Christmas Morning!

Look at how straight her back is in this picture!

It was a very long trip to this day. We started all the pre-op appointments in September. I just opened a statement from the hospital on Friday for the surgery:

$236,000.00!

(Standing on my soap box for a moment)

If there is ever a vote in your community to end the Medicaid waiver wait list and to fully fund medicaid coverage for those adults and kids with disabilities please vote for it! Kenzie was removed from the wait list when she was 7 years old when a cigarette tax was passed. At the time she was number 436 on the list in our county of qualified children. That tax only allowed about 600 children through initially. If the cigarette tax hadn't passed we would likely still be on the list since she was put on it when she was 5 years old and it only moved about 200 spots per year! Even with our private insurance, much of the pre-op would not have been covered, such as the gait analysis which was so vital to determining whether or not to keep Kenzie's hips uninvolved in the surgery. Anyway, if you have the chance, please help the kiddos behind us.

Summary:

I don't miss waking up suddenly at 5:30 am with a surgeon standing over me. He didn't even bring me a cup a coffee once!

I do miss this magical concoction called a Milky Way Swirl Cococappuchino in the "nutrition" center on each floor.

Hoping I'll keep the stress-induced weight loss of 6 lbs. off! A great start toward the New Year's resolution goal.

So proud of Kenzie and how she has managed her pain and increased her movement even preferring walking in her walker to crawling! Yippee!

Still grateful for poopy diapers!

The recovery continues, 2009 is going to be a great year!