Amber's Progress 5 Months On

As many of you are aware, our middle daughter Amber had rather radical open hear surgery late December last year. It has been 5 months since her surgery now, she is 5.5 years old and we have been very lucky in that she has had a very good recovery.

The photo above is of Amber eating her breakfast a couple of weeks ago. She is looking so good now, she is healthy, happy and really enjoying school. She is now able to run around just like all the other kids without getting really puffed out and tired.

The photos below are of amber in hospital. The quality of the photos aren't to great as they were taken with my film camera and then scanned, so the colour is a little bit funny, but anyway it gives an insight into what she has been through recently. Why am I posting them now? Because it has taken me 5 months to finally get the camera film processed!!

Above and below: Approx 1 hour after surgery in ICU. It is quite scary at first walking in to a room and seeing your child rigged up to so many machines.

Below: 1 day after surgery, still in ICU of course. The actual incision was not the worst part from my point of view - the four big thick drainage tubes sticking out of her chest was worse by far. It is hard to tell from the photos, but the tubes were about a centimeter thick.

Below: 2 days after surgery and slowly loosing bits and pieces of machinery! Hooray!
She was also feeling happier at this point as long as the nurse stayed away from her.

Below: approx 10 days after surgery. Only 2 drainage tubes remaining. Even after a sedative, getting those last tubes out was a nightmare. The fight she put up was incredible, she was so physically strong it took 5 of us to hold her down while the nurse removed the tubes - I have never seen her so upset before or since that day.

They say that they forget most of it as they get older, but I don't know about that....

.... Just another day ....