Saturday, January 12, 2013

Finally!! A bath!!

Trying to walk at the airport right after casts removed. He is determined!

Anticipation!

Happy faces!

:-)

My smiley boy and me:-)

8 weeks post op X-ray of right leg

CASTS OFF!!

We made it to Baltimore!! I will say, one of the worst flights I have ever been on. Eric arrived in Baltimore while we were boarded and waiting on the plane to leave. He had warned me it was a bumpy flight, which did reassure me during my acute panic attacks during our flight! Finally, the pilot got on and addressed the turbulence. I always freak out when they don't say anything because then I assume it is out of the ordinary bumpiness. Max had his headphones on watching his movie, completely unphased by the bumps. Ugh! We arrived in Baltimore in 50 minutes. The flight is supposed to be an hour and fifteen minutes. The pilot did mention that they had made up some of the delay time in the air...I felt like we were traveling at the speed of light and with all the turbulence, I was gripping the arm rests! I was so happy when we finally touched down!
Eric already had a taxi with the carseat in it so we were ready to roll! I gave Max a dose of Valium again for the casts removal (worked really well again. Enough to make him mellow but not make him sleepy.)

We made it to Hopkins a bit after 2p so not to late! They took his casts off first. We put his headphones on again with a Curious George movie and he laid nice and still for her to cut them off:-). His legs were so stinky and covered in scales and dry skin:-(. His incisions (there are 4 of them) have healed nicely. We tried to wash them off and clean between his toes but he was not a fan of all that. We decided to wait until bath time tonight. He immediately started rolling his ankles around and stretching his legs out continuously. He hasn't been able to do that either for 8 weeks. His legs look nice and straight although we haven't seen them yet with him weight bearing. He was not interested in putting his feet on the floor while we were there. We were really excited to put on underwear, socks and pants for the first time in 2 months!!

Dr. Ain is very pleased with how straight his legs are and how his X-rays look. He told us not to really push him to stand or walk but to let him do it on his own. He doesn't need to see us again until June/July;-). He said we could go in the Friday before or after the LPA conference (in DC) in July to have X-rays taken and see him. Yay!! I was afraid he was going to want to see us in a month or 2 and I am getting really tired of this back and forth to Baltimore.

We made it back to the airport in plenty if time. We grabbed something to eat at one of the sit down restaurants and Max immediately tried to stand and walk. He got on his feet with some difficulty and had to hold on with both hands but he was so excited!! He was able to take a few steps in either direction too. He looks very weak, but said his legs don't hurt at all. He tried over and over and over. He will be walking in no time I'm sure! He's not allowed to do any jumping for 2 weeks though.

Overall, a very successful day!! Looking forward to the bubble bath tonight:-). I'll post some pictures of his legs and his X-rays too.

Thank you all for your kind thoughts and prayers. We know Max has a big fan base out there. :-). He is one amazing little boy.

Friday, January 11, 2013

Flight delayed...

Headed to Baltimore today to get Max's casts removed!!! Yay!!! I don't know who's more excited, Max or me!

But, bad news is that we are sitting in the Cleveland airport and our flight is delayed over an hour:-(. We were supposed to leave at 11:10 to arrive by 12:20 for a 1:45 appointment. Our new departure time is 12:20, getting in at 1:30... I am hoping that is the last change. They said there was a chance the flight would be delayed and the next flight to Baltimore leaves at 1:45 getting in by 2:55. Our return flight today leaves Baltimore at 6:10 pm. I am hopeful and expecting that Dr. Ain's office will accommodate us whenever we get there. Eric called and left them a message about our flight debacle. Even if he's in the OR this afternoon, they could do X-rays and take them to him and take off the casts. These things are coming off TODAY, even if I have to pry them off!! (Haha!). Eric flew out already in United so he will meet us there and we will rush off to Hopkins.

Max is enjoying a sucker and watching Horton Hears a Who. He is a great little traveler!! I'll update more later. Hopefully with pictures of his cute, chubby, STRAIGHT LEGS:-)

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

My happy boy!!

Casts coming off...

So, we have an official date for the casts to come off. We travel to Baltimore next Friday, January 11th to see Dr. Ain and have the casts taken off for good:-). (At the last visit Dr. Ain assured us they would come off at this visit...hoping for no sudden changes in that...). 9 more days!!! Yay!! I have been telling Max that I am so excited to get to see and squeeze (gently!) he little leggies!! And to let him soak in a bathtub full of bubbles. (This is badly needed!)

The first 4 weeks went pretty fast and weren't too bad to tolerate but for the last several weeks, especially with Christmas, I have really been looking forward to getting these buggers off! I can't wait until he is up and running around again. He has been so tolerant and hasn't complained at all and he has adjusted to the casts amazingly. :-)

It will be another quick trip, but not as early as the last one (we flew out of Cleveland at 6:30am the last time...). We fly in about noon, see Dr. Ain about 2p and fly out by 6p. He had told us he didn't want Max to bear weight on his legs for a week or 2 after the casts come off. I honestly don't think he will have the muscle strength to walk after being immobilized for 8 weeks, but once he decides to try, I'm not sure how we will keep him down. He has been very good about not putting weight on his casts at all or pulling up to a stand. He just keeps saying, "Dr. Ain says no!" Haha! So I guess we'll just tell him that until we are cleared to start walking. Yay! I'm so excited! I hope there are some nice straight legs under those casts:-)