Avery's Curvy Road

Today was not one of our best. Avery really struggled during his therapy sessions, and at the end, after everyone had left, he just shut down and tuned out the world. He wasn't tired, he wasn't hungry, he wasn't just being a toddler. He needed to be alone and quiet the chaos in his mind and throughout his body. This has only happened a few other times, at least that I can remember noticing, but he never really isolated himself in this way those times. It was heartbreaking to see him like this. I wanted nothing more than to comfort him, but he wouldn’t even let me talk to him, never mind hug him. He eventually just curled up on the chair, asked for his tablet, and zoned out while watching cartoons.  I felt helpless and didn’t know what to do. I didn’t like seeing him this way. I gave him some space and some time, though, to do his thing. After a few hours or so, he started coming around. He asked me for a snack and wanted me to sit next to him while he watched his ca...

On the first of this month, Avery had his 7th cast removed, and new x-rays were taken of his spine. It was a very exciting day, but my nerves were also going crazy waiting to find out the results.  It was a super fast process, and before I knew it, I was viewing Avery’s new spine images and comparing them to his first one when we started the journey.  What a beautiful sight to see! There is still a slight curve, but Dr. Glotzbecker said that it is at a good place, and...ready for it...he would like to do a two month trial with Avery wearing a brace (yay!!). If the brace can hold his spine where it’s at, then we can be done with the casts. If there is a regression, Avery will have to go back into a cast and then see what happens from there. I was so happy and excited to hear that Avery would not need another cast right now, that I just wanted to hug everyone that was there in the room with us.  After receiving the good news, we were sent to the bracing room...

This is Avery’s last day in cast 7, and I could not be more excited and anxious to get it off of him. Today we are heading to Boston for the cast removal, and at this appointment Avery will be getting new x-rays done to see where his curve is at, or if there is still any curve at all. Depending on how everything looks, he will either have to continue casting or transition to a brace.  Whatever the outcome may be, he will still need at least one more cast. The brace has to be specially made, so to reduce the risk of any regression, he needs to stay in a cast until it is time to change over to the brace. Cast 8 will be done on Monday, so I am also so very excited that we get a cast free weekend to enjoy lots of squishy snuggles, tickles, and bath time.  More updates soon to come once we get the results of the x-ray done today. Please send prayers and lots of positive vibes for some good news!