Hair All Better

Super special thank you to Katie Jean at Natural Alternatives! She spent hours (yes! Hours) untangling my hair.  With a few well placed cuts (like Mrs. Liz recommended) and hours of brushing and a special kind of hair wash station it now looks like this!

I am very happy with this hair cut.

The best part of the whole process was when I got to lay down to get my hair washed.  Anyone can do that at the new salon next to the Cedar Bluff Krogers.

She was able to work out the small tangles with conditioner without me having to hold up my head.  

Katie Jean was super nice and gentle and if you go see her for a hair cut tell her you are my friend. Thank you to all the friends who gave me such good advice.  I am glad that is finished.  It was nice to wear real clothes and get out a little.  I am worn out today though.

Better

I really like getting mail. I have gotten mail every single day!  Thanks everybody.  It is exciting to see what will come in the mail each day.  Every one has been different and so fun to read.

I am going to try and get my haircut again tomorrow. Maybe it will be easier.  I guess I will be the only kid there since everyone else should be at school.

I realized today there is absolutely nothing to watch in the middle of the day and since I am not sleeping as much I think I can try and do some of the neat craft projects some of you have sent.  Yea! I was able to start reading a book, Catherine called Birdy.  I started it yesterday. Then forgot until my mom reminded me. I really like the book now that I remember it.

My legs are not hurting and I am very happy about that!

I am working on my Thank You notes but it is not coming along very quickly. I do really like all the gifts and neat notes though. Thank you very much.

We are not sure when I can go back to school yet.  I go back to the Dr. in 4 weeks but we check in with him each week.

I am so excited to see Emily when she comes home for her Birthday this weekend.

Thanks for all the notes and comments,
Laura

Another note from Mom:  Laura's pain in her legs is much better but she is not moving around as much as she was at the end of last week.  This medicine is keeping her "a little foggy" but we hope that clears up as she gets used to this dosage.  We appreciate all the care and prayers everyone is offering.
Thank you!
Melissa

Latest Dr Appointment

An update from Mom:

Hello Friends,

The last couple days have been very busy and also very up and down for Laura.

She has been missing her school family and was very sorry to miss out on the 5th grade Valentines Day Party. Since she has done so well on reaching her progress milestones we decided 10 minutes in class with a "don't touch Laura policy" would be a safe first outing on Feb 14, 2013.  She enjoyed the quick visit.  Her friends had been coached and offered a joyous greeting with lots of "air hugs". She was inundated with greetings, valentines and friendly comments. Charlie did a great job acting as her escort and making sure she was able to see everyone she wanted to see, bringing her food and generally staying close. Grandy (Dianne) and I acted as buffers to prevent jostling and we all enjoyed seeing Laura's smiling face.  She walked tall and proud through the halls and can't wait to get back and see everyone she missed.

She has decided we will have to cut the back of her hair.  There is just no way to untangle it all. We tried to get it cut after the Valentines appearance but she was just to worn out and began having muscle cramps in both legs so we headed home. We will try again next week.

Today we left home at 6am heading to Greenville again to show off her great progress to Dr. Mendelow and the Shriner's Hospital.  We made fair time only adding an extra hour to the normal 3 hour trip.  It was not a happy trip for any of us.  Grandy went with us to help out.  The majority of the time Laura was very uncomfortable. She again had pain in her legs and nausea was a problem.

We passed Dr. Mendelow in the hall as they walked us to the exam room.  She was obviously in distress. He came in a few minutes later even without a nurse stopping in for height and weight and the standard opening questions.  After a long discussion and a number of questions and some poking and prodding he let us know that what we had thought were muscle cramps are actually nerve pain due to her positioning during surgery.  He has prescribed a course of action, an additional medication and assures us we can resolve this issue.  It will not be an instant fix but we have a plan and she is relieved to know how we are going to proceed.  We are all happy to be home tonight.

Laura has some pictures she will post tomorrow.

They never did get to measure her today.  So we don't have an official growth measurement but we are pretty sure it is just over 2".

Many of you called or emailed to check in on how her visit went.  There was just no time to talk today.  I hope you all know how much we appreciate everyone's prayers and concern. Thank you for all your help.

Melissa

I very much enjoyed reading the prayers that Mrs. Tyler's class made and looking at the power points created by my friends. They were all very nice. It made me so happy to read them all. my hair is a lot less tangled so that is good.

Up & Out

So guess what, I just got out of bed. BY MY SELF! That's almost a whole week before I should be able to! I am super happy!

P.S.
my hair still needs work.

The Ups and Downs

Hi everyone,

I am doing really good.  Except I still have the awful horrible knot in my hair but we are working on that each day. Lately I think I do need more sleep at night though, but when I am awake during the day I enjoy my visitors and reading all the great cards and comments. I also get to watch our two dogs wrestle each other too.  Mom and Dad gave us a puppy for Christmas and he and our other dog wrestle all the time.

The worse part of the day is when I get muscle cramps.  I have to change my position alot so that means moving from the bed to walking to the chair to the other chair to walking to back to bed. I need help getting up and getting back down so it means I need help too.

I do know I am taller. We have not measured exactly but my parents think I am at least 2 inches taller.  Here is me with one of my friends. I know you can't tell but I am taller then I used to be.  The banner in the back ground is fun to look at and read all the messages.

Can't write any more. Time to change my bandage again.

Thanks for all the prayers!
Laura

Resting at home

Hi Everyone.

I have really enjoyed all the visitors and gifts I have received this weekend especially the HUGE banner my classmates made for me.  I keep falling asleep and missing the goodbyes.  My mom is taping up the cards and notes where I can see them and it is nice to look at them over and over.

I REALLY regret not putting my hair in braids before the surgery. It is a huge tangled mess. So tangled it looks very short. We work on it a little at a time but since my neck isn't very strong yet it isn't getting much better. I can take a shower but I can't let the shower hit my back so conditioner doesn't help much either. Someone said I could cut it but I am NOT ready to do that.

Emily came home this weekend and that was really nice. We watched movies together.

My parents keep reading the comments to me and that is fun to hear too.  It is nice to hear what is going on with other people.

So many people are praying for me in so many different states. That must be why I am getting better fast.  The pain is much much better and I am feeling much better then I did at the hospital. I have to move very carefully and there are some things I can't do for a while but this is much easier.

I sit up a bunch but I still spend most of my time like this:

If you can't leave a comment please send it to my mom and she will post it if you ask her too.
melissakirk@charter.net

Thanks everyone,
Lala

Home!

Home! Home! HOME!

Another long day but we are all glad to be home. It was a group effort to get her here with minimal pain. A caravan ~ 1 car, 1 van and 1 motor home and she slept all the way.  We will add details tonight. Thank you for all your prayers and attention.
Melissa