Today we ventured out to see a little of Washington DC. Belinda was very small when we went before, and so this was all new for her.

We took the Metro from where we are in Brookland to the National Mall, and walked from there to the Washington Monument to get tickets to go up later in the day. We have been told walking was good for her at this stage, and we did quite a bit of it today. After getting the tickets (we were the second to last group before they ran out for the day) we made our way to the Hart Senate Office Building to one of our senators’ offices. I had contacted the staff there a couple of weeks ago, and even though the senator was not there, Belinda got to ask his interns some questions, and then we went to tour the US Capitol. Belinda started hurting early into the tour, so after we saw the Senate chambers, we cut it short and went to the dining room, where we found mashed potatoes and ice cream for her, along with a Snapple Apple.

She felt a bit better, so we went to Union Station where she bought a Washington DC sweatshirt, and we stopped at Walgreens there and got some liquid Tylenol. We were supposed to get that as a prescription when we left the hospital, but for some reason we did not. So I was happy to get that taken care of. She took a dose there and then we came back to the Ronald McDonald House so she could nap.

We returned to sightseeing in the afternoon, going to the top of the Washington Monument. This time we walked less, taking the Metro bus as well as the light rail. She enjoyed looking out of the windows at the city and said that even though she didn’t always like history, she did like learning about the monument. We found a little restaurant that had mashed potatoes, but they ended up being too chunky for her to enjoy. But they did have a chicken noodle soup, and the chef was gracious enough to blend it for her. We had that meal in a covered dining area on the sidewalk, and the weather was nice and cool.

We walked to a grocery store after that and picked up some instant potatoes and jarred gravy so I can make some comfort food for her easily tonight. She also got a yogurt and some chocolates. We walked back to the train station and took the red line back to Brookland. The metro bus driver was on a break, so we walked the last few blocks back to the House and now we are relaxing.

She just placed the little cup of instant potatoes next to me, as a not-so-subtle hint that she is ready for me to make them!

Our flight back to OKC is tomorrow afternoon!

We are back at the Ronald McDonald House!

This time we got a tour and got settled in a little more. After a rest in the room, we walked a few blocks and saw some beautiful historical homes and gardens on our way to a nearby Chinese takeout restaurant. Belinda got a big container of egg drop soup (with promises that she would avoid the big pieces of egg). When we got back to the House, I stopped at the dining room, where they were celebrating April birthdays with music, Happy Meals, and cake. I got juice boxes for Belinda and a spoon for her soup and she ate the entire quart (except the big bits) while we watched an episode of Spy x Family. She was so surprised and happy that she ate the entire thing during one episode!

After the soup, she ate about half a cup of orange Jell-o. She thought she could eat the whole thing, but she couldn’t! She was too full. She said she hasn’t been really full in SO LONG!

We’ve been told that walking is really good for her, so tomorrow we have some plans to explore DC a little bit. I’m thinking we will do a trolley tour so she can have rest breaks, but still get to see a lot of the city.

Then back home on Thursday!

Her breakfast tray just came! She has chicken broth, apple juice, a fruit popsicle, orange gelatin, and a little bottle of water. She went for the water first and cried from joy when it went down without getting stuck at all!

Today is a wonderful day.

The doctors came by this morning and said she can have clear liquids! The nurse said the order has to go into the computer and then she will bring her something. It should be about 10 minutes. Belinda is ready!

In other news, there is an alarm going off on her machines and we don’t know why, but it seems rude to contact the nurse when she’s coming back already. It may be a long 10 minutes!

Belinda is doing well. She is sitting up in bed and working on a college assignment with her laptop. She is experiencing some pain and said it’s now a 4 or a 5. They just put toradol in her iv, and they said they can also do morphine if that doesn’t help it. She also gets a dose of tylenol regularly. She says the pain is in her chest and stomach and feels like pressure. Our heaviest cat at home is Nutmeg, and earlier she said it felt like she had five Nutmegs on her chest. If you know Nutmeg, you know that would be quite a bit of pressure!

She doesn’t get to drink until tomorrow, and she is looking forward to that. Her doctor did give permission for her to chew gum, and she has done that happily! She has also been watching a lot of food videos on tiktok, which I think must be making things worse but she says makes it better. She’s ready for chicken alfredo and chick fil a mostly, and says that when we get home and she can eat solids, she is going to bake a cake and eat it. First she planned to make a chocolate cake, and now she has decided it will be red velvet.

I napped a little for the last few hours, but it was the type where I was still aware every time someone came in the room, which was good so I was able to help Belinda.

Belinda is awake and we have left Recovery Bay 30 and moved upstairs to the fifth floor. It is quiet here and I am glad.

She woke up when she moved upstairs, and then she wanted to change clothes and when they tried to reattach the IV it wouldn’t work anymore, so they’re going to have to start a new one. So now her chest is starting to hurt more because she isn’t getting the pain meds. Hopefully they come up soon before the pain gets too bad.

Everyone is so nice here. I really can’t stress that enough. Like…noticeably nice.

I haven’t seen her yet but I got to talk with Dr. Kane and Dr. Petrosyan and they were very happy with the results of the POEM procedure! They showed me a before and after image of her lower esophagus. The numbers are in millimeters, so her esophagus was only 5.7 mm at the narrowest part! Dr. Kane said that her lower esophagus is now the width it should be.

I’m looking forward to getting to go back to recovery to see her!

She has gone back for surgery. I forgot I would have to lug her giant book bag around (she wants to be able to work on schoolwork once we get checked into her room today). So I’ve got her bag for that, plus our things we’ll need for overnight. I am the pack mule of the hospital!

We met with Dr. Kane and the anesthesiologists, along with the surgical nurse. Dr. Petrosyan is also on the surgical team but did not come by this morning beforehand.

It took three tries to get the IV started, and the lead anesthesiologist ended up being the one to do it. The secondary one tried on the back of each of her hands, but both failed. They didn’t have a buzzy to help with the pain but they did have numbing spray. Belinda was a champ and on the third one I had to stop holding her hand and sit down because I felt like I was going to pass out. I’ve experienced that when I have my own blood taken and they fail, so at least I knew what to do to handle it. The third one was in her arm and that succeeded. I am thankful the lead doctor looked at her hands and realized he wasn’t going to get anything there, and went for the spot that has worked for her before. I guess it is more difficult for them to get to during surgery, so that’s why they started with her hand.

She wasn’t worried at all, just excited and happy that she will be able to eat and drink again!