to verify her injury. I am sure that they are worried we will sue. But despite the fact that we would love extra money for Olivia's dental work… LOL I would only sue someone if I felt they intentionally injured my child or were really neglectful. I really believe it was an accident, and Olivia being our 5th child, I know that sometimes things happen even when you are being careful. Olivia bones are more brittle from her condition, and malnutrition and being in a cast so long makes them more brittle. So it wouldn’t take as much pressure to break her bones as a normal healthy child.

Anyway that is the end of my saga for the day. Olivia got pain meds for on the way home from the hospital, so she has been sleeping about two hours now. I feel so bad for her, it is not as if she doesn't have enough things to go through in the next few months, or that she hasn't been through enough.

We meet with hand specialist next month and the surgeon to begin our treatment plan for her two feet. Hopefully her leg is healed in time :( We had hoped to have her in swimming lessons this week, to really help with her hip etc. (we were waiting for her pain level to go down to were she didn’t need pain meds, which it seemed to be there just this morning) So now she can't really do any therapy or move well again. They wanted her to really get some strength during her break between her hip and her feet surgeries but I don't see that happening :(

Se please send your prayers Olivia’s way that she will heal quickly and will return to her happy self. She has just loved school and asks us everyday to go, even on the weekends. Now she is begging me not to go back to school :( So I hope that we can make school a happy place again, I hate the thought of dragging her to school when she is begging not to go.

10/20/2007 Olivia's 7th Birthday Party

Olivia had a GREAT time at her birthday party. We of course had to give her codeine as she is still really sore and we wanted her to be able to enjoy it.
We held it all The Little Gym in Sandy, Utah. It was great, the kids had so much to do and their staff was great at entertaining the kids.
Olivia was all over the place... you couldn't even tell that she had been in so much pain. (Thanks to the codeine). She was rolling all over and loved playing with all the kids. She loved the cake, but calls it "POTTY" cake, which doesn't sound at all appealing LOL... she means "PARTY" cake, but it never sounds like "PARTY".
She also loved the presents... I am sure that Christmas will be a blast too.

We went home and she just loved playing with all the new toys. It is so great for her to have so many things that are hers. We didn't give it much thought at the time but when we brought her home so many of the toys were the babies... since they were 3 years worth of birthdays, Christmas's, etc. Though the babies are great at sharing, I know it is nice to have things that are just yours.

10/18/2007 Cast Removal

Olivia FINALLY got her cast off today. She has been telling us "Olivia cast off, and Olivia walk"... I wasn't sure should could walk right away since I knew her muscles would be weak as she has been in a cast for 3 months now. But of course we told her "Yes Olivia walk, when her cast is off".
I made the mistake of telling her days in advance that she was getting her cast off today, and she has asked non-stop since... "Cast off today"... She was very happy all the way there. Last time she was asleep, so I wasn't sure how she would do with the loud saw.
They started to cut it off and she did great. I video taped it and if I can figure out how to put it on here I will add it.
As soon as the cast came off Olivia said "No walk"... "later". As the day continued I noticed she was in more and more pain. Which I thought was odd as she hasn't had any pain since the first week of her surgery.
We scheduled her hand specialist appointment in November so we can determine if they will operate or what the best plan is for her. We also scheduled to meet with the doctor to set up our protocol for treating her feet. Both will need surgery, but we need to get a game plan together for that.
She was in so much pain by the time we got home that I gave her some codeine left from her surgery. (Very glad that we had some).
She slept well and the next day needed more pain meds. She was starting to pull herself up at the table and slowly walk around the table and couches. She was quite proud of herself... LOL
We can't wait to get her back in swimming and let her enjoy her cast free months.

