My husband says write. He says people need to hear my voice. Maybe he's right but we have had so much happen that I don't know what to say or where to start. I guess I could write a book about Perthes, about our third summer of surgery but no one wants a book for a blog post so I'll try to write and keep it abbreviated.
Surgery was July 3. We tried to cram as much fun as possible into the weeks leading up to surgery. We went swimming a few times. We had another middle finger Perthes party with cake and water balloons. We went to the movies and the museum. Our extended family decided to have the fourth of July picnic early so Littlest (and the rest of us) didn't have to miss out.
The weeks leading up to surgery were painful for my boy. He couldn't sleep. He had multiple nights that he was falling asleep as we were waking up. He had multiple nights of waking up from pain. He had multiple nights of crying himself to sleep. Those nights of extreme pain destroy a mama's heart. By the time surgery happened, we were all ready for some relief.
There were two facets of surgery. First reshaping the femoral head and then a
pelvic osteotomy. We were prepared ahead of time that there was a possibility of needing to do the procedures separately. Two surgeries possible and we wouldn't know until they began surgery if he would need one or two. That raised our stress level significantly. As the time allotted for surgery starting coming near, the waiting got harder. Finally the nurse called to tell us that they had finished the first part and were going to move on to the second part. One surgery!
We are extremely grateful for one surgery but it came with a price. Our boy was in surgery for eight and a half hours. It was exhausting. He woke up from surgery with a very angry sciatic nerve. The doctors said it is common with the length and type of surgery that Littlest had. He is still dealing with nerve pain. They said it can take some time for the nerve to fully wake up and calm down.
Our boy is in a spica cast. He has decided that last year's petrie cast was easier than this year's spica. Last year though both legs were in casts, he could still sit up all the way. He also was allowed to bear weight last year and not this year. The cast is heavy and hard to maneuver. The upside is he's just over half way through the time in the cast.
Still he smiles. Still we laugh. Some days are discouraging. Some days we know we'll make it through. He's the strongest person I know. He faces painful recovery head on and smiling more often than not. He's my hero.
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| Daddy and the boy chilling in pre-op |
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| spica cast |
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| Root Beer the monkey has been his comfort through every surgery |
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| field trip at the hospital |
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| Hospital date night. The fabulous uncle stayed in the room with Littlest so we could go outside for a half hour |
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| Hubby brought me dinner that wasn't cooked in the hospital. We can make anywhere a date! |
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2 weeks earlier Gramps wore a clown nose at the hospital
Littlest wanted to do the same
clowning around in the hospital runs in the family |
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| discharge and heading home |
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