Friday, August 28, 2009

The saga of Isaac's femur continues...

Last Thursday, we took Isaac to Primary Children's Medical Center to have surgery to straighten out his femur. The night before the surgery, he went to a great class at the hospital where he learned all about what would happen to him during the surgery. The morning of the surgery, we arrived at 6:30. He went into surgery at 8:00, skipping down the hall holding onto the anesthesiologist's hand, which made it easier not to cry when we said goodbye. Almost five hours later, his surgeon emerged to tell us all had gone well-- they'd removed the dead bone, straightened the leg, put in a metal plate and six screws (ouch!) to stabilize things, then wrapped him all up in a lovely green spica cast.

All prepped and ready to go:



















The brother and sisters descend the next day:















He'd actually been looking forward to his green cast and the chance to "spin like a turtle" while wearing it. When he woke up, he realized that another broken leg and another cast weren't as much fun as he'd been expecting. He spent the first few days a haze of narcotics. We hoped to take him home on Saturday, but he needed a permanent IV line for his antibiotics in order to come home, and when they tried to insert it on Saturday, it wouldn't go in. We came home Sunday afternoon after they finally figured it out.

Isaac is most excited about his wheelchair, the bag of presents his cousins brought, and the temporary suspension of the "no food on the carpet" rules of the house. He's finally feeling good enough to start crawling and rolling around, and I'm guessing that spinning will ensue in the next day or two. I'm most excited that he fits in the jogging stroller this time around, which makes walks around the neighborhood and the stores up the street possible. The plates and screws will come out in a year or two, but we're hoping this is the last major surgery, and definitely the last spica cast!

Home with lots of loot:



















We ate some "Isaac in a cast" cake to celebrate his homecoming:















Decorating the bedroom provided a much-needed diversion:














The patient in his wheelchair:

9 comments:

Courtney said...

He looks pretty good in green. Did your mom make that cake? It's awesome.

Company EIGHT said...

Love the elephant, love the cake! I'm also loving all the loot he came home with. Every time Ryan has to be in the hospital, it's like Christmas!

Sarah said...

I'm glad that Isaac's surgery went well. I hope the next few months pass quickly....

smart mama said...

love him! love the cloth doll and the cake!hope the whining and grouching is diminishing

CastCooler said...

Be sure to check our the CastCooler....

www.castcooler.com

Wishing Ryan a speedy and more comfortable recovery.

Rick

Sabra at Sew a Straight Line said...

I also hope Ryan, as well as Isaac, have speedy recoveries. And the cake rocks!

Sarah said...

Glad the surgery went well. Hope the road to recovery goes quickly and without bumps (this time).

Keep the bunks you have - they fit the murals perfectly (which are awesome). Did your mom paint anything for the girl's room?

Hope your kid's school has air conditioning!

Shelah said...

Courtney-- My mom did make the cake. It tasted good too!

Sarah-- the girls' room is up next. We're probably ripping off the wall design from this: http://www.frostydarling.com/about.html

Their bedding is from Pottery Barn teen, and I'm not sure if they're selling it anymore, but it's a combo of woodland florals and brightly colored zigzags. Rest assured that I'll put up pictures of their room once it's done too.

Anonymous said...

Its great to see that Isaac is home and doing well. Dealing with a casted leg can be tough! There’s a web site that might help you with some ideas on how to help you and your son, it’s from The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (I work there). www.AfterTheInjury.org. Hope this might give you a few ideas! Take good care.