10/13/07 Olivia's 7th Birthday

Olivia's first birthday in the USA :) She will be 7. At school on Friday they had a little event for her birthday and was she so excited. They have her a crown that showed cupcakes and she was thrilled to just get the PICTURE of the cupcake...laugh
Though her birthday is technically the 13th, we decided to have her party on October 20th, since she gets her cast off on October 18th, and we wanted her to be able to run and play and really enjoy her party.
I am posting her birthday invitations that was made by sweetandsimpleannouncements.com I am just in love with her designs :)
If you are in Utah and want to meet our little Olivia, please RSVP.

10/10/07 Olivia at the Dentist - COMPLETE DISASTER

We had to cancel Olivia's surgery date to have all her teeth repaired under a general anesthesia, we just don't have the $5,300 right now, and it is our businesses slow season. The timing just couldn't be worse. I tried to call and get discounts and get people to work with us. The hospital would only discount 10% of their $2,500 and that was it.
So we scheduled an appointment for today with our regular dentist to see how she would handle the dental work. We got her some Valium, and they used the little gas on her nose. But even before he began the work, she kept saying she was scared, and as soon as they turned on the suction she was crying, then they put the little purple thing in her mouth to help hold it open and were just trying to get the green plastic support in and she was screaming. I stayed and held her hand and tried to console her, but it wasn't working. She was border line hysterical. So he put some stuff on her tooth that has been hurting her to try and help with the pain. She has been really complaining about tooth pain since yesterday. When I asked her WHICH tooth hurt she pointed to two of them, and then said ALL MY TEETH MOMMY.
It is so hard with an adopted older child, you really don't know what they have been through and why they are scared, what happened in their past. Knowing the cause of her fears would help us know how to prepare her and help her. Though Olivia is our 5th child, I often feel like a new parent trying to learn all new methods to work with her. Also with all her needs I have to stay on top of so many things, to keep her treatment plan moving and also to get her signed up and registered for everything. We have done not stop paperwork for two years, I thought when we got her home that we were about done, and in many ways it felt like we just started OVER...

I am just so frustrated... we just don't have the money, yet I know she needs all this work. Now that she is complaining about pain it make me feel even worst. We just needed a little more time to recover from the $30,000 we had to pay to adopt her... but as you know if you are a parent... you never get a break... :(

Our dentist is calling a pediatric anesthesiologist to see if they can come in and give her some other meds that will really sedate her and we hope we can do all the work then. So please pray that we can work out this dental situation. We paid so much just to bring her home, well above what they had quoted us. We are just tapped financially.

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10/02/07 Olivia Starts School

Today was Olivia's first day of school... it was just a chore to get her in. Since our other children don't have any medical issues I didn't realize how much you have to do to get a child registered for school when they do have issues.
We started the process back in July. They had to evaluate everything to see which school she would be in, and if they would mainstream her. Which we decided to do, since she is so smart. (though we do worry about teasing)
Then we had to meet with the school officials, nurses, etc. to determine her needs. Then they had to hire a aid, since Olivia can't go to the rest room alone.

So today is FINALLY her first day. She has been so excited to go to school. She just danced and laughed her whole way there. She had a great time with all the activities though we had to work with her on paying attention and to follow the teachers direction. There was so many things in the room, she wanted to just touch and try all the new things.

She learned to write her name in just two attempts. Several of the kids were so sweet and really tried to include her and help her. One little boy kept wanting to sit by her and would rub her leg and would play fetch with her at the recess. Another little girl was also very tender and sweet and had Olivia's bright hair... it was so cute and long I can't wait until Olivia's hair is grown out. We did have a little situation at her table when a little girl said "What is wrong with her hands, they are HORRIBLE." I try not to over react to comments as I don't want Olivia to sense that I am upset, or feel bad. So I just said calmly, "They are horrible, just different." She didn't say anything else, but she did keep staring at her.

Olivia is so happy and confident I hope that she can brush off little comments and stares. I stayed with her all day, since her aid doesn't start for two more days. Plus I wanted to get a real feel for her class, schedule, teacher, etc. It was also a great insite into all the children's personality. We hope to invite children over as playmates once Olivia's cast is off. Which is just one week one day away...YEAH