Tomorrow morning I'm going in to Edward Hospital at 5:30 am to have surgery on my right foot.
None of us are looking forward to it, but we ARE looking forward to being done with foot surgeries! Fingers crossed that the 3rd time's the charm!
We've been doing a lot to set up life at home for the next 5 weeks, as I'll be unable to walk without crutches, drive, or carry Ella.
Our night nurse has changed her shift from 10 pm - 6 am to 11 pm - 7 am so that she can get Ella up and dressed in the mornings.
Our incredible school (and school district) is allowing Ella, Ava and Henry to ride the bus to and from school every day until I'm able to walk them! This was pretty amazing, since we're "walkers" so they would not normally allow Ava and Henry to join Ella (Ella DOES qualify for the bus because of her SMA, but since we live so close and are walking anyway, we've always had her walk with us). But this will relieve A LOT of stress about having the kids walk home alone or in bad weather! Thank you, Prairie Elementary and Naperville District 203!!!
We then found out that Ella has over 200 hours of emergency/respite nursing care that expire at the end of October (and then we'll get another 350 hours for the next year), so we'll definitely be using them! As of now, we have a new nurse who will be coming to our house on Monday and Wednesdays after school for four hours (until I'm given clearance to carry Ella), so that Michael can continue to tutor those days after school. Our nursing agency is also looking for a possible part-time nurse to help on weekends, so that Michael is able to get things done around the house, yard, etc.
My parents will be able to help out on some Thursdays and Fridays (Ella has therapy those days after school), taking her to PT/OT and aqua therapy. Michael will be able to meet them there, stay with Ella, and then bring her home (so that my parents can leave after they drop her off).
Many people have asked how they can help (thank you!), and I think the only thing left would be to assist with a few dinners, so that Michael doesn't have to cook every night.
Like we have in the past with some of Ella's surgeries, we've set up a Care Calendar with days over the next month that we would love a meal (or restaurant gift card for somewhere that has delivery or carry-out). Here is the link and sign-in information for the calendar:
http://www.carecalendar.org/logon/243115
Calendar ID: 243115
Security Code: 1914
Of course there is NO pressure to bring a meal...we've just had several people ask if we are going to set up the Care Calendar for meals again :)
We're hoping and praying for a smooth surgery and quick recovery! Thank you all for your kind thoughts and prayers up to this point! We are so blessed to be a part of such an incredibly kind and supportive community!!!
