Our PiperGirlThe story of our first born

Out of the mouths of babes…

So yesterday was kind of a boring day for PG3. She is off the anti-inflammatory and pain meds now, but Doc wants her on a low-dose sedative until the stitches come out (so she’s not trying to move around too much). I asked them how much to give and they told me a 1/2 pill, given her size (I usually give her 3/4 of a pill at night). Well…that 1/2 pill knocked her out! She slept most of the day. I would go in and sit with her, pet her, talk with her and the poor girl could barely open her eyes. No more of that! Today I gave her 1/4 of a pill, after we went on a little morning walk, and now she is resting comfortably, without all the grogginess of yesterday. Much better!

I have to share with you how amazing my 5 yr. old daughter has been throughout this process. When we first learned of PG3’s need for amputation, I sat my daughter down and explained it the best I could. I told her she has a sickness in her leg and that the only way we could keep her with us longer would be to cut off her leg. She kind of understood, but was worried about what PG3 would be like afterward. I told her she would still be able to run and play, even more so now that she wouldn’t be in pain. I showed her some videos of other tripawd dogs running, jumping, catching frisbees. She was amazed! She said she couldn’t wait for PG3 to be well enough to run around with her again. I remember the night before the surgery she bent down to PG3 to kiss her goodnight and whispered in her ear. Later she asked me if I wanted to know what she whispered. I told her yes if she wanted to tell me, but I didn’t want to know if it was a secret between her and PG3. She said, “I told Piper not be scared when she woke up and didn’t see her leg, that everything would be ok and she would be able to play with me again.”

The day of the surgery, I told my daughter that we had to be strong and brave for PG3 when she came home. That we shouldn’t cry in front of her because that would make her sad. I told her that if she was upset, we could go into the family room to cry and talk about it. Well, the night of the surgery I was laying down with PG3, and I was crying. My daughter called for me and asked me to come into the family room. When I went in there she said to me (very caringly, but rather sternly) “Mom, you’re not supposed to cry in front of Piper, you’re supposed to come in here so we can talk about it!” 🙂 I told her that I wasn’t crying about Piper losing her leg or how she looked, that I was just crying from being tired and feeling overwhelmed. My little girl took my hand, looked me softly in the face and said “Yeah, but Piper doesn’t know that Mom.” Aww, out of the mouths of babes.

Now she is constantly checking on PG3, seeing if she needs anything, whispering in her ear that things are going to be ok. She has taken to calling herself “Sissy” around PG3. I hear a constant “Do you want Sissy to give you water? Do you want Sissy to get you a toy? Do you want Sissy to scratch your back?”  It’s cracking me up! We’ve always called them sisters, but we have never used the term Sissy before. I don’t know where she got it, but she likes it and that’s all that matters…