I went for a walk today in search of a tiny grassy knoll and a little pond in the center of the University of Penn’s campus called the Bio Pond.
Admittedly, I was also in search of peace and a separateness from all things medical, from beepers and monitors, and nurses, and even from Evangeline’s […] Read more…

Evangeline is really improving. She is just doing amazingly well. She walked all the way around the room and stood today at the sink and brushed her teeth with only a little help.

She’s wearing a tight thick terry tee that goes under her brace, but she is so tiny it looks like a […] Read more…

Evangeline really made improvement yesterday.
They got her out of bed, and she stood and took a few tiny steps to turn toward the chair.

They left her sitting for half an hour, and then did it all over again in the afternoon. She was not happy about it, but she did it! […] Read more…

Evangeline is not tolerating the pain meds well. She is terribly nauseas, and has eaten nothing but a few bites of strawberries. She vomits her pain meds, and is in agony.
At this point, she is dehydrated and not metabolizing the meds. Yesterday she sat up in the brace for maybe five minutes while they […] Read more…

The team rounded this morning and said that Evangeline is in a stalling pattern. In other words, she should be sitting, taking a couple steps, eating, and drinking on her own. Unfortunately she’s doing none of that.
She is just in agony and screams from pain if we just try to move her slightly […] Read more…

This morning has been so painful for Evangeline. She’s cried and secreamed, “I can’t stand it anymore.” Yet she presses on. The pain team came to see her and increased the Valium hoping that it would not only relax her, but also relax the muscles spasms in her back from the change in position […] Read more…

Evangeline had a pretty good day today. The pain meds keep her pretty comfortable most of the time. Her fever did not return, and she experienced none of the tachycardia and poor oxygen levels she did in the night. Apparently, a fever is pretty common after bone surgery.
She was fitted for a back brace yesterday, […] Read more…

Evangeline’s heart rate spiked very high in the night. She began taking only shallow breaths, and she developed a fever.
They’re giving her oxygen, and extra fluids. She’s already been on antibiotics.
They don’t know if this could be what Livi has had, or if it is somehow related to the surgery. […] Read more…

I sit here amidst the rhythm of the inflating and deflating of the circulation bands that keep Evangeline’s tiny legs and feet oxygenated as she lays still, drugged to a stupor to be relieved of the pain she bears. The hum of the vacuum that drains her wound provides white noise, and even peace, […] Read more…

I’m sorry I am just now getting to let you know how everything’s going. It’s been a busy day with doctors, and support staff. And Mark is here so I have been enjoying him too.

Evangeline had a good night. She has been mostly sleeping due to the morphine and the Valium, without which, she […] Read more…