Post Op Update

I should be cooking dinner...

Well we are at 14 days post op and tomorrow we can get him on his feet and see if he can stand in the casts. This should make the whole toileting arrangement go smoother. Not a moment too soon. My chest muscles and lower back muscles are protesting big time! Everytime I breathe it hurts. I was at the doctor last week because I thought I was have heart or lung problems, Not so much...just stop lifting heavy things. Easy for her to say she doesn't have to try to get a 5 year old in and out of bed everyday.

Even scooching him up in his chair or on the couch pulls those pecs and not in a good way.

Now that I have gained some perspective I'm hoping to be able to write a little about this experience for other families who NEED to know what they are getting into.

It sounds all wonderful when the surgeon describes the positive outcomes and that many children are able to walk really well after surgery and rehab.

But they do not do a very good job of describing just how you are going to get through 2 weeks of sheer HELL and then 3 months of rehab to get to the glorious moment of easier movement for the child. Damn Surgeons, such pricks( and ours is a female)(kinda like lady cops, take themselves very seriously)


Suffice it to say it has been an experience, pain, poop, crying and laughing.

If I ever get two minutes to myself again I will tell you about it.

Pediatric Surgery Checklist

Here are a few things that we found very helpful to pack for when we took our 5 year old with Cerebral Palsy in for surgery.

Favorite sleep toy
mini juice boxes (sometimes they don't trust what the nurses are bringing them)
own blanket
own pillow
Extra pillows to prop up parts that have been put in Casts
pull ups (they don't always have enough control)
Children's tylenol or motrin incase they refuse to take the stuff the nurse has in the syringe to squirt in their mouth
Extra towels
Cloths
Wipes
A bucket
Barf Bags

We took him in, in his clothes but we brought his jammies to take him home in

Do a test run on how the child will fit in the car/carseat - Very important! we had to make a last minute call to borrow my parents truck when we realized that the boy and the wheelchair would not fit in the car at the same time. Doh!

Get your rental a week ahead of time so you can test it out, the kids get used to it and you can do the dry run mentioned above. It is worth the extra money.

Take said wheelchair with you. You'll appreciate knowing how everything works and the kid will not throw a fit at yet another new thing.

Read all paperwork very carefully at the hospital - If I would not have gone through our stuff they would have only done the surgery on one side and we would have to go back again. (boo hiss)

Feel free to have the surgeon explain the procedure to you AGAIN so that you know what is going to happen.

if I think of more i will add them.

Gotta go! Patient is calling.

Tendon Legthening surgery

So we are day 6 post op on the tendon legthening surgery for the boy's hamstrings and heel cords. He is pissed. he is mad he has lost mobility around the house.

Couple that with the fact that he cannot sit at a 90 degree angle yet, so we had to get creative with the toilet arrangements. Which involve a "pull up" vs a "diaper" the first time he had to do his business in the "pull up" he was so horrified. I feel sooooo bad for the little guy.

He is complaining less and less everyday which is giving me a little more time to catch up on all things internet, so I should be able to clear the back log of emails and post a little longer commentary on the surgery for those who are searching out these things.

Be back tomorrow. I still have lots of running around to do this afternoon just waiting for my Mom to come over to sit with the kids while I run out to get more pain meds, a small body pillow, cucumbers, and a well deserved massage for mummy.

Till tomorrow!

I wish this was longer and witty - but its all I got .

Time for an update HOLY cow I didn't realize how much time has passed since I last posted.

Tomorrow we head to the Children's hospital to have Bugaloo's surgery done. He is having a tendon lengthening procedure done to the hamstring and achilles tendons in both legs. he will be in full leg casts for the next 6-7 weeks.

I have had to obtain a wheelchair and inform the school and bus transportation and make arrangements for therapy, time off.

We finalized the arrangements with our mortgage finally, no thanks to Scotiabank those lazy greedy bitches.

We had a momentary issue with how we were going to transport the boy on the way home since we are not sure if he will fit in his car seat with his casts on. So we have a booster, we have the car seat and we'll just play it by ear.

I'm hoping to have more time for blogging on Thursday after we are home and in popsicle and ice cream mode.

I wish this was longer and more witty, but this is all I got.

A Good Mommy Day ( I think)

I am so grateful today is Saturday. I have been looking forward to this day for the past two weeks. A whole day to be with the kids no rush, no obligation, just us. Poor hubby has a side job to work on so he is gone this morning, but I told him I would save him some fun.

Last week, we made some "aliens" out of air drying clay so first item up today is painting them. Next a little Easter Egg decorating and after as promised over two weeks ago we will be taking a trip to the grocery store to purchase the ingredients to make a strawberry banana milkshake.

I have been a little (ALOT) out of balance lately. Things are going well at work but unfortunately that means that the rest of my life goes for SHIT. I haven't run with any consistency since Christmas and I have been eating everything in site. Which consequently means I have gained back most (ALL) the weight I had lost and yesterday when I put on my jeans - you guessed it - they were SNUG with a capital S.

Why is balance so hard?

We have so many things coming up that it's only going to get harder.
Surgery for the BugaLoo.
Renovation on our Living Room to fix a problem from a leaky roof (roof already fixed)
I am writing a licensing exam for work in June need to study 100 hours ugh!
trying to work through a few ideas for a new business venture
MIL (who is childcare) going away for 6 weeks)
Only 2 weeks of vacation left

That is why I am looking forward to today! No plans no pressure. We will go where the wind takes us. and by the way it is really windy here today!

Ya'll take care I'm off to get the paints ready to PLAY!