And We're Home

All things considered, this surgery went a lot better for Jordy than the last.  Thank you for all the prayers. Jordy had no anxiety about going into surgery this time.  He knew what to expect and even shared with several people that he would have pins in his legs that mommy would have to clean.  He is one brave little boy!

On Wednesday, surgery lasted about four or five hours.  There were no complications during surgery and when they finally rolled him out of recovery Jordy asked me right away if he could see his leg.  Most kids would be terrified but not Jordy.  He was just completely curious.

Thursday proved to be an excellent day where Jordy ate well when he wasn't in pain and after his foley catheter was removed he urinated without issue.  This was a huge problem after the last surgery.  Jordy almost ended up back at the hospital because he was too afraid to go potty.

Sleeping hasn't been too bad.  It helps that Jordy was already used to the body cast.  This fixator is much more liberating and easy to manuever.  But since Jordy was moved to oral meds late Thursday, it was pretty obvious over night when Jordy was at the end of his wait for the next dose.  Overall though, he's been an incredible trooper.

I was taught the pin care today.  Jordy was not a fan but we made it through.  It's a process but it shouldn't take too long once I get the hang of it.  We only have to do pin care for the next 14 days and then it's just a daily antiseptic bath.  Not bad at all.

Jordy got up on his feet and did some walking today before we left the hospital.  This was the final step and while it was painful, it was necessary for him.  He now knows he is capable of walking and in the next several days, his pain should subside dramatically.

Now for some really boring pictures from the hospital.  Thankfully, Jordy makes a hospital look good!  He continued to charm all the staff of Shriner's.  I mean who can resist his face?  :)

Pre-surgery room.  Chilling by watching a movie.

Pre-surgery holding area.  Watching some Curious George.

Made it to our room post surgery.

This was the meal that would never end.  Took Jordy two hours to eat everything but he would NOT let anyone take his breakfast away.  They ended up serving his lunch right along side his breakfast.  Not pictured was his plate with bacon and pancakes to go along with his cereal and grapes.

Almost ready to got home.  One last meal bedside.

And finally, we made the journey home.  

Surgery 2 of 4 Scheduled

Sooooooooooo, we had our most recent visit at Shriner's this last Thursday to pick up Jordy's hip abductor brace.  I couldn't have been more surprised at the change of events.  I LOVE our physician, Dr. Altiok.  In his words, "I'm a little neurotic."  Not in a bad way.  He just has a tendency to change his mind and change his mind, he did.  After much discussion with one of the intern physicians, Dr. Altiok shared that he was ready to schedule Jordy for his next surgery.  I wasn't prepared for him to say that because on our previous visit, he was pretty adamant that he wanted to wait.  But wait, we will not.  Jordy is scheduled to have another major surgery at the end of March.  This next surgery is going to be done with the purpose of straightening his right leg.  The chosen method is an external fixator.  I will have to post a picture because there is no good way to describe an external fixator without a picture unless you've had experience with one before.  Also during this surgery, they will remove the plate and pins that were placed in his left leg when they removed the bone during his first hip surgery.

BEFORE YOU READ ANY FURTHER:  Do not read this next paragraph if you have a weak stomach. Skip to the next paragraph.  You have been warned!

This is not the exact device that they are using but you get the idea of what we are in for.  The fixator will be attached to his upper leg, at the knee, and on his lower leg.  There will be a bar on the back of his leg connecting the top of his leg to his lower leg and a crank device will be attached to this bar.  On regular intervals, we will crank the device and it will stretch his leg outward.  The fixator is fixed by metal pins screwed into his bones.  Each metal pin has to be cleaned and rinsed twice daily with q-tips, antiseptic, and sterile water for at least 10-14 days and we have to make sure that his skin does not graft to the metal by pulling it away from the pins while we clean the pins.  The doctor almost guaranteed that we will encounter an infection at one of the pin sites.  Not terribly hard to believe given the number of pins and the extent to which they must be maintained.

