Post Opt Day 7

So we've survived (and thrived) through 1 week after surgery and Lacey continues to improve. She has had a little more pain today, and as stated earlier, i feel that it is from all of her activity yesterday. Still no nausea and absolutely NO PANCREAS pain!! She (and I) are really missing our dear little girl and we were able to visit with her tonight at the hospital for a few minutes. It is so hard watching your daughter grow up from a distance and only having minimal interaction time with her. She is so sweet and has been as perfect as a 10 month old could be through all this. We are so thankful for her and just seeing her smile brings encouragement to us all.
Lacey did get the central line in her neck removed today and got a picc line in her right upper arm, which is less cumbersome to her movement and with less risk for infection. She also was taken off the IV insulin and began receiving insulin through a tiny shot in the arm. Hopefully this will control her blood sugars as the islet cells continue to work in the liver. We have had a good day together and she actually walked up and down a flight of stairs today, which allowed her to be officially discharged from occupational and physical therapy, so now it's my job to help her rehab. We enjoy our short walks together and with time, we've learned to thank God for every step she takes. She was also increased from a clear liquid diet today to a full liquid diet, which basically means she can have anything that is liquid in it's simplest form (coke, tea, ice, ice cream, broth, and cream soups). I got to watch Lacey enjoy her first bowl of real ice cream in 12 years!!! It was truly a moment of joy for us both. No more worries about pancreas pain from fat because there's no pancreas!
Doctors continue to be impressed and surprised with her speedy recovery and this surgery usually requires at least 14 days of hospital stay and we're on day 7 and she's doing great. However doctors did say today, she'll be in for 5 to 6 more days, but Lacey has not settled for that yet(shes working hard to get out sooner). They are still waiting for her intestines to wake up and for food to start moving through her system more regularly. Seems like the intestinal movement and pain control is the main holdup for getting out of here, but the doctors really don't feel comfortable discharging a patient this soon with so many new connections in the stomach, so she's being patient. God continues to bless us and i can't possibly (and will never be able) to express my thankfulness for what God has done. There's no doubt this has been the hardest and most life changing experience we've ever had, but I can be nothing but thankful for what God is doing through this. Thank you alll for your comments, prayers, cards, calls, and even financial support. We will never be able to thank you enough.