Back Home and Happy!

Daisy was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday and was bundled into her wagon for transport to the car! She's been happy as a clam in her new beanbag chair and seems really happy to be home and out of the hospital (even though we don't have Nintendo - alas).

Here are a few pics of Daisy relaxing!

Hope you're all doing well!

Doing Much Better!

Daisy is doing really well today. Her transfusion went well and she looks much rosier! Her pain is well controlled and things are looking great at the moment!

She spent the day visiting with friends, learning to play Nintendo and blowing bubbles. She realized that the main hazard in blowing bubbles while lying supine in bed is possible eye trauma - so she decided to put on her safety glasses!

Thanks to all of you who are making comments or sending e-mails letting us know you're thinking of Daisy.

Getting Better Everyday

Daisy seems to be doing much better as of about 5 p.m. yesterday. She suddenly perked up and felt better. She's had many visitors and lots of people who care about her sending good thoughts.

She's now sporting quite a stuffed animal and doll collection. It's great! We've been watching lots of movies (thanks Kim).

Her medical care continues to be wonderful and thanks to Jenifer and Lori who were her nurses yesterday.

Her hematocrit was a little on the low side after the surgery so she's getting a transfusion today to perk her up. Her heart rate's been high since the surgery and we hope this will help bring it down to a normal range.

Discharge from the hospital will probably be on Monday or Tuesday. We'll keep you posted. In the meantime keep sending good thoughts and she's doing well.

Daisy's Surgery

Hello Everyone- sorry this entry is a little delayed. It's been a busy time.

Daisy had her surgery on 14 February at the hospital in Bend. Carla Smith and Mike Ryan were her surgeons and Kevin Flaherty was her anesthesiologist. She was incredibly brave and did a great job in the morning. It's hard to believe this is her third major surgery and she' s only 5.

The surgery lasted over 6 hours, but they were able to successfully operate on both hips. They performed femoral osteotomies on both hips and a Pemberton procedure on the left.

The prognosis for the left hip is excellent. It is well seated in the socket and they were able to shape a good joint and seat the femoral head.

The right hip; however, does not have the same prognosis. They were able to re-seat the femoral head (it had slipped backward after her previous surgery), but there was not as much bone to work with and because of the previous surgery and Daisy's anatomy, their options were more limited. Right now, things look good and we'll just cross our fingers that they stay that way. The work they did should straighten her right leg, but she'll have limited extention of that leg. It appears that both legs are relatively the same length.

It's been a little rough so far as Daisy has been very painful and was very nauseated after 6 hours of anesthesia. She turned a corner last night and we're finally getting her pain well under control. She was having some painful muscle spasms that were interfering with her sleep, but those are under better control now.

She'll probably be in the hospital until Monday or Tuesday and then will be at home. She'll need to spend the full 3 months in her spica cast, with a cast change halfway through. She'll be out of her cast in mid to late May.

She's had a few visitors so far, but it's been important to try and get her to sleep and eat. She's had incredible care in the hospital. Her nurses and physicians have gone above and beyond the call of duty. Thanks everyone!

Thanks for keeping up with her progress and we'll continue to keep you posted.

Having Fun in Bend

Sorry it's taken so long for another posting, but we were unable to download pictures until today. We've all been having a great time while waiting for the surgery date. It snowed non-stop for about 2 weeks so we were out and about in the snow as much as possible. Daisy is now in possession of a new snowsuit which is great.

Daisy's been making many new friends and has had numerous 'play dates'. She's got a very busy social schedule! She also loves swimming at the indoor pool at the Athletic Club - she's quite a jumper and is well on her way to being a very good swimmer.

We celebrated Losar, the Tibetan new year, with some Sherpa friends and Daisy had a good time playing with our friends' sons, Stewart and Elliott. Daisy has a good time watching them play basketball on the weekends. She's a good cheerleader, as you might imagine!

This past weekend was the Bend Winterfest which is a fun celebration downtown. Daisy loved jumping in the inflatable castle and checking out the igloo and ski racing. She went back again the next day for some face painting!

Daisy's surgery date is tomorrow morning, 14 February. The plan is to start on the left hip as it is not seated in the socket at all. If it goes well and the surgeons feel that she can tolerate a longer procedure they will re-locate the right hip which, unfortunately, is not seated well. Her right hip is currently internally rotated and is the main cause for her limp at the moment. The surgery is expected to last 4-6 hours and she will probably be in the hospital for 4-5 days.

Following her operation the surgeons predict that she will be in her Spica cast (goes from her waist to her ankles on both legs) for approximately 12 weeks. This could be longer if a second surgery is required. She will then have some physical therapy (and lots more playing) and will need to be around Bend for approximately 2 months following the removal of the Spica cast. It looks like Daisy and her family will be in Bend until at least July and possibly until September.

We can't thank everyone enough for all of the support that we've received during the last month. It's been wonderful. We'll keep you posted as Daisy's Adventure continues.

Daisy Heads to the U.S.A.

We've created this blog for people to be able to keep up with Daisy's progress and adventures while she's here in Bend, Oregon. So many of you have been incredibly generous in your support and care for Daisy. She's a remarkable little girl and we're very grateful to everyone who has helped make this dream a reality.

The adventure started in November 2006 when Leila met Daisy for the first time. It took about a nano second to decide to try and help via surgery in the U.S. It took quite a while to get everything in place and we had some incredible help along the way. Chris Maier and Senator Gordon Smith's office were amazing in their support in helping to secure visas for the entire family.

Horizon Airlines donated 3 round trip airline tickets from Los Angeles to Redmond. Drs. Carla Smith and Mike Ryan are performing the surgery at no cost to the family with help from Kevin Flaherty, anesthesiologist and Dr. John Chunn, pediatrician. The surgery will be at St. Charles Medical Center here in Bend.

The surgery will be sometime in early February and in the meantime we've all been having fun playing at home and with friends, going to the pool at the Athletic Club of Bend (who are generously allowing the family to use the facility at no cost while they are here) and playing in the snow.

Daisy settled into life here immediately and had a great time on the plane during the trip from Nepal. I think she watched Mulan at least 9 times!

We spent the night in Santa Monica with Jon and Susan Brandler who generously picked us up at the airport, fed us dinner and gave us very comfortable beds for the night! The visit was topped off with a very cold walk to the ocean in the morning before heading back to the airport and flying to Bend. Thanks Jon and Susan!

Thanks also to everyone who has sent Daisy gifts, toys, clothes, books and so many other little presents. We're keeping the U.S. Postal system busy!

This blog will be updated as much as possible, but please feel free to make comments as you wish. It's the first blog we've set up, so it will be an adventure for us as well!