07 January 2008
Easy as 1-2-3
In what is absolutely no surprise, Olivers braces have started rubbing at the skin on his feet. Our vigilence about watching for signs of wear on his skin was short-lived considering it took only 3 days for the breakdown to start. On Saturday, his physical therapist told us that we had to keep the braces off, since wounds on the foot are slower to heal. So he has been braceless since Saturday (again -- very aggravating since this totally works against the effects of the surgery). I did my customary Monday morning thing of calling (insert doctor here -- sometimes a pediatrician, sometimes ortho, but you get the idea), and was told to call the brace shop. So I did, and you'll never believe this, but that have a local office only 10 MINUTES AWAY that I can go to. I almost wet myself I was so excited. I had no idea when I was going to fit in a trip to Philly this week, and now, I don't have to. Aaahhh....
06 January 2008
03 January 2008
Oli's New Kicks
Our man Oliver got his new braces yesterday. Not as unobtrusive as I'd hoped, but certainly not bad, either. As far as I know, he will now wear these forever. Well, not this pair, of course, but you know what I mean.Not sure if I'd mentioned that his casts came off again, the day after I took him last week. So he had them put on on 12/19, they came off by Christmas. So I took him back on 12/26, and they slid off 
by 12/27. So he's been castless for a week. Which means that as his tendons reattached from surgery, nothing was holding them in the right place. Extremely frustrating. And yesterday they told me that the braces will likely slip out of position all the time, too. I have to check them and take them off/put them back on every hour. What?? Apparently, this happens for two reasons a) his fat little baby legs lead to tiny baby feet, so whatever is put on them just slides off and b) they way his feet are formed he doesn't really have a prominent heel to anchor them.
by 12/27. So he's been castless for a week. Which means that as his tendons reattached from surgery, nothing was holding them in the right place. Extremely frustrating. And yesterday they told me that the braces will likely slip out of position all the time, too. I have to check them and take them off/put them back on every hour. What?? Apparently, this happens for two reasons a) his fat little baby legs lead to tiny baby feet, so whatever is put on them just slides off and b) they way his feet are formed he doesn't really have a prominent heel to anchor them.
So it is kind of difficult to get the feet in the braces just right, and once I do, I have to take them off, stretch him, and put them back on again. Also, because he has no feeling, we have to be very vigilant that the skin isn't breaking down. He won't let us know, and aparently sores can build up pretty quickly.
Our orthopedist is a very academic man. He seems to like treating patients for practical purposes, but also likes the learning aspect of it. He is always off lecturing or bringing visitors on rounds with him. As such, he has lamented (more times than I want to hear, quite honestly) that they haven't figured out anything new to do for Spina Bifida babies with club feet since the 1950s. He told us that right before he took Oliver to surgery -- Well, great. I kind of felt like telling him not to bother with the surgery then. So poor Oliver is stuck in these funky looking plastic braces that won't even stay on his feet because nobody has figured out anything new. They are better than nothing, but they certainly aren't any great answer.
In other news:
Mac now has a rash to go with her ear infection. Not only did her ear infection not clear up in the last week and a half, but now she has a rash to go with it. And you guessed it, it is contagious. So we all know who will break out in a day or so...
and...
Although this deserves its own post, because it is very exciting news, I'll just throw it out here -- I GOT A JOB! That's right -- I negotiated a bit more money from Penn State and I'm now a Nittany Lion. Okay -- a pending Lion. I'm still a Scarlet Knight for now. I guess I have dual citizenship. That is a huge load off of my mind. I have a really busy semester coming up and I'm so glad to have one less thing to worry about.
31 December 2007
Preparing for a Happy New Year
It's been quite a busy and wonderful year.
Welcoming Oliver into the family has been exciting beyond words. It's hard to imagine that this time last year he was just a tiny little bean waiting to be born. We had no idea what was to come. Getting his diagnosis was momentarily devastating; we had to mourn the baby we thought we'd have and then accept the baby that we were going to have. For me, that took the first weekend of getting the news -- after that, I didn't look back. Once we hooked up with CHOP, things went pretty quickly. All of the visits and uncertainty and waiting and praying that took us up to the birth of our little boy seems like a blur now. But when I sit back and reflect, the change in our lives is amazing. We are parents of a special needs child -- part of a new group, a new subset of society with a whole new vocabulary and priorities. But most importantly, we are the parents of a perfect, sweet, amazing little boy. In all of my prayers, I could not have asked for a more perfect son.
Watching Mac grow from a little toddler into a full-fledged little girl has been an amazing (and tiring!) process. It's hard to even remember, but I don't think that she was talking much this time last year. Now, she is the most articulate, most impressive little girl. She "reads" books, tells stories, reasons with me, argues with me, and absorbs everything. In my wildest dreams, I could not imagine a smarter, sweeter, more amazing daughter.
Tim and I have spent another year together -- we're going on seven! In some ways, that doesn't seem like nearly long enough for all that has gone on, but in other ways it has been a lifetime. Even though we don't see each other as often as we should (or maybe because of :) we continue to love each other and learn a lot about being married. Sometimes the learning isn't easy or fun, but I have to think that it counts for something.
