Living the Cast Life
It has been two weeks now since Avery got his first cast for his scoliosis. The first couple of days were long, exhausting and, at times, emotional. I have been trying to get to this blog for the past few days, but I am still recovering from the stress and lack of sleep.
Monday morning we were up and out of the house before sunrise. Considering I had to wake Avery up at 4:30 in the morning, and he wasn't allowed to eat anything past midnight, our little man was in good spirits. I thought for sure he would have slept on the long drive there, but he stayed awake the whole time, babbling away and playing peek-a-boo with his favorite monkey blanket. We got to Boston right on time and got him checked into surgery. The nurses checked his vitals, we met with Dr. G and his team that would be there with Avery, and picked out his cast color. The nurse had me get the undershirt on Avery, which protects his skin from any irritation that could be caused by sweat and rubbing against the cast. Then I got to suit up, and carry Avery to the operating room to hold him while they administered the anesthesia. It was difficult to watch, but I held it together, because that's what mothers do. After he fell asleep, I kissed him on the cheek, told him I love him, and went back to get George so we could head over to the waiting room.
The procedure itself was only about 45 minutes to an hour long. Once it was done, Dr. G came out to tell us everything went well, and that Avery was in recovery and we could see him soon. When we got to the recovery room, a nurse was holding and trying to comfort Avery. He was doing what I call his sobbing cry. He usually only does it when he gets hurt, but when it happens, it can be hard to get him to calm down. The nurse handed him over to me once I sat down. The feel of the cast took me by surprise. I wasn't as prepared for this as I thought, but again, I held it together because that is what mothers do.
Avery will have to wear his first cast for at least two months. As of right now, the hospital is working on getting us in on Friday, October 13th to have the cast removed. Avery will be exactly 18 months that day, and most likely going through a major growth spurt. This means that these first two casts are very important and will hopefully help in decreasing the degree of his curve. After the cast removal, he would go back in on that Monday, October 16th, to have the second cast put on. Luckily, these next sets of casts will only be a one day procedure, so we will not have to stay overnight again. If he gets the cast removed that Friday he will get to have a cast free weekend, which is what we are really hoping for. That means three days/nights of squishy snuggles and tubby time!
The rest of that first day was pretty rough. No matter what we did, we just could not make Avery comfortable. First of all, he was hooked up to an IV and monitors, so we could only move him around so much. Also, his cast came down too low on his hips which means that every time he would try to sit up, it would painfully rub against the hip bone and upper thigh. It needed to be trimmed but unfortunately they couldn't get anyone to him until the next morning. The other issue was that the anesthesia caused a lot of bloating and stomach pains. Luckily, I came prepared for that with some gas drops for him. However, I had to wait for an approval before he could have them, which I didn't get until almost midnight. I was finally able to get him into a comfortable position, holding him in my arms and propped up on pillows, where he fell asleep for a few hours. During that time, I called my mom to let her know how everything went...and then, at that moment, I could no longer keep it together. I cried my eyes out to my mom as Avery slept in my arms.
Day 2 went much better. George got back to the hospital first thing in the morning, and we took turns snuggling with Avery in his crib watching cartoons. By mid-morning, his cast was trimmed around the hips so he could be able to sit up, and at this point he was ready to run around and cause some mischief. George brought him down to the playroom while I went over paperwork with the nurses, and watched a couple of videos on cast care. We were then discharged around 2:30, and on our way home.
I'll be honest, I was a bit scared to come home. It felt a lot like coming home with a newborn all over again. I didn't know what to expect, and the doctors and nurses would not be there to help along the way. We have adjusted quite well though, making changes to some of our daily routines such as bathing, diapering, and even how we have to pick him up and hold him. As for Avery, he has been doing AMAZING. I am so proud of him and how well he has adjusted to being in the cast. It is true what other parents in the scoliosis group told me...our children are stronger and more resilient than we think they are.
