After a few
good hikes in 2004, I thought 2005 would be our year to get out and explore. The
outdoors would be ours!
I was
wrong, very wrong!
The year
started out with a surgery to remove the hardware from Kellisa hips. The six-week
recovery period was as brutal as the original surgery. Thankfully, The Wiggles
were there to help Kellisa through another difficult six weeks.
We
attended a Wiggles concert when they played a show in Jacksonville. Kellisa had
the time of her life. During the encore, I carried Kellisa towards the stage
where she caught the eye of her favorite Wiggle, Murray. She blew him a kiss
and he returned the kiss.
Our
entire summer was spent in doctor's offices, emergency rooms, and hospital
rooms as Kellisa spent months fighting high fevers again. Just like 2003, the
doctors couldn’t find a cause and every scan came back with a good-looking
shunt. Kellisa’s new Jacksonville neurosurgeon even tapped the shunt early in
the process and ruled out any possibility of a shunt infection. The doctors
tested for everything, including HIV/AIDS. After several months, the fevers
went away as suddenly as they appeared without explanation.
Kellisa
started kindergarten in August. This was our third year at school, and it was
time to start fighting for Kellisa and what she needed. The school wanted to
spend as little money as possible on educating Kellisa. We wanted what was
fair. We wanted her to talk while the school administrators were content with
her pointing.
The year
ended with shunt surgeries in October, November, and December. Kellisa attended
The Nutcracker with Lisa in between the November and December surgeries.
The neurosurgeon had to move the shunt placement
during the last surgery. This required Kellisa’s entire head to be shaved. I
was thankful for a successful surgery but devastated at the loss of Kellisa’s
beautiful hair.
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