I'm just so proud of her...

I wondered how well a three-year-old would cope with an extended hospital stay and all that goes along with it. I'm finding out that this little girl is even more amazing than we thought. She's rapidly adjusting to our new schedule and is impressing everyone with how much she picks up on.

Every morning, she wakes me up (bright and early) asking for a Dora video. Once the portable TV is in her bed, she tells me to go get a shower. When I check back in on her afterwards, she suggests that I go get breakfast while she watches another Dora show. Thankfully, after the morning Doras, we get a TV break until lunch-time. In some ways, I can mark the passage of time by how many Doras we've watched. :)

She copes so well with all the medical "stuff" that I can't help but be amazed. She's helps the nurses push all of her meds through the g-tube and reminds them if they forget to do anything when they check vital signs. She has her own stethoscope, and this afternoon she looped it around her neck and walked back to the playroom to listen to her baby's heart.

Yesterday was her second attempt this week at getting enough blood to run labs. Our child-life specialist suggested when we got here that we take her to the treatment room to do anything uncomfortable. It really does help her to know that her room is a "no pokes" room. Anyway, she was doing occupational therapy in the gym yesterday morning when they came to get her for the blood draw. She immediately knew what was going on when we left to go to the treatment room. She also knows exactly what she's entitled to when they draw labs. She specifies that she prefers to sit up and will even tell the phlebotomist which arm (or foot) would be better. She knows to ask her nurse for the Dora band-aids, and she knows Miss Meredith will bring the special "poke toys" to distract her. Of course, she also tells Miss Meredith to put away the "poke toys" when we're done because she doesn't need them anymore. After two failed attempts at drawing blood yesterday, she hopped down off the table and scurried back to the playroom to claim more stickers for her collection.

I'm torn. A three-year-old shouldn't have to know the system this well. On the other hand, I can't help but be just as proud as I can be that she faces everything so bravely. She's definitely one special girl!