Florida Sun Makes Everyone Happy

We've all arrived to Florida and have been enjoying our time so much over the past few days!  I lost count of how many people have asked us since we started our journey at Cleveland airport if the girls are twins!  We've done lots of swimming at our beautiful pool already and even an ice cream date with our West Palm Beach friends, Lauren, Dylan and Brody.  Sadie and Dylan have known each other since they were babies and I planned his parents' wedding back in 2010!  So thankful we have stayed friends all these years and that they live here!



Sadie is in extremely good spirits.  The girls just love Florida so much, staying in our condo, and she is truly excited for the surgery.  Yes, you read that right!  She's squealing with excitement about all of it.  She is really happy about making her leg longer.  I think that all of our going away parties, cards and gifts over the past week helped build her up.

We had all of our pre-op appointments today and it only took 4 hours!  That is good timing since Mondays are very busy days at the Paley Institute since it is the only day he schedules regular clinic check-up appointments as he is in surgery on all of the other days.  Surgery is tomorrow morning and should last about 4 hours.  In the limb lengthening process, the surgery can be considered the "easy part" because the real work comes over the next 4 months, as we do physical therapy 3 times per day and turn the pins on her external fixator 4 times per day.  We should be in the hospital for 2 nights depending on how she is doing.  She will get a new walker, a wheelchair and maybe crutches.  Sadie has named all of these items:
"Peyton" will be the external fixator they are putting on her leg tomorrow
"Sabrina" will be the wheelchair
"Summer" will be the walker.  Or crutches.  I'm not quite sure as she keeps changing those names but we'll find out soon enough.  We plan to decorate them all with colorful duct tape and being the shopper she is, she is so excited to get all of these new things.

Dr. Paley looked at her hip x-rays and measured the movement and abduction of her hip and had a huge smile on his face saying how impressed he is with her hip.  I told him thanks to you!  Then he had Sadie walk and run down the hallway with her brace on and he took a video of her with his phone.  She loved that!

The Paley PA we met with today and the patient coordinator both gave me words of advice for our time ahead.  I was a bit concerned after talking to him since HE was concerned I will be here by myself with the girls without someone here to help for the duration (he doesn't even know I have to work too!) dealing with all of this.  We will see how it goes and I'm prepared for the worst (but expecting the best) so anything should be easier than that, right?  

Here are some pictures of our going away celebrations and our time in Florida so far.  I'll write another update after surgery from the hospital at some point when I can get to it.
A huge thank you to all of our supporters!  It means so much to Sadie and to our family.

 

Everyone's fave, Katie, driving us to the airport!

  
Doritos and froyo for a dinnertime snack during our layover:)





     Sienna had a bit of a meltdown as we boarded our 2nd flight of the day and I had to dig out an old pacifier (foofer as she calls it) from my purse.   LOL!

Our "Brave Sadie" playlist we've been listening to!