Ella has been completely flat, 100% of the time, for the past 5 1/2 weeks.
Today she had another follow-up appointment with her orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Grayhack. He said her bones still have a ways to go in terms of healing (probably another 6 weeks until almost fully healed), but we can start having her sit up very gradually over the next two weeks!
Yay!!!
Michael and I have discussed when Ella should start kindergarten and we've decided that we are not going to have Ella start this Wednesday with the other kids. Caring for Ella while she's transitioning to sitting is quite involved. While the staff at Prairie Elementary are ready, willing and certainly capable of caring for Ella, we feel with her still being in diapers, having continuous feeds (instead of quick bolus feeds throughout the day), and knowing that moving her is still precarious at best, we feel that at this point it's best to have Ella cared for one-on-one at home. We're hoping that she will be able to be in her kindergarten classroom two weeks from now, once she's (hopefully!) able to tolerate sitting in her new power wheelchair for an entire school day. In the meantime, my incredible mother is going to be with Ella while the other two kids are in school and Michael and I are at work.
The staff at Prairie Elementary has been nothing short of wonderful! Everyone is looking forward to when Ella can come to school and we have no doubt that the members of her team will care for her with both compassion and professionalism.
Thank you all so much for your continued support and prayers! We are truly blessed!
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| Ella sitting at a slight incline |
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| Ella's brand new power wheelchair - a Permobil C300 (waiting in the wings) |
