2:30 a.m.

Well, it's been just over 14 hours since Chalupa got out of surgery. We've had three visits since 10:30. Each with a different purpose. They've been checking her vitals and doing some minor re=positionings. And replacing fluids.

It's important to "roll" her onto different positions, in this case her "side", and have her in that slightly different position for 2-4 hours. This allows the blood to circulate a bit more (not pool), it also subtly strengthens and re-normalizes muscles and nerves, which in-turn helps the body adjust to the re-aligned spine. Of course any movement at this point is horribly uncomfortable, I'm certain words can do justice for the pain Chalupa must feel. But she continues to be a trooper. The bandage goes from the base of her neck all the way down to the base of her spike (just below her waist), wow and yeow!

Because she is not fully processing fluids quite yet, she still can't drink water. But all the breathing makes her mouth dry. So what they have are little sponges on a stick (think lolly pops - Dumdums), and we soak the sponge in water, and she chews on in, and moves it around her mouth. It's probably less than a 1/2 a teaspoon of water, but enough to keep her mouth moist.

And so it goes. Next call will be about 4:00 a.m.