Why We Got to AZ 1 Week Late

On the day that we visited sweet Garrett, which was only 2-3 days before we were planning on traveling to our new home in AZ, Lexi started to complain about it being hard to walk.  Jared looked at her leg and noticed that her left knee was swollen.

 Being a doctor, he tends to think of all the possible worse case scenario diagnoses;o)  So, I have to keep it cool by being a bit more of a downplayer.  He was incredibly worried; I wasn't going to flip out until something else happened, since she didn't have a fever, wasn't feeling nauseous, and really had no symptoms besides the swollen knee.

 We decided that if she got a fever, we would have to take her in.  Otherwise, we wanted to wait it out, hoping we could at least make it to Arizona!

Well, a fever came by the next night, so to the ER we went!!!

 Lexi got admitted,...

 X-rayed,...

 and got her knee tapped within the first couple of hours.

Then, before we knew it, she was being carted away from us to undergo a surgery to drain the excess fluid that was building up in her knee.  I feel so much more for parents who have to have the 'carting away' experience with their children for more serious surgeries.  Our hearts sank so much, and we felt a surge of many emotions at that point and in the waiting room; it was awful.  Her surgery was not a life threatening one and we still felt so strongly.  Bless the amazing parents who have so much more on the line with the more serious surgeries being performed on their children; my heart goes out to them!!!!!

One of the most awful moments for me was when Lexi was trying to 'come to' from being under the anesthesia.  She would wake up, just to writhe in pain, cry while expressing how bad her knee hurt, and try to rip her bandages off.  I am sure she was trying to rip it off thinking it would also rip off the intense pain.  Then, she would slip back into a sleep, just to awake and start the writhing, crying process again.  My heart was breaking, because in those moments, despite my best attempts, I could not comfort her.  It was so hard!  At one point, Jared became quite concerned because her oxygen sats were dropping, but she was hurting and not calming, so they were vacillating on whether or not she should be given more narcotics.  Jared ultimately refused more continuing to be super concerned with the levels of her sats.  Fortunately, she calmed down within a few minutes.

When she awoke, she was ready to be the Lexi that we know and love, trying to put a smile on a.s.a.p.

 She got lovely flowers and a whimsical wand from her Grandpa and Grandma Pete.

 She also got wonderful homemade gifts from Addie and Elaina, including this scarf that Addie wrote on about how she loves Lexi and "I love your nee."  Ha ha...that made me smile!  The other less visible gift, but one that probably made the greatest difference was her Grandpa and Grandma Palmer and cousin Elaina watching her sisters and brother so that Jared and I could stay with our sweet girl throughout the process.

It hurts to see your child hurt, especially since they don't realize why they have to!

 Physical therapy was hard at first, but once Lexi got moving, we couldn't stop her.

 When she got tired of walking, she still wanted to keep exploring, so...

 she cruised happily along in a wheel chair.

 Lexi was the most happy and animated in the hospital, when she facetimed with her sissies and bro!  It was a beautiful thing to see how much it lifted her spirits.

She also loved getting visits.  Poor Grandpa and Grandma decided to stand outside the door as her cousins who were staying with them at the time had the flu.  Despite that, they wanted Lexi to know that they were there for her.  So sweet!  We did not want any other bug introduced to Lexi during her recovery, so we encouraged them to not bother making the drive down, but they knew best.

One of the most touching visits was from her Uncle Jake.  His little boy, whom my previous post is about, has had multiple surgeries and has been in a hospital and care facility ever since he was born with a severe heart defect.  Yet, Jake visited Lexi, knowing better than anyone, how important that kind of support is!  Our admiration and love for Jake and Natalie skyrocketed, getting a small glimpse and a somewhat fuller understanding of what they have had to go through on a daily basis for over a year!  They are BEYOND INCREDIBLE!!!

Lexi got to go home after 2 1/2 days.  She had to do home physical therapy exercises for a week or so.  She also had to take an antibiotic 3x a day for 28 days.  Why?

Well, her diagnosis was a form of Lyme disease called Lyme Arthritis.  We never saw a tick on her, she never had the classic target like rash, and she never had any other symptoms until this occurred.  CRAZINESS!  We laughed and said that New Jersey was simply trying to make one final mark on our family, since Lyme carrying ticks are indigenous to many of the Northeastern states.

After letting her rest up for a few days, we had to make the trek down to Arizona, so that we could get there before school started (our arrival was 5 days before school started and the day before back to school night).

 The scenery on the drive was gorgeous!

 The other things that are gorgeous are the many people who donated or made special things for the kids in the hospital!  They made a huge difference!  Here is Lexi getting to doctor her homemade dolly!  THANK YOU to whomever sewed it!!!

Random picture, eh?  Yep, but here is proof that 1 - we took the drive down in two days, stopping at a hotel, knowing this would be easiest for all of us (and especially our sweet Lexi), and 2 - Emmy thinks she ought to get to stay up and party and won't let curtains close her off from a good time;o)

For those interested, here is a progression of her healing knee.

 A few days post surgery

A few weeks post surgery 

A few months post surgery

She is doing fabulous now, and doesn't seem to have any residual side effects.  We wouldn't have any proof of her Lyme disease occurring other than her rockin' scar and pictures from her hospital stay, and that is how we like it:o)  We feel very grateful for how everything turned out!!!