Cruising!

 Kate is doing really well.  We replaced her wheelchair to a smaller, more manageable one.  The first one had to recline for her, but this one is built for cruising.  She is an expert at corners and rolls away from us any time she thinks I'm trying to feed her. 

It's been strange to see her sitting upright.  She can actually get a little dizzy at times and need to lay back down.  On the bright side,  her hair doesn't get nearly as tangled and she isn't dreading getting it brushed. 

We pick her up to use the restroom and it is tricky holding her in a cradle position while trying to keep her legs straight.  She can bend her knees almost completely,  but she is so nervous it will hurt when we move her  we are still holding them straight.  It can also hurt her incisions on her outer thighs when we carry her.  I hope they feel better soon. 

She peeled off the last of her steri strips last night in the tub.  Now we have full view of her scars.  Oh, man.  Way longer than any of us thought they would be.  I would guess the ones on her outer thighs are close to 10" in length.  The one over her left hip in front is probably 7",  and her right lower abdomen scar is the smallest at around 5".  Kate is not too fond of them.  She sees how the older one is looking better than the newer ones and makes comments about them.  I just assure her that they will fade in time.  I am also going to look into those scar fading creams.   Fun stuff. 

I can't get her out and going just yet.  She did go to her school last Friday for about 40 minutes while they had a St. Paddy's day party.  She still got a little tired but it was great seeing all of her friends.  The kids were very sweet to her.  I really think she feels well enough to go out more,  but she is nervous about her legs hurting.  Another week maybe. 

Her legs are still super skinny,  but they are looking a lot better than the first few days.  All the dry skin is gone.  She has a nice, warm bath every day.  It's a two man job getting her in and out and usually has us all laughing.

Four weeks from tomorrow and we start on the walker.  In some ways that is forever away,  but knowing that we have seven weeks of this behind us is good.