First off, Parker is doing great, especially considering the major surgery he just endured. We can’t even begin to tell you how proud we are of his “stronger than titanium strength”, his patience with the “unexpected”, and his resilience. ...
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First off, Parker is doing great, especially considering the
major surgery he just endured. We can’t
even begin to tell you how proud we are of his “stronger than titanium
strength”, his patience with the “unexpected”, and his resilience. I am marveling at his growth since this time
last year, when he only had one foot repaired.
There have been some frustrations that normally would have had him
ranting, but he really has kept his cool and been polite regardless and he cried/complained when we were alone in the room. This is huge, considering how little control
he has over things right now.
Secondly, he is on the floor he adores, with the nurses he
loves and who know him well. That is a
huge blessing since they were going to try and put him on an adult floor,
because you know our kiddo is a man-child now.
Being on this floor gives him some predictability and the staff has
amazing kindness and love. The nurses
are incredibly special to him because they care so much. Plus they have watched him grow over the
years.
Now for what HAD to be done…The left foot went as expected
and even a little better than expected.
The surgeon was able to get the entire broken screw out of his foot
without damage. That was huge, because
he really thought he would have to leave the back half of the screw in. He used the bone harvested from Parker’s hip
to repair the left subtalar fusion and added a new titanium screw. Then, he went into the right foot and
unfortunately there was a screw loose in addition to the cadaver bone
failing. So the loose screw was pulled
out and he reinforced the bone with the harvested hip bone and put in a smaller
screw to fuse the foot again. The left
foot/ankle is casted and the right foot is splinted. Both feet/legs are numb from the epidural,
which is awesome. The left hip is
screaming at him. They are working on controlling that pain with oral meds, so he
can work on movement in the hip to get ready to start practicing transferring
from the bed to his wheelchair without using his feet. Most of that hard work will start on Thursday
when the epidural is removed.
In the meantime, he will get SI joint injections. Also, the nephrologist just called to share
that the results of his 24 hours urine study didn’t show improvement and that
she wants a med increased and has requested an ultrasound for another possible
kidney stone. I guess we are in the
right place … so that is being added to the protocol for today or
tomorrow.
In addition, his lungs have been a little mean. He has needed to use a rescue inhaler and do
some lung exercises. He has worked like
a champ all morning and is now resting…didn’t get much sleep last night.
We are pleased with his progress thus far. He is in good spirits and loved having his
brother drive into town last night to see him.
Once again, we thank all of you for your never-ending support. Our family is most blessed to have such good
people in our lives. We love you all.
