Excuse me while I rest my eyes

It's going to be a long 4 weeks if we don't start getting some sleep.  Last night was the toughest by far. Thankful it was my late arrival day at work and that I was really busy with everything that piled up while I was out; otherwise it would have been a really difficult day to get through.

Jack did not sleep very well last night, and as a consequence neither did I. I feel so sorry for him. It's not that he's in pain, it's that he can't get comfortable.  He was up almost every hour; it was almost like having a newborn again.

I did also discover that he can roll on to and from his back and belly. I have little doubt that this shows he will be walking in the cast before the 4 weeks are up.

This is how he took his nap yesterday -

Settling in

We've been home since about 6:00 Friday night.  Pain med Friday night did not work so well. Even though he ha been taking it okay in the hospital, he gagged, choked and puked. So that led to the first sponge bath and a good hair washing. On the positive side of it, he really needed his hair scrubbed.  I'm grateful that we have a good size area of countertop next to the sink and the faucet is also a sprayer.

Friday night was a fairly good night. He did wake up once saying he hurt. Instead of trying to give him the 5.5ml pain med, I opted for the .5ml narcotic; thinking that it might also be part muscle spasms. That didn't go over great, but no puking in the bed!

Saturday led to another gag, choke and puke incident when he was given the colace. On the brighter side if that one, he did finally poop, so no more need for the colace!  But boy is it an adventure to try to balance him on the toilet to poop. The alternatives to that (bedpan or diaper) make it a chore worth figuring out.

Last night he was quite restless.  However I don't know if he was actually in pain, or just uncomfortable because he couldn't position himself. Every time he woke me up, I looked over to find he was still sleeping. I didn't evert give him any medicine. I just kind I shifted him a little. 

He has been pretty lucky when it comes to itchiness. The only area he really says itches is where the incision is. And even then he doesn't says it bothers him very often.

I'm learning new ways to get him in different positions. He can sit on my lap if he straddles my leg. He can sit in his small recliner fairly upright. He can also sit on the couch thanks to some creative thinking.  All good ways to get him off his back.

As I suspected the boredom of not being to move on his own is going to be his biggest obstacle. He was a little crazy Fridya night and Saturday. We've watched Planes twice today (guess Santa will have to bring that for Christmas).  Thankful that he received some iTunes gift cards as gifts at his NBC party. They are definitely going to come in handy for new apps and things to watch.

Going out is going to be a bit more complicated than I hoped. The wheelchair is too heavy for me to lift into Grandpa's black box - that's what I call his Scion ;-)  I am guessing the wagon or stroller might be a Bette choice. I'm hoping he fits in the stroller because I think that's going to be the easiest/best choice. I can recline it; it had buckles and a place to hold our coats, bag and purse.

I hate the harness for riding in he car. I know they assured me it was safe, but it scares me that he's laying in the back seat and is not in a car seat. Guess no vacation road trips for us right now - lol

Looking at his eyes, it looks like it might be about time for a nap. Time to get him settled back on the couch.

Thanks for all your support. But most of all thanks for keeping Jack in your thoughts and prayers.

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day 21

Day 21: Thankful that I have Jack to prove that I did at least one thing right; he's a great little boy.

Funny thing to celebrate

He peed!  Told me he had to and peed in handheld urinal. No accidents!

Sounds like a funny thing to post, I know but it actually means we are one more step closer to going home.

He's also doing well with oral pain med. He doesn't like it and cries through it, but he doesn't gag, choke and puke.

TBT - 11/21

Someone did not like the Pavlik brace.  Jack was king of upset too.

Kind of cloudy

Sorry, I just did a large post on FB that I thought I copied, but I cannot paste here. Here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/SendLegosOreosandChocolateMilk/posts/476013365845311

This is how we spent most of the night

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day 20

Day 20: Thankful for little red wagons (so we can go for a walk around the hospital floor).

Ridin' in style

Went for a walk around the floor

Wednesday morning's update

And sleep

We made it through the day. There were a couple walks around the floor. No more complaints about his left hip hurting since 3am, but he has started to say his right one hurts - as to be expected.

He's done with his Pulmicort and colace for the night so now it's time for another good night's sleep (fingers crossed).

