Working on Parker's new leg

Yesterday we had Parker's first fitting for his prothesis.  Two weeks ago he had his nub casted so they would know what size to make his leg.  Casting is exactly what it sounds like, they put a cast on his nub, waited for it to dry and then took it back off.  They used that mold to make this first socket.  The socket was clear plastic so they could see how his nub fit in the socket and if there were any parts that were too tight or that were rubbing in uncomfortable spots.  They took notes on the socket with a sharpee marker and then had him "stand" on phone books so they would know how tall to make his leg.  

Parker was not a fan of the process at all, which is why the picture is from the back :-)  He was not a fan of the casting process so now when he sees this doctor he immediately starts to cry.  I told her not to take it personally, that she would probably end up being one of his favorite people since she could make him cool legs.  He has no idea that in a few weeks he'll be able to stand up tall and move around with a lot less effort.

We go back to the Scottish Rite in about two weeks to try on one more test socket.  On the next fitting they will also add a leg and foot so they can work on getting the correct foot size and placement.  After that the next step will be to have a week of physical therapy at the hospital with Parker's new leg.  At the end of the week they will keep the leg for a couple of days to make any necessary adjustments and then Parker will get his leg!

Happy to Be Home

Digging is fun!

Kirby making sure everyone makes it up the stairs safely.

                                         I missed you!






Kirby, watch me slide!

Home Sweet Home

As we were walking to our car today at the hospital Parker yelled "HOORAY!"  so I guess that means he was glad we were leaving.  Everyone at Scottish Rite was wonderful but there is nothing better than being at home with our people!  Parker was excited to see everyone when he got home and Kirby was very excited he was home...so she had to go outside while she learns a new more gentle kind of love for Parker for the next couple of weeks :-)  The kids all had a great time playing together this evening, it was nice having our full house back together.

Andersen and Paige asked if they could see Parker's new leg so we let them see while we changed his bandages.  Andersen and Paige were both a little unnerved with seeing the stitches and the new shape and Xander kept trying to touch it.  I think it was the first time Parker realized what happened so Andersen and Paige went to bed and Parker and I sat on the floor and cried.  I'm not sure if Parker was crying because we were changing his bandages but it seemed different to me and I think he finally realized his sweet wee foot was gone and he cried for several minutes.  When I told him it was time to put the bandages back on he was better and gave me a nice long hug then went to play.  When we went in to hug Paige good night Parker gave her a nice hug and a kiss and she started to cry because she was sad that his foot was gone.  We talked about it some more and I think we all may have a few more good cries over the loss of our favorite wee foot but we also talked about all of the great things to come for Parker.  So no time for new pictures today but I'll get some tomorrow and then we'll take another break from blog land until Parker's follow up appointment in two weeks.  We are so thankful for all of the friends and family who have been such a blessing to us throughout the whole journey.  We have had so many sincere offers of help and love and we continue to feel surrounded with love and we are grateful.

Thank you.

Time to Go Home!

Parker had another good night last night.  The nurse had to wake him up for his pain medicine a couple of times during the night since he is no longer on his epidural but he went back to sleep pretty quickly each time.  This morning when he woke up he was ready to get in his wagon and go explore. We are trying to stay in the room this morning so we are here when the doctors come by so Parker got to have breakfast in his wagon which seemed like a good compromise.

The doctors came in and removed Parker's bandage and drain and seemed pleased with how the stitches looked.  Parker was not expressing great love for his doctors during the bandage change but he did say thank you when they left and was ready to go play.  They gave us instruction on how to change the bandages and told to come back in two weeks so they could cast him for his prosthesis.  After they left we got in the wagon and went straight to the playroom and all was well in Parker's world again.  Now we are back in our room and Parker just had a dose of pain medicine and is settleing in for a nice morning nap before we take out his IV and get ready to go home.

Day 2 Surgery Update

Parker continues to be a trooper.  I had no idea what to expect from Parker going into this surgery.  I had assumed that he would be tired after surgery the first day...I was wrong.  He played all day yesterday and slept great last night.  Today I expected him to be sore from all of the playing yesterday and probably be more fussy...I was wrong, again.  He woke up in a great mood, he was happy to see the crowd of doctors that came to visit in the morning.  He even played with his doctor and wore his doctor's cap and talked to all of the residents with the doctor.  The doctor switched Parker from the epidural to regular pain medicine so he was able to unhook from all of the machines that were holding back his fun.  They brought in a wagon and told us we could venture out of our room, so off we went to explore every floor of the hospital.  Today was therapy dog day so Parker met 4 very friendly dogs while we were out on our adventure.

After our journey Parker had a great mid-morning nap and then was ready for a good lunch.  After lunch we ventured out again to the playroom where we found a world of new toys!  We played in there for a couple of hours and then came back to our room for a rest before the rest of the family came for a visit.  Parker was EXTREMELY excited to see James...and everyone else :-)  Andersen, Paige and Xander had a good time pushing Parker around in the wagon while we went back to visit their favorite parts of the hospital.   Parker fell asleep pretty quickly tonight and I'm hoping for another restful night.

The doctor said that they expect to release Parker tomorrow after removing a drain line from his leg and re-wrapping it.  I have not seen his leg since the surgery so I'm anxious to see how it looks.  I already miss tickling his toes but I can't wait to see him take his first steps.

Surgery Day

Parker slept pretty well last night and spent the morning singing and dancing again to his Elmo cds.  The nurse brought him in a gown for surgery, it has a built in heater!  James and I took turns suggling with him so we could share the heat :-)  The doctors then came in with some "goofy juice" to help him relax before surgery.  James and I enjoyed seeing silly Parker before surgery.  He had slower speech, lingering smiles and was very friendly to everyone who walked by.  The doctor said the surgery went great.  He was still asleep when we went back to see him in recovery.  The nurse showed us his bandages, it was sad to see his leg without his foot but we are glad the surgery is complete.  He woke up on the way back to his room and repeated "all done" and wanted to crawl off of the bed.  He is now content with his epidural and iv and sitting in James' lap watching PBS :-)  He will spend the rest of the day resting...

Haha jokes on us, apparently surgery doesn't make Parker sleepy...AT ALL!  Parker has been "walking" around in his crib (I guess the epidural is working really well).  We have colored, danced, played sewing games, read lots of books eaten ice opened presents from friends.  He has had several nurse visitors to come see his cuteness.  Now he is standing at the side of his crib looking out the window and being fed ice.  We are hoping he is getting worn out and will sleep great later.

Finally after a day full of fun, Parker has fallen asleep... and James is showing his support by taking a nap also :)

Thanks for all of the prayers and support!

Good Night

 When we pulled into the hospital parking lot tonight Parker yelled "HOORAY"  so I guess that means today wasn't so bad.  He had a good time exploring his hospital room again tonight and reading and rocking out with Elmo cds.  We turned off the light and enjoyed star gazing with Paige's dream light pillow pet.  Then he was excited to find out they bring you snacks after lights out!  So now we are crunching on some pretzels and getting ready to call it a day.  Our morning starts at 6:00 tomorrow with surgery prep so we are hoping for a restful night.