12 Days Post Op and doing great!

Well, it's been 12 days since Max had his surgery and we have been doing well.  We arrived home last Tuesday after a very uneventful flight and settled back into life with casts;-)  Max has been doing super.  He seemed very sad on the day we got home.  I think he realized how the casts on his legs were going to keep him from moving and running around like he is used to doing at home.  He has adapted like a pro though!  He spends a lot of time sitting on the couch and watching his favorite Curious George movies but we have also been coloring and playing with play doh too!  He still loves to play with Emmi and Aiden and I know he is looking forward to being able to tackle Aiden again soon...it  is one of his favorite things to do with his big brother!

Pain has been an issue on and off, especially the first week and especially at night.  We were giving him the tylenol and oxycodone only on demand and he was using it anywhere from every 6-12 hours.  I started dropping the tylenol because it didn't seem to do as much and I was getting very concerned about how much tylenol he had been taking so I just was giving the oxycodone with or without the valium.  Muscle spasms do seem to be the biggest issue because when he gets pain, he screams out and kicks his legs and then settles a bit and does it again.  I assume bone pain would be more constant and he really has had no constant  pain at all.  The nights seem to be when the muscle spasms are the worst,when he relaxes his legs and sleeps.  The meds seem to kick in after about 20-30 minutes.  He has not needed any meds since 4:30 yesterday morning:-)  He is a little messed up on bedtimes though.  He didn't go to bed on Monday night until 2am and last night it was 12:45am before he finally fell asleep.  He has been sleeping in until 10:45-noon then...this has been challenging!  He has been sleeping in our bed with me and every time he rolls over or changes position, I wake up....Needless to say, I am exhausted:-(  The meds never seemed to put Max to sleep.  The valium will make him very mellow and VERY CHATTY!! Haha!

Max's casts are starting to get very loose at he tops.  When he does get pain, he wants me to put my hands down the top of his casts and keep them there (not so far as to get to his knees or anywhere near his incisions though!).  This seems to help his pain out a lot.  He hates taking the meds so he prefers this method of pain control before having to pull out the big guns (oxy and valium).  We were told by Dr. Ain to schedule for a follow up to have the cast changed out in 4 weeks.  They are getting so loose that I think we will call and see if he wants us to fly out there earlier.  That will be a quick day trip that Max and I will make.  Then we will fly out again 4 weeks later (8 weeks post op) to get the casts take off for good (hopefully!).  He told us to prevent Max from walking for a week or 2 after the casts come off and then he can start to build his strength up to walk again.  They want him to be walking 4 weeks after the casts come off.  If he is not, then they may recommend PT.  I have a feeling Max will be running as soon as possible!

Max and I have pretty much been homebodies since we got home.  I have not tried to take him out yet.  We have a wheelchair, which is perfect for him, but weighs about 100 pounds!! (not really but it feels that way to me!).  We should be getting the handicap parking  permit paperwork from Dr. Ain's office in the mail any day now, which will help (especially in the holiday season).  I have not even been able to make it to the store for groceries during the day.  We have had some wonderful friends bringing us dinner at night which is so great!!  I so appreciate all their kindness and the meals have been fantastic:-)

So, that's the update in a nutshell.   Just trucking along, hoping that at the end of all this, Max has some new straight legs to show off!!  I am so proud of that little boy!  He has handled this surgery and recovery better than most adults would.  He is one tough little guy and I adore him!!

Thank you all for your kind thoughts and prayers.  We feel so blessed to have such great friends, other POLP's and complete strangers keeping him in your prayers!!  Social media and blogging is an amazing way to share and receive:-)  I plan to add some pictures so you can see Max's amazing little smile!