Tomorrow will probably be a hard day. He's on schedule to have blood drawn in the morning and his epidural removed. About 6 hours after the epidural is removed the catheter will come out. As an adult I know these are steps to going home; as a four year old he's petrified by the pain removing adhesives will cause. So far everyone here had been wonderful - the biggest benefit of being in a hospital that doesn't do bu people. Let's hope they're also good at being gentle and yet quick with removal of the sticky stuff :-)

Navy pier gettin ready for the holidays with red and green lights.

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day 19

Day 19: Thankful for Lurie Children's Hospital.

There are actually many things I am thankful for today, but just knowing Jack is in a children's hospital makes going through something like this just a little bit easier.  It's nice to know that he's in a place that knows kids (and doesn't do big people).

And we made it through

Jack is all settled in his room with a view of Navy Pier.

He's very tired but not wanting to sleep. He's comfortably watching Nickelodeon and drinking chocolate milk.

He is not in any pain, but he did have an epidural to help with pain management.

He did beautifully through the surgery and recovery. They did a less invasive intubation, but he did start a barky cough in recovery so they gave him racemicepinephrine to be safe an no problems so far.

I cannot tell you how many people have said how in love with him they are. Once again Jack is winnin over the masses - lol

Thank you for all the well wishes.

What exactly are they doing to Jack

I don't know if I ever covered exactly what they are doing during Jack's operation.  The procedure is called a femoral osteotomy, but what exactly does that mean?

Since the right femur was not in place as Jack was developing in the womb his his socket did not develop as it should.  When he was 9 months old the doctor did an open reduction where the leg and hip were lined up and a cast was put on to hold them in a specific position.  Over the next few years he was watched for continued hip growth; the hope being that now that the hip a femur were lined up properly they hip socket and head of the femur would play catch up and develop properly.  Unfortunately the hip socket is still a bit too shallow and the femur is growing past the angle it should be at.  The femoral osteotomy will basically cut the head of the femur off, cut a wedge out of the bone and reposition the head of the femur in a postilion that, as he grows, will shape into how it should be.  The doctor will them put a plate a screws in to hold the femur head in position as the bone heals.  These will stay in place for about 12 - 18 months when he will need a second surgery to remove them.

"Normally due to the plate and pins, an external body cast is not necessary and the patient will spend several weeks post-surgery using crutches and several months in physical therapy to strengthen the hip and leg muscles." However since Jack is too young for crutches and to be kept off the leg he will need a cast.  As for physical therapy, I am pushing the doctor to recommend it, but it kind of goes back to an old disagreement we have on whether or not Jack needs PT and if his weak core muscles are due to hip dysplasia.

From a medical website:

Once postoperative swelling has diminished, the patient will be aware of the plate to a varying degree, depending on individual sensitivity and physical size. Awareness and daily discomfort are the major factors that contribute to the decision to undergo a second surgery to remove the hardware. In any event, the plate must stay in place for 12 months to give the bone sufficient opportunity to heal.


The second surgery is relatively simple: The surgeon goes in about halfway along the initial incision and removes the plate and pins. The largest hole created by the top of the metal pin in the femoral head is filled with synthetic bone filler, and the lower holes fill in on their own, requiring another, shorter period of time on crutches post-surgery. Overall, however, this surgery requires far less hospital time and physical therapy than other surgeries.


Major complications include infection, neurovascular injury, nonunion of bone, inability to obtain or maintain a full correction, postoperative pain and continued degeneration of cartilage. Other complications include deep vein thrombosis and painful hardware. However, the likelihood of any of these complications is roughly 1 percent.


Overall, hip range of motion, gait, pain, leg-length discrepancy and patient satisfaction are improved from femoral osteotomy, and a successful surgery may reduce or even entirely remove the need for a total hip replacement during the patient's lifetime.

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day 18

Day 18:  Maybe I should wait and see if something else presents itself to be thankful for, but I am quite sure nothing will top this one.  Today I am thankful for Jack's innocence where Kyle is concerned.  I have never shied away from the fact that Jack has a twin brother.  I talk about him with Jack, he visits his grave, and he knows that Kyle is in heaven.  Jack talks about him and Kyle being babies in my belly and dancing.  He has an old cell phone that he pretends to talk to Kyle on (at least I think he's pretending).