After the initial 10-14 days post surgery, Jordy will be allowed to have a shower but he will not be able to be submerged in water until the device comes off.  He can, however, play in a chlorine pool.  Good news there for us!  If he is still in the device by summer, this will be our saving grace.

Prayer warriors, please lift Jordy up.  We have told him about the surgery and shared pictures with him and it is no surprise that he does not want to do it.  The good news is though, he will still be able to be very mobile. In fact, he won't be able to crawl anymore and will have to use his walker at all times.  He's getting really strong which hopefully will help because the device will add extra weight.

I have no idea how long the straightening process will take.  I sort of didn't want to know and didn't ask.  I'll find out when we go for the surgery.  Once the leg is straight, they will do another surgery to remove the device.  It sounded as though they are going to cast his right leg for a short period post surgery so that they can hold it in place.  Then he will have his fourth surgery to fix his right hip when they take him out of the cast.  The next months are going to be busy busy busy.  We will have frequent visits to Chicago to make adjustments to the fixator, probably every two or three weeks.

Cheese!!!

The new fancy hip abductor brace.  This helps him walk and sit with his hip joint forced into the hip socket with more pressure and it provides protection.

More cheese!!!

Gotcha!  Tried to hide behind his spelling board and I caught him.

More excellent spellers.

Thanks Gerik for snapping a wonderful photo of me. :(  I know I didn't HAVE to post it but what the heck.

Celebrating 8 official years of being a mom! To my beloved "Boo."

Eight years ago today, God bestowed upon me the honor of being a mother for the first time.  Not a day goes by that I do not cherish that gift.

When Dustin and I were first married, I had no desire to be a mother.  I didn't grow up necessarily wanting to be a mother.  Not that I didn't pretend to be a mother to my baby dolls as a child but in reality, the desire was never truly there.  I had no illusion about how easy it was to raise a child.  I knew it was going to be hard work and when I was young, that simply didn't appeal to me.  I was a very difficult child.  I came from a hard place and thus I was a hard child to raise.  There was no reason to desire raising a child like myself. My parents poured a lot of time, tears, and attention into me and it was never easy.  However, Dustin and I agreed that we would at least have one child because he so desired to be a father.  It's funny how time changes everything.  I remember the point in our marriage when we decided that WE wanted children, not just Dustin.  It was a visit to the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo among a few other events that helped triggered my desire.  I remember having a conversation with Dustin indicating that visiting the zoo was getting a bit dull with just the two of us and that it might be time to consider adding a child so we could renew our interest in the zoo again.  It's really quite silly but no less true.  And so our journey began . . .

Fast forward eight years, and here we are, the proud parents of a bouncing eight year old boy (yep, he's still very bouncy) on his way to manhood along with four other equally important, equally wanted, equally prayed for children.  Being a mother, I can imagine no greater honor on this Earth next to being a wife.

HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY TO MY GERIK!  My compassionate spirit, my creative genius, my math whiz, and look out ladies, he's a looker (I am NOT biased!  Just telling it like it is).

I thought my 9:30 am appointment on February 23, 2006 with Dr. Rumsey was to schedule my induction but at 11:30 am, I was giving birth to my son via c-section.  Gerik was breech at 40 weeks 1 day in my belly . . . little stinker!!  He still giggles and tells everyone about how he was butt down instead of head down.

Moments like these make it so worth while.

My baby "Boo"

Six Months Ours

Today is our six month anniversary of Jordy's adoption!  Time flies whether we like it or not.  So much has happened in six months.  This week I've been thinking about everything we've managed to fit in and it's hard to believe.

1.  Three visits to the dentist (one just today for our six month cleaning).
2.  Two pediatrician visits including vaccinations both times.
3.  Six trips to Chicago including visits with Surgeon, Neurologist, Physical Therapists, and Upper Limb Ortho Specialist.
4.  Two lab draws plus two drop off labs and a round of antibiotics.
5.  Two surgeries . . . one minor, one major.
6.  Visit to Social Security office in Fort Wayne to make him official.
7.  Five holidays:  Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years.

