Thursday, November 08, 2012
We have the "all-clear" - mostly
So, Austin had his last doctor's appointment with his surgeon today! He can now run and play to his heart's content. The only thing he can't do is jump, especially on a trampoline (even though he has tried!) The doc said to wait on jumping for another 2 weeks. That means that if it's nice weather on Thanksgiving Day, we will be outside and if there is a trampoline available, I'm sure Austin will be jumping on it! :0) He has been a champ through all of this! He's realized that he can do hard things and he's back to his crazy, happy (most of the time) self. We have learned a lot during this ordeal and we hope that we never have to go through anything like this again. But mostly, we are just happy we survived!!! :0)
Monday, September 10, 2012
What a weekend!
So, I was planning on blogging month by month to try to catch up the blog, but things have changed a little. I need to blog about Labor Day weekend first.
On Sunday, Austin decided to break his femur before church! So much for having them do quiet activities before church to get into the right mindset, huh! I'm just so glad that Brian was still home when Austin did it because I'm not sure how I would have handled it on my own! So, here's the story:
Paige and Austin were playing upstairs with some helium balloons I got them the day before. The problem with that is we have vaulted ceilings upstairs and they kept losing their balloons on the ceiling, so Brian told them to take them downstairs to play with them. They actually listened to those instructions and did NOT listen to some warnings we have given them numerous times...DON'T JUMP ON THE BED! They were jumping from Paige's desk to her bed and then jumping up to reach the balloons on the ceiling. Austin must have gotten some serious air because he didn't land back on the bed, he landed on the floor on his knees in the splits position. (This is what the kids told us afterward in the hospital.)
I was feeding Drew at the time and Brian was getting ready to go to the church and we heard this scream, which isn't unusual at our house, but this time the scream wasn't stopping. That made us worry. Brian headed downstairs and Paige was coming upstairs and she said that Austin was hurt. When Brian got into the room he saw Austin on the floor curled up in the fetal position and he said that it looked like Austin had something in him right pants pocket. He kept telling himself, "please be a stuffed animal or sock in there", but he knew that there wasn't anything in his pocket and that his femur was broken and very displaced. (Sorry for the graphic details!) I remember hearing Brian asking Austin, "What did you do to yourself?" while I was finishing with Drew and I knew it was something bad! I went down as soon as I could and saw that Brian had taken off Austin's pants and laid him on Paige's bed to get him in a better position. He called for an ambulance while I called a friend to see if she could stay with Paige and Bryn. (Thank you, thank you, Laura!!!) It was the worst feeling in the world to see our son in so much pain! He was sweating so much that his collar of his church shirt was soaked through and he kept asking questions about if he was going to be alright and if he'll walk again, etc. It was heart wrenching to say the least! Brian gave him a priesthood blessing before the ambulance came and that seemed to help Austin and us a little. The EMTs got to the house and did a wonderful job getting him in the tension/traction brace and on the stretcher. Brian went with him in the ambulance and then I followed behind with Drew. The whole way to the hospital I had "5 Little Monkeys" going through my head, especially the line "No more monkeys jumping on the bed." I can smile about it now, but at the time it was driving me crazy! We made it to the hospital and the ER doctor and nurses gave him some medicine for the pain and we went in for x-rays. It helped Austin a little when I told him that his Uncle Lance takes pictures (x-rays) of people's bodies, too. He thought about that instead of what they were actually doing to him. I was so happy to see that it was a clean break and it was right in the middle of his femur. They said that if he had to break his femur, that was the best place to break it! No growth plates involved. The problem in the ER was that they were giving him Demerol which works well in adults, but not so much in children. It only lasted about 10-15 minutes and when he woke up, he was furious! He was thrashing, screaming, pulling at his IV... it was not a pretty sight. And through all of this, Drew proceeded to have his biggest blowout to date! It was awesome! (Speaking of Drew, though, he was a champ through all of this. We are so blessed that he is such a good baby!!) The orthopedic surgeon came in after that and as soon as a room on the Pediatric floor was prepared, they moved us up there and the nurses gave him some Morphine. Let me tell you, that is some good stuff! :0) It gave Austin (and his parents) some much needed relief! He was still in the traction brace and it was doing it's job, but it was not comfortable for Austin at all. He was laying on some hard bolts and the strap around his ankle was really bothering him. The nurses had never seen a brace like it so they kept coming in to see it and finally the night nurse came in and said that she felt it was best to remove the brace and put a traction boot on with a weight that hung over the bed. We were really nervous about moving him that much, but it ended up being so much better! Thank goodness for that nurse!
