Hey this is Lindsay! This past week has been full of improvement!   I am feeling so much better than day one! I can do so much more and I love it.  I have left the house for a couple hours each day since Friday.  I was able to go to a wedding reception, the first hour of church, and to Chris Austin's house.  I even went to Seminary today.  It was so nice to see my friends again!! I am taller and I love it! My back is still a little sore when I go too many hours without the medication or if I sit up too long but it is so much better than when I first came home.  Thank you so much for your prayers and concern for me! I loved having visitors in the hospital so thank you so much to everyone that came to see me!

Day 7

Mom and Lindsay spent last night sleeping on the couch. But I think we still got more sleep than we got in the hospital with all the constant interruptions. Lindsay has watched more Christmas movies today than we normally watch all season, thanks to the Family Channel. We measured her against her "before" height, and she has grown 1 1/2 inches (seems like more to Mom). She enjoyed a visit from her Sessions grandparents, but we can't decide if we are glad to have Misty back home--we hope she doesn't jump on Lindsay (or anywhere near her on the couch). Lindsay is eating well and seems to have the pain under control most of the time. The weather here in St. George is gorgeous, and we are glad to be home.

Day 6 (Saturday)

Going home! Lindsay passed all the criteria for being able to leave the hospital. Then she had the luxury of a shower. She especially loved getting her hair washed and dressing in her own clothes. She had mixed feelings about going home, and she was truly dreading the 5-hour drive home. We made her as comfortable as possible in Jeff's car, packed her with pillows, turned on the heated seats, and headed south. By the time we got home, she was very sore and miserable, but she was tough and tolerated it. We got home about 8 p.m. Thanks to Jeff and Bray for taking such good care of her! We are grateful to have her home!

Ready to go home

Lindsay is worn out tonight from a busy day. She enjoyed her visitors, and even went on a wheelchair ride up to the "Forever Young" children's activity room. She watched as her mom, Jeff, and Chris raced matchbox cars down a very large track. The physical therapist took Lindsay on two walks and then up and down several stairs. She got rid of her IV pain meds and began taking oral pain meds. This was not without its struggles, as she got very dizzy, hot, and disoriented for awhile from one of them. But this transition allowed them to remove the two epidurals from her back. She also got her catheter removed; this was exciting because she could put on her pajama pants! There is a good chance we will be on our way home tomorrow; if not, for sure on Sunday. Save us some warm weather in St. George!

Day 5

Today should be an exciting day. Lindsay is transitioning from IV meds to oral meds. This should help her feel a little less loopy and allow her to get rid of a few tubes and make her more mobile. The physical therapist will get her walking farther, and eventually get her climbing stairs. Lindsay is expecting a few more visitors, most notably Dixie Ray and Chris Austin. Her doctor is saying that she should be able to go home tomorrow or Sunday. Yay!

You may have noticed from the picture of Lindsay walking that she is now taller than me. We can't wait to get home and measure her on our wall for the "before" and "after" heights. I'm guessing she's grown two inches......

Thanks for the new hairdo, Rylee!