First Injection a Success!

Today was the big day. Going to the hospital for Egypt's first cortisone injection. My mom came over at 7.30 this morning to come with us. Egypt couldn't have anything to eat after 3 this morning (do they even realize what they are saying? What. Am I going to wake her up to feed her something?) But she could have clear liquids up until 7. I went in to her room just before 7 to check on her. I didn't want to wake her up, but if she was awake I wanted to give her some apple juice to tide her over. Luckily, she was awake. She never asked for breakfast (phew!) and just seemed a little sleepy on the car ride over.

Parking was a breeze. Must be because we were there at 8.30 in the morning! I knew right where to go because of all of Holland's previous doctor appointments and surgery back in January. I filled out paperwork and then we were called back to the little waiting room to get weighed, temperature taken and heart rate checked. The anesthesiologist was very nice. He explained the possible side affects and told me he didn't want me in the room where they would do the injection. He said if kids have a bad reaction to being put under, the last thing he wants them to see is mom standing there doing nothing. So we hugged and kissed and she was handed to a nurse. The doctor said the whole thing would take 10 minutes.

True to his word, he came out to the atrium 10 minutes later and said the injection went smoothly. He was, however, disappointed that he was unable to remove any fluid from the site. This means that the swelling is due to soft tissue inflammation and will prevent the swelling from going down right away. We were able to go right back and see her. She was pretty loopy from the anesthesia and she kept asking for food. I was able to rock with her for a few minutes and then we were kicked out. That was the only negative thing about the whole process. There was another family scheduled to come in right behind us. There was barely 10 minutes of "recovery" time. I had to hurriedly put her pants back on and get out. The next time we do this, I will be asking for a few more minutes, or at least another room we can go sit in before we have to jump in the car and drive off.

She could still have other joints become affected so I am to watch her other knee and also her ankles. We're praying for another three to six months of pain-free living. She was walking pretty tender on it for a few hours (the injection itself can cause discomfort) but by early afternoon, she had come to me and showed off her new ability to walk without limping! Praise God! I can't believe how fast it took. Before long, she was running around the house and yelling at the boys. Great to be back to normal.