It was a pretty rough night for Austin and Brian (I stayed at my sister, Kandra's, house with Drew since only 1 parent could sleep overnight at the hospital). Around 7:15 the next morning, they took Austin down to the surgical floor to prep him for his surgery. It was so difficult leaving him to go to the waiting area, especially because he was crying when we left. We knew he was in good hands, though, and the surgery was only a little over an hour long. The surgery consisted of putting flexible titanium "nails" in the femur. The surgeon made incisions on either side of his leg right above the knee and the nails crossed at the fracture. The nails go the full length of the femur. Crazy stuff!! This procedure is supposed to be better for children since they are so active and heal so quickly. He'll have the nails taken out in 6 weeks. Austin did pretty well coming out from surgery. He wasn't the happiest (for some reason) but he did well. He spent one more night at the hospital and then we were able to take him home Tuesday afternoon. We feel very blessed that he didn't have to stay in traction for weeks at the hospital. For how bad the situation was, it definitely could have been worse!
I'm not going to lie, it was very difficult the first few days home with Austin. It was just like taking care of two 2-month-olds!!! It has been getting better every day, though, so our prayers are being answered. Now it's just keeping Austin occupied with activities so he doesn't get bored! That's pretty difficult with an active 5-year-old!! :0) He's been using his walker a little more every day and we even went to church yesterday, only a week after it happened. It helped having a wheelchair that we borrowed from one of Brian's office ladies. That alone has been a wonderful blessing because he can go outside on walks, go to church, etc. and still be comfortable!
He has his follow-up with the surgeon on Thursday, so pray that everything is healing well and that he gets his hard cast put on. Once he has that on, we will feel more comfortable sending him to school, and he needs to go back to school for his sanity and mine! :0) I know he's a little nervous about going back to school with his cast because he's so shy and he doesn't want too much attention. He asked me if kids would tease him about his cast and I told him that there's no way they would do that because they will think it's the coolest thing ever!
Well, I think this is the longest post EVER, at least for me! Here are a couple pictures of Austin in his splint. Notice Drew is in every picture. Austin is constantly asking to hold Drew and they both love it. (Even though Drew doesn't look like it in these pics!) :0) We have more pictures from the hospital on Brian's phone. I'll post those once I upload them to the computer.
On Sunday, Austin decided to break his femur before church! So much for having them do quiet activities before church to get into the right mindset, huh! I'm just so glad that Brian was still home when Austin did it because I'm not sure how I would have handled it on my own! So, here's the story:
Paige and Austin were playing upstairs with some helium balloons I got them the day before. The problem with that is we have vaulted ceilings upstairs and they kept losing their balloons on the ceiling, so Brian told them to take them downstairs to play with them. They actually listened to those instructions and did NOT listen to some warnings we have given them numerous times...DON'T JUMP ON THE BED! They were jumping from Paige's desk to her bed and then jumping up to reach the balloons on the ceiling. Austin must have gotten some serious air because he didn't land back on the bed, he landed on the floor on his knees in the splits position. (This is what the kids told us afterward in the hospital.)
I was feeding Drew at the time and Brian was getting ready to go to the church and we heard this scream, which isn't unusual at our house, but this time the scream wasn't stopping. That made us worry. Brian headed downstairs and Paige was coming upstairs and she said that Austin was hurt. When Brian got into the room he saw Austin on the floor curled up in the fetal position and he said that it looked like Austin had something in him right pants pocket. He kept telling himself, "please be a stuffed animal or sock in there", but he knew that there wasn't anything in his pocket and that his femur was broken and very displaced. (Sorry for the graphic details!) I remember hearing Brian asking Austin, "What did you do to yourself?" while I was finishing with Drew and I knew it was something bad! I went down as soon as I could and saw that Brian had taken off Austin's pants and laid him on Paige's bed to get him in a better position. He called for an ambulance while I called a friend to see if she could stay with Paige and Bryn. (Thank you, thank you, Laura!!!) It was the worst feeling in the world to see our son in so much pain! He was sweating so much that his collar of his church shirt was soaked through and he kept asking questions about if he was going to be alright and if he'll walk again, etc. It was heart wrenching to say the least! Brian gave him a priesthood blessing before the ambulance came and that seemed to help Austin and us a little. The EMTs got to the house and did a wonderful job getting him in the tension/traction brace and on the stretcher. Brian went with him in the ambulance and then I followed behind with Drew. The whole way to the hospital I had "5 Little Monkeys" going through my head, especially the line "No more monkeys jumping on the bed." I can smile about it now, but at the time it was driving me crazy! We made it to the hospital and the ER doctor and nurses gave him some medicine for the pain and we went in for x-rays. It helped Austin a little when I told him that his Uncle Lance takes pictures (x-rays) of people's bodies, too. He thought about that instead of what they were actually doing to him. I was so happy to see that it was a clean break and it was right in the middle of his femur. They said that if he had to break his femur, that was the best place to break it! No growth plates involved. The problem in the ER was that they were giving him Demerol which works well in adults, but not so much in children. It only lasted about 10-15 minutes and when he woke up, he was furious! He was thrashing, screaming, pulling at his IV... it was not a pretty sight. And through all of this, Drew proceeded to have his biggest blowout to date! It was awesome! (Speaking of Drew, though, he was a champ through all of this. We are so blessed that he is such a good baby!!) The orthopedic surgeon came in after that and as soon as a room on the Pediatric floor was prepared, they moved us up there and the nurses gave him some Morphine. Let me tell you, that is some good stuff! :0) It gave Austin (and his parents) some much needed relief! He was still in the traction brace and it was doing it's job, but it was not comfortable for Austin at all. He was laying on some hard bolts and the strap around his ankle was really bothering him. The nurses had never seen a brace like it so they kept coming in to see it and finally the night nurse came in and said that she felt it was best to remove the brace and put a traction boot on with a weight that hung over the bed. We were really nervous about moving him that much, but it ended up being so much better! Thank goodness for that nurse!