Welcoming Oliver into the family has been exciting beyond words. It's hard to imagine that this time last year he was just a tiny little bean waiting to be born. We had no idea what was to come. Getting his diagnosis was momentarily devastating; we had to mourn the baby we thought we'd have and then accept the baby that we were going to have. For me, that took the first weekend of getting the news -- after that, I didn't look back. Once we hooked up with CHOP, things went pretty quickly. All of the visits and uncertainty and waiting and praying that took us up to the birth of our little boy seems like a blur now. But when I sit back and reflect, the change in our lives is amazing. We are parents of a special needs child -- part of a new group, a new subset of society with a whole new vocabulary and priorities. But most importantly, we are the parents of a perfect, sweet, amazing little boy. In all of my prayers, I could not have asked for a more perfect son.
Watching Mac grow from a little toddler into a full-fledged little girl has been an amazing (and tiring!) process. It's hard to even remember, but I don't think that she was talking much this time last year. Now, she is the most articulate, most impressive little girl. She "reads" books, tells stories, reasons with me, argues with me, and absorbs everything. In my wildest dreams, I could not imagine a smarter, sweeter, more amazing daughter.
Tim and I have spent another year together -- we're going on seven! In some ways, that doesn't seem like nearly long enough for all that has gone on, but in other ways it has been a lifetime. Even though we don't see each other as often as we should (or maybe because of :) we continue to love each other and learn a lot about being married. Sometimes the learning isn't easy or fun, but I have to think that it counts for something.I even got a job offer, which I have been stressing about basically since half-way through the PhD program. We turned the garage into an office and a playroom. Tim has remodeled the school. We have tunred a thousand tiny corners this year in order to bring us to 2008. God has been with us and kept us safe and close. We are both blessed and grateful.
Looking forward, I hope for health, happiness, and a little organization!
28 December 2007
Happy Holidays!
I really love that Christmas extends all the way to New Year's. The tree is still up and there is still tissue paper strewn everywhere. Christmas is still here!
We have not even chipped away at getting all of Mac's gifts a) open and b) put away. But I like to leave things under the tree for a week -- it keeps that fresh Christmas feeling. The rest of our Christmas day was a lot of fun -- we had lunch at the Volk house and dinner with the Chewning parents. Even though it was busy it was a lot of fun. One of Mac's big gifts was an indoor bouncing thing. Watching her bounce on it is one of the funniest things that I have ever seen.
But even during Christmastime, the real world creeps in. Both of Oliver's casts fell off, so we had to go back down to CHOP the day after Christmas. And then they fell off the next day. So he is now castless again. This really aggravates me, because he just had the surgery. It is more important than ever that the feet get held in the right position, and now the most I can do is stretch them out a few times a day. After next Wednesday this won't be an issue because he gets his braces, but a week is really too long to go without any extra support on the feet.
And falling into the great news category -- I got a job offer from Penn State. I'm really excited. I'm trying to work out some insurance issues, but I will probably take the job. Of course, I also want to know if Montclair (where I had my other interview) is planning on calling me back. So I'm trying to stretch out my response to Penn State and get in touch with Montclair. Very stressful -- I'm not a negotiator. And I'm so not slick. I've been told that you are supposed to negotiate salary and I really have no idea how to do it. But these issues aside, I'm just really relieved to have gotten an offer. It will make this coming semester so much easier and less stressful.
Tim is remodelng the karate school from top to bottom. He is conducting an intense, one-week construction-a-thon in order to get it done before he reopens on January 2. It sucks, because I haven't seen him for more than an hour a day since last Friday (other than onChristmas Eve and Christmas). But it will be well worth it when he is done.
I know, I know...pictures would illustrate all of this much better. I still have no quick way to get the photos onto the computer. But they are coming, and they are cute!
We have not even chipped away at getting all of Mac's gifts a) open and b) put away. But I like to leave things under the tree for a week -- it keeps that fresh Christmas feeling. The rest of our Christmas day was a lot of fun -- we had lunch at the Volk house and dinner with the Chewning parents. Even though it was busy it was a lot of fun. One of Mac's big gifts was an indoor bouncing thing. Watching her bounce on it is one of the funniest things that I have ever seen.
But even during Christmastime, the real world creeps in. Both of Oliver's casts fell off, so we had to go back down to CHOP the day after Christmas. And then they fell off the next day. So he is now castless again. This really aggravates me, because he just had the surgery. It is more important than ever that the feet get held in the right position, and now the most I can do is stretch them out a few times a day. After next Wednesday this won't be an issue because he gets his braces, but a week is really too long to go without any extra support on the feet.
And falling into the great news category -- I got a job offer from Penn State. I'm really excited. I'm trying to work out some insurance issues, but I will probably take the job. Of course, I also want to know if Montclair (where I had my other interview) is planning on calling me back. So I'm trying to stretch out my response to Penn State and get in touch with Montclair. Very stressful -- I'm not a negotiator. And I'm so not slick. I've been told that you are supposed to negotiate salary and I really have no idea how to do it. But these issues aside, I'm just really relieved to have gotten an offer. It will make this coming semester so much easier and less stressful.
Tim is remodelng the karate school from top to bottom. He is conducting an intense, one-week construction-a-thon in order to get it done before he reopens on January 2. It sucks, because I haven't seen him for more than an hour a day since last Friday (other than onChristmas Eve and Christmas). But it will be well worth it when he is done.
I know, I know...pictures would illustrate all of this much better. I still have no quick way to get the photos onto the computer. But they are coming, and they are cute!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)