We have a surgery date!

So, Miss Paige will be holding out for the 2008 model of hip - her surgery is scheduled for January 4th.

I'm looking forward to the day, so that we can finally get it behind us - these last three months in a body cast were a surprise for us - and, had we known this would have happened, surgery would have taken place sooner for her, so that all of this could have been healing time.

Her surgery will be a long one - between 7 & 9 hours if all goes well. We are praying that she won't have any of the complications that we have been warned about - severe blood loss, infection, etc. And, if she does have them, we pray that the doctors who care for her will be prepared to deal with them.

Although its been quite a journey so far, I am also very grateful - it could have been worse. Through it all, Paige has remained her sweet, happy self for the most part. I have loved the extra time I have spent with her, and have felt so close to her as I laid down beside her on the floor and just "chatted" so many times.

Just as it is a celebration of humility in my church for a bishop to wash the feet of his parishioners, it is that same celebration of humility and joy that makes it so easy to care for Paige - to give her sponge baths, and to eat our dinner on the floor beside her so we can all eat together.

It was not a burden to bundle her up on that cold, cold night and put her in her wheelchair, and plow through the snow to watch the parade - it was our great privilege, and we did it with the knowledge that we are very, very blessed to be a family who loves one another, and who clapped and waved and laughed at Santa as he waved to the crowd.

Paige has been so healthy this fall - not a single runny nose, not a cold, etc. Her skin has held up well with this cast - there have not been any tender spots that we have had to worry about.

I have rather enjoyed sleeping downstairs with her - when this is all over, I will miss waking up to cover her up, or just to watch her sleep for a while, to listen to her breathing, and to lift my eyes to sky and thank God, over and over again, for the gift of her.

And, I daresay my husband has made himself quite comfortable having a room of his own for the first time in nearly 20 years!! He has set it up like quite the bachelor pad - with a stereo for his old record collection, and sprawled across the whole bed like he owns it :)

Even though he says he misses me, no one has jabbed him in the ribs and told him to stop snoring or to get on his own side of the bed, or to turn down the radio or give up some blankets for quite some time!

The saddest casualty for me has been that we have had to cut her hair - it was getting so matted and tangled when she would spend long periods of time in her wheelchair or on her back - and it was just impossible to manage - we have to wash it hanging over the bed, and she was very upset at me as I tried to brush it out every day.

So, about 12 inches of it has come off - it is no longer down past her bum, but about halfway down her back. My heart still tugs when I look at it, although she seems rather unaffected by the whole experience, except hair care is much easier now.

I am heading into our Christmas celebration with a happy heart - so grateful for so many things in my life...my wonderful community of T21 sisters, my children, my husband, my sister, my dear friends...