It's been a whirlwind and Jordy never ceases to amaze people with his ability to adapt.  His language skills shock everyone he meets.  His vocabulary is better than some four year old children raised in the US.  He has had the unfortunate pleasure to be stuck in a cast for 7 weeks, then placed into a confining pillow, and he hasn't complained.  Rather, he's adapted each and every time he's been placed under different restrictions. All the while, he's smiling and loving life, loving his siblings, loving food, loving snow, and just being himself. Not much else to say except that I love that in his very limited time here in the US, Jordy has proven that he is destined for great things!  Ain't no mountain high enough to keep him from his happiness and goals.

Quick update before my normal photo parade.  We visited Shriners on Friday the 7th and Jordy was given the O-K to start applying weight on his surgically repaired hip and leg.  Yahoo!  It was getting challenging keeping him from using it anyways.  They have ordered him an abductor brace which he will wear for the next 3-6 months.  The long term goal is to drive Jordy's femoral head deep into the hip socket which will promote healthy bone growth and hopefully we can prevent future dislocation of his hip.  No other surgeries will be attempted for at least 6 months.  At some point very near, Jordy will begin formal physical therapy but we are holding off just a bit longer and opting to work on leg strength at home.  The issue now goes beyond using his newly repaired hip but rather training him to weight bear and use his right leg.  He's never had to and while there are some leg length issues in regards to his right knee's inability to fully extend, the capability is still there.  Many prayers are appreciated here in convincing Jordy of his abilities.  He could absolutely walk now if he's willing to put forth the work.  Walking could even help his right hip that needs surgery.  Time will tell . . .

Thank you Apple for this wonderful thing called FaceTime!  Because of this marvelous creation, we can spend time talking with one of Jordy's caretakers and our new found friends in China during Chinese New Year!

While I don't know a lick of Chinese and they know very little English, with a little help from Google Translate (the next best invention since FaceTime and sliced bread), we managed to talk for over an hour.

She's such a beautiful person inside and out and I love talking and learning new things from her.

Oh darn, there is a lot of snow outside and it's bitter cold.  What ever shall we do?

Year two for Gerik playing basketball and he's having a lot of fun!

He's got quite the creative streak.  Here is one of his many inventions.

Caydra's first year playing basketball.  She's doing great and has finally realized that there are more players than just the person that scores on the floor!

Between snow storms, we even managed to make it to our YMCA to climb the rock wall.  Gerik, like his mother, is not a fan of heights.  He made it pretty far considering!  I can proudly say that I did make it to the top.

Natalie gave a valiant effort considering her legs simply weren't long enough to climb at times.

Caydra worked the hardest and made it the least amount but her sheer determination put me to shame.

Snow!

While it may not always be convenient to have tons of snow, I'm enjoying it.  Snow means slowing down and I'm not going to lie, it's been fantastic!

One of our first snows with the sunrise.

In marches our 16.2" of snow.

Thankfully, the first day it snowed, the temps were decent enough that everyone had fun!

County Road 500 N at the beginning of the huge storm.

State Road 9 at the beginning of big storm.

State Road 30 at the beginning of the big storm.

Subzero and blowing!  Yippee.

Hard to catch the cool swirling of the snow with a camera.

Dog is just loving the subzero temps and blowing snow.  Crazy critter!

Love the sky!

Dog wanted in the backdoor yesterday.  Ain't happening!

Eerie and yet beautiful at the same time.

What a cool view!

I tried to make it to work and had my drive all shoveled out.

Didn't make it to work because the plows didn't make it to us until 3pm in the afternoon.  Not their fault.  They've done great with all this snow.  Just didn't want to throw 5 kids in the van if I wasn't going to make it off of our own road.

It's so quiet out here I could nap.  And you think I'm kidding!