A quiet day of healing

The second day of recovery went pretty well overall.  She was quite restless last night, complaining of pain and seeming more distressed than she had yesterday, so I was happy that she slept intermittently for a lot of today, including as I'm writing this.

Other than sleeping, it was pretty much the Disney Channel all day today.  She hasn't shown any interest in being read to yet.  I brought our I-pod and speakers from home, and she listened to an Indian music playlist which helped her get to sleep for one of the naps.  A Child Life specialist came by and brought an easel that fits over her stomach so she could paint, but she hasn't been comfortable lying flat on her back enough to do that yet.  Mostly she is lying on one side or the other.  The nurses have to turn her two at a time in a multi-step operation.  She was able to talk a little bit on the phone with Grandma and Grandpa, and later Aunt Sarah, and then she was teasing and laughing with some of the nurses, but mostly she's still pretty sluggish. 

As far as medicine, earlier today they took out her PCA (a continuous drip of pain medication) and it's a good sign that she was ready so early to do that.  Now they are giving her Tylenol, Oxycodone, and Valium orally.  When she complains of pain, she says it is in her back, which makes sense given the size of that incision.  Otherwise I know she doesn't like lying still, but she doesn't seem to be in much visible distress.

She wanted to show you guys all the apparatus she's hooked up to, so here's a picture:

The little blue things are all part of one cord that is connected to the IV.  Here's a picture of her watching the cool TV that is attached to a movable arm so you can position it wherever you want:

Not much else to report.  I'm doing a lot of reading.  I still don't like to leave her for very long, although she has no trouble summoning the nurses when I am out.  I'm feeling positive about her progress so far.  I can tell that she is going to enjoy being here once she feels better.  There are other kids here using similar equipment to what she will be using, and they look like they're having fun.  Oh, and we got a visit from a therapy Golden Retriever named Trooper.  This was much more therapeutic for me than Suchitra.  When people ask her who else she lives with, she'll mention Tiller if they ask about pets, but she never fails to add that he is "annoying."  Clearly I'm the only one who is missing him!