It was a pretty rough night for Austin and Brian (I stayed at my sister, Kandra's, house with Drew since only 1 parent could sleep overnight at the hospital). Around 7:15 the next morning, they took Austin down to the surgical floor to prep him for his surgery. It was so difficult leaving him to go to the waiting area, especially because he was crying when we left. We knew he was in good hands, though, and the surgery was only a little over an hour long. The surgery consisted of putting flexible titanium "nails" in the femur. The surgeon made incisions on either side of his leg right above the knee and the nails crossed at the fracture. The nails go the full length of the femur. Crazy stuff!! This procedure is supposed to be better for children since they are so active and heal so quickly. He'll have the nails taken out in 6 weeks. Austin did pretty well coming out from surgery. He wasn't the happiest (for some reason) but he did well. He spent one more night at the hospital and then we were able to take him home Tuesday afternoon. We feel very blessed that he didn't have to stay in traction for weeks at the hospital. For how bad the situation was, it definitely could have been worse!
I'm not going to lie, it was very difficult the first few days home with Austin. It was just like taking care of two 2-month-olds!!! It has been getting better every day, though, so our prayers are being answered. Now it's just keeping Austin occupied with activities so he doesn't get bored! That's pretty difficult with an active 5-year-old!! :0) He's been using his walker a little more every day and we even went to church yesterday, only a week after it happened. It helped having a wheelchair that we borrowed from one of Brian's office ladies. That alone has been a wonderful blessing because he can go outside on walks, go to church, etc. and still be comfortable!
He has his follow-up with the surgeon on Thursday, so pray that everything is healing well and that he gets his hard cast put on. Once he has that on, we will feel more comfortable sending him to school, and he needs to go back to school for his sanity and mine! :0) I know he's a little nervous about going back to school with his cast because he's so shy and he doesn't want too much attention. He asked me if kids would tease him about his cast and I told him that there's no way they would do that because they will think it's the coolest thing ever!
Well, I think this is the longest post EVER, at least for me! Here are a couple pictures of Austin in his splint. Notice Drew is in every picture. Austin is constantly asking to hold Drew and they both love it. (Even though Drew doesn't look like it in these pics!) :0) We have more pictures from the hospital on Brian's phone. I'll post those once I upload them to the computer.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
I almost made it a year!!
I know, don't die of shock! I'm actually posting on my blog! I can't believe it either. ;0) I figure I need to post some updates on Baby Drew since he is now 2 months old. He just had his 2 month well-child visit. He is growing like a weed and we are loving every minute of having him in our family!! Here are his stats:
At birth- 2 months-
Weight: 7'13" Weight: 12'6" (63%)
Length: 21" Length: 23 1/2" (68%)
Head: 39.7 cm (39%)
He is smiling a lot now and tells us many a story with his cooing or "baby talk" as Bryn puts it. He is very interested in his hands right now also, which makes us wonder if he's going to be a thumb-sucker like his sister. He will take his binky if it's forced on him, but he spits it right out when we're not holding it in his mouth. Bryn did the same thing, so we'll see! Drew is one of the most content babies we've had, except for today because of his shots. He was NOT happy after his shots and for the rest of the day! We are so blessed to have Drew in our family. We love him so much (especially his brother!!) and can't get enough of him! Hope you enjoy some of these pictures of our handsome boy!
At birth- 2 months-
Weight: 7'13" Weight: 12'6" (63%)
Length: 21" Length: 23 1/2" (68%)
Head: 39.7 cm (39%)
He is smiling a lot now and tells us many a story with his cooing or "baby talk" as Bryn puts it. He is very interested in his hands right now also, which makes us wonder if he's going to be a thumb-sucker like his sister. He will take his binky if it's forced on him, but he spits it right out when we're not holding it in his mouth. Bryn did the same thing, so we'll see! Drew is one of the most content babies we've had, except for today because of his shots. He was NOT happy after his shots and for the rest of the day! We are so blessed to have Drew in our family. We love him so much (especially his brother!!) and can't get enough of him! Hope you enjoy some of these pictures of our handsome boy!
I have LOTS of pictures and events that need to be posted and I promise that it won't take me 10 months to post them! :0) I promise!
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