It only took Avery a couple of days to relearn how to do everything. After the first week, it was like the cast wasn't even there. He had to learn how to get up from a sitting position and from laying down, how to pick things up from the floor (bending over was a bit of a challenge the first couple of days), and find new comfortable sleeping positions. We do have a few issues to work out, such as how to make him more comfortable in his high chair, a loss of appetite and his reflux has come back which I will be calling the doctor about this week. He also still gets tired very easily and loses his balance a bit, both due to the few extra pounds that he now has to carry, but he gets around just fine. He is even working on learning how to run. He has been such a trooper through all of this, so far, and so determined to do everything on his own. He just amazes me every day. Nothing can slow down our little scoliosis warrior!!
The procedure itself was only about 45 minutes to an hour long. Once it was done, Dr. G came out to tell us everything went well, and that Avery was in recovery and we could see him soon. When we got to the recovery room, a nurse was holding and trying to comfort Avery. He was doing what I call his sobbing cry. He usually only does it when he gets hurt, but when it happens, it can be hard to get him to calm down. The nurse handed him over to me once I sat down. The feel of the cast took me by surprise. I wasn't as prepared for this as I thought, but again, I held it together because that is what mothers do.
Avery will have to wear his first cast for at least two months. As of right now, the hospital is working on getting us in on Friday, October 13th to have the cast removed. Avery will be exactly 18 months that day, and most likely going through a major growth spurt. This means that these first two casts are very important and will hopefully help in decreasing the degree of his curve. After the cast removal, he would go back in on that Monday, October 16th, to have the second cast put on. Luckily, these next sets of casts will only be a one day procedure, so we will not have to stay overnight again. If he gets the cast removed that Friday he will get to have a cast free weekend, which is what we are really hoping for. That means three days/nights of squishy snuggles and tubby time!
The rest of that first day was pretty rough. No matter what we did, we just could not make Avery comfortable. First of all, he was hooked up to an IV and monitors, so we could only move him around so much. Also, his cast came down too low on his hips which means that every time he would try to sit up, it would painfully rub against the hip bone and upper thigh. It needed to be trimmed but unfortunately they couldn't get anyone to him until the next morning. The other issue was that the anesthesia caused a lot of bloating and stomach pains. Luckily, I came prepared for that with some gas drops for him. However, I had to wait for an approval before he could have them, which I didn't get until almost midnight. I was finally able to get him into a comfortable position, holding him in my arms and propped up on pillows, where he fell asleep for a few hours. During that time, I called my mom to let her know how everything went...and then, at that moment, I could no longer keep it together. I cried my eyes out to my mom as Avery slept in my arms.
Day 2 went much better. George got back to the hospital first thing in the morning, and we took turns snuggling with Avery in his crib watching cartoons. By mid-morning, his cast was trimmed around the hips so he could be able to sit up, and at this point he was ready to run around and cause some mischief. George brought him down to the playroom while I went over paperwork with the nurses, and watched a couple of videos on cast care. We were then discharged around 2:30, and on our way home.
I'll be honest, I was a bit scared to come home. It felt a lot like coming home with a newborn all over again. I didn't know what to expect, and the doctors and nurses would not be there to help along the way. We have adjusted quite well though, making changes to some of our daily routines such as bathing, diapering, and even how we have to pick him up and hold him. As for Avery, he has been doing AMAZING. I am so proud of him and how well he has adjusted to being in the cast. It is true what other parents in the scoliosis group told me...our children are stronger and more resilient than we think they are.
It only took Avery a couple of days to relearn how to do everything. After the first week, it was like the cast wasn't even there. He had to learn how to get up from a sitting position and from laying down, how to pick things up from the floor (bending over was a bit of a challenge the first couple of days), and find new comfortable sleeping positions. We do have a few issues to work out, such as how to make him more comfortable in his high chair, a loss of appetite and his reflux has come back which I will be calling the doctor about this week. He also still gets tired very easily and loses his balance a bit, both due to the few extra pounds that he now has to carry, but he gets around just fine. He is even working on learning how to run. He has been such a trooper through all of this, so far, and so determined to do everything on his own. He just amazes me every day. Nothing can slow down our little scoliosis warrior!!
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