Some days are hard.  I miss Kyle and wonder what life would be like if he were still here growing up with Jack.  Some days are too painful to think about, some days are sad, but some days Jack talks about him.  He shows me that Kyle can be talked about and remembered without being sad.  Jack doesn't know what it's like to have a brother.  He doesn't really understand what it is to miss someone who has passed away and I am thankful for that.  When Jack and I talk about Kyle it's always in present tense and Kyle is with us - just in a different way than most other people.

NBC Party

I know what you might be thinking, but no I didn't schedule surgery for this time of year just so I could thrown a Nightmare Before Christmas Party.  But you have to love the coincidence of it all - Jack is having surgery before Thanksgiving, which is before Christmas, being in a body cast will likely be a nightmare for a 4 year old and the main character's name in the movie is Jack.  It was "Simply meant to be."  Did you see that?  Another tie in - lol

And thanks to the after Halloween sales everywhere and the NBC merchandise at Walgreen's stores in the area, and the extreme number of people who love NBC and posted art on the internet I got lots of decorations for cheap.

How about the invitations.  Cute?  I was quite proud of them.

Then there was planning the food.  I was told many times that there was way too much food - you should have seen the list before I cut things from it.  I did:
BBQ chicken sandwiches
Taffy Apple bites
Fruit dip
Fall dip
Zero kibble
and . . .

Baked ravioli, Meatball sliders, Cheesy potatoes, Red Lobster biscuits with Lasagna dip

Oreo Turkeys, Jack Skellingtons, Chocolate covered Oreos, Banana split bites, S'more bites, Grape poppers

Chocolate covered Oreos

Jack Skellingtons

S'more bites

Banana split bites

Had these tortillas all ready to go for quesadilla, but I had too much food

I didn't get to make the fried raviolis and fried Oreos I had planned because there was simply too much food.  I was really looking forward to those.

Nana brought Jack a Minion pinata

I love to plan parties.  Is it sad that I've already started on Jack's birthday party for April?  Got the date and theme picked, know the menu and decorations.  Do I need help?

I just want to say a great big thank you to my family (and friends who are just like family).  You made the day very special for Jack and I cannot tell you how much that means to me.  There were a few who were not able to be with us, but I know you have well wishes in your heart for Jack.

P.S.  If I get around to it - hahaha - I'll post reviews on the Pinterst recipes I used.

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day 17

Day 17: Stormy days to remind me how beautiful the sun is.

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day 16

Day 16: Thankful for my wonderful family (this includes those who are close enough to be family).

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day 15

Day 15: Thankful the pediatrician came to her senses today.

And I excited?!?! What's wrong with me?

Oh what a crazy day.  Rush to daycare to do with Pie with Your Small Fry.  Rush to pediatrician's office to wait in waiting room for an hour.  Rush to Lego class at the park district.  Rush home to prepare for the Nightmare Before Christmas party tomorrow.  But here's the real news - pediatrician signed off on the surgery!

And I'm excited my child is having surgery?

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day 14

Day 14: Thankful for fun park district programs that I can share with Jack.

TBT 11/14

Here's hoping that this round of surgery is as easy to get through for Jack as it was four years ago.

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day 13

Day 13: Thankful I educated myself when it came to hip dysplasia.

Things Not to Say to a Hip Mommy - Take 2

Today Jack and I went to get haircuts.  I've been going to Amy for - well, let's just say long enough that neither on of us wants to put a number on the years.  She cuts Nana's hair and now Jack's too.  While I was there, the lady at the station next to Amy mentions that her granddaughter also has hip dysplasia.  I ask how they are treating it.  Did she need surgery?  Did it get corrected with a brace?  Her response left me speechless and dumbfounded.  Her daughter-in-law doesn't want to do either!  Um, excuse me?!?!  How does a parent do that to their child?!?!  Doesn't she realize that if she had started treatment it might have been corrected with a brace?  Doesn't she know that as terrible as it is to have to send your child into surgery that correcting it while they are still growing could possibly prevent a lifetime of hip pain and issues and possible hip replacement at an early age?

Please, please, please if you have a child who is diagnosed with hip dysplasia get them treatment.  If you don't understand, educate yourself, ask questions, find another doctor you are comfortable with and can talk to, get second and third opinions, find a specialist or two, email me if you want (though I am not a doctor).