Day 3… the day we had been waiting for since our daughter began her recovery from selective dorsal rhizotomy.

The first two days were spent flat on her back — resting, healing, and staying comfortable as her body recovered from surgery. But from here on out, the hard work began.

The thing about SDR surgery is that it doesn’t come with the same kind of “rest and recover” timeline as many other surgeries. Instead, it comes with a commitment — from the child, from the parents, from therapists — to work. To retrain the brain. To wake up muscles. To build new patterns of movement.

And this isn’t a commitment for three to six weeks.

It’s a commitment for months. Likely a year. At least.

Day 3 marks the beginning of that next phase. It’s when physical therapy officially begins. It’s when she gets out of bed for the first time since surgery. It’s the day everything starts to feel very real.

Where We Were

By this point, it was just our daughter, my mom, and me at the hospital. My husband had gone back home for work and to care for our dogs. That decision was not made lightly, and I know it was incredibly hard for him to be away from us.

When we were first planning for this surgery — especially with it falling right at the start of the school year — we tried to consider every possible option. As educators, our time off is limited, and historically our daughter has used nearly every hour of our leave by the time May rolls around. Scheduling this surgery when we did meant that a large portion of our leave would be used immediately.

At one point, we even considered both returning to work and arranging for a family member to stay with her in the hospital. On the surface, that probably sounds awful — and maybe even selfish. But the reality of medical parenting is that logistics matter, and sometimes there are no perfect choices.

In the end, my mama heart could not handle being away from her while she was hospitalized. So we settled on this plan: I would stay for the full week, and my husband would go home for part of it and rejoin us later.

In an ideal world, we both would have been there every moment. But this is real life — and we do the best we can with the cards we’re dealt.

Morning Rounds

The morning started with an unmistakable energy. Today was a big day.

I felt excited, nervous, and anxious all at once. Today would be the first real glimpse of whether this surgery had been worth it.

During rounds, the medical team shared our optimism. The first step was removing her epidural. She was given an extra dose of pain medication to help with the transition, and then it was removed.

So far, so good.

She was in a great mood and clearly ready to get up. We tried to make the day feel special — brushing her hair, putting on a fuzzy headband, new clothes, and her fluffy slippers. The nurses adored them, and she was so proud of her new things.

Then we waited for physical therapy to arrive.

Physical Therapy: Session One

When PT arrived, we spent time talking through what the next few days — and weeks — would look like. We learned how we would need to transfer and carry her for the next six weeks, being mindful of her incision site and careful not to put too much strain on her back.

We also talked about how her muscles would need time to retrain themselves, which meant being intentional about how we supported her during sitting, standing, and even sleeping. She would be using extra supports at night to help with passive stretching as her body adjusted.

And then came the moment everyone was waiting for.

It was time to get out of bed.

I was beaming with excitement, but my stomach was a bundle of nervous knots. The goal of this first session was simple: get her upright and out of bed for a short period of time.

We eased her into an upright position, paused, and then transferred her into the stroller. Everything was done slowly and intentionally, allowing her body time to adjust. The transfer felt awkward at first, but I was proud of how it went.

More than anything, I was bursting with pride — because this moment was huge, and she was happy.

The PT and nurses ooo’ed and aahh’ed over her fluffy slippers, sweet personality, and brave spirit. Then we started our walk — just one loop around the hospital floor to get her out of the room and moving.

She handled it like a champ.

She was thrilled to be out of her room, and it was an incredible confidence boost for all of us. We sent lots of pictures to Dad to keep him included.

Before the PT left, we were given homework: keep her upright and out of bed more throughout the day. So she stayed in her stroller a bit longer before we transferred her back to bed, keeping her more upright while she rested, ate, and played.

Physical Therapy: Session Two

For the rest of her hospital stay, she would have PT twice a day. In between sessions, we made sure she rested and conserved energy.

After lunch, it was time for round two.

Since the morning went so well, this session included a longer walk — and a bear hunt around the hospital. She was thrilled. We rode elevators, explored hallways, and even went outside for some fresh air. And wow, did the sunshine feel good for me too.

During this session, I also started learning basic stretches and activities we could begin doing to help retrain her muscles — isolating one leg at a time, gentle kicking motions, and flexing her feet.

She did so well that she even begged to get out of her stroller and sit on one of the bear statues.

Another success.

Again, we were given homework: keep her out of bed longer, and get her up at least one more time before bedtime.

A Gentle Reminder to Slow Down

We tried to stretch her time in the stroller, but after the walk she began to feel nauseous — a clear sign that her body was done.

She quickly fell asleep for an afternoon rest, reminding us that even simply being out of bed was exhausting for her little body. As excited as we were, it was a reminder that this phase still needed to be taken slowly.

That evening reinforced that lesson. We got her out of bed one more time, but it was brief before her stomach became upset again. She ended up throwing up several times before the nurses gave her medication to help with the nausea.

After that, she fell asleep quickly for the night.

Closing Reflections

And just like that, another day came to an end.

Even though it ended a bit stressfully, Day 3 was a huge success. The medical team was pleased. Physical therapy was pleased. And we were so encouraged.

Tonight, we rest. We prepare for another big day tomorrow. And we thank God for steady, promising progress — even when it comes one careful step at a time.

Blooming where we are planted,

A CP Warrior’s Mama