Wednesday, November 12, 2008

3..2..1..Cast Off!

OK, so I know that was cheesy, but I don't care! It's gone! Here's the story (from a Facebook note I wrote).

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Hallelujah! It's gone! And my son finally smells good. I need to post the pics and video clips that I took to document the process. Maybe soon. Anyway...

We went in this morning, and the x-rays showed that he had a lot of new bone growth (yay!), so he got the OK to get the cast off. The doc told us that even though Josh might be excited to get the cast off, he would probably get angry once it was actually coming off (it seems that many children scream during the entire removal process). He also said that he would be really scared to use his leg(s) - probably wouldn't even want to try for 2-3 days. And that it would take about 4 weeks before he was able to use his legs normally (and might still be walking with a limp even then). So I won't be calling to have them come pick up the wheelchair tomorrow or anything.

So the nurse (tech?) comes in and shows Josh the cast cutter, and you could tell he was really nervous. Once she started cutting, he cried for just a minute. But once he realized it really didn't hurt at all (and actually kind of tickled), he watched, fascinated. He had a few moments of concern (when she was cutting close to the diaper area), but overall he did really awesome. The nurse was really impressed with how calm he was - she said the last kid she cut a cast off of screamed the whole time. My Joshy, such the good little patient. There was another kid who came into the room next to us as we were getting Josh ready to go, and he started screaming from the get-go.

When we got home, he sat on the couch for a while. Then Chris gave him a hair cut and my overachieving, energetic child decided to try and walk (with Daddy's help). He had already been moving his leg some in the car on the way home as well. He took a nice long bath, and after that he was scooting around on the floor for a bit (like when he was in the cast). At one point he ended up rolling over and getting up on his knees, but that hurt him pretty good. I was afraid he'd try to do too much. He took a long nap, and enjoyed the evening sans cast. He still wants to sleep on his back and have extra pillows in the bed (he usually is a tummy sleeper), so we're just trying to make him as comfortable as possible with getting him back on his feet.

Thanks to all who have prayed us through this - God is good!

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And now for pictures:


Today's the day!
If only I'd known he could fit in his little chair a few weeks ago...
He was determined to get around - by the last couple of days he was trying to walk (with assistance, of course. Well, mostly.)
The last time having to wear the cast in the car seat.
Wheeling him in...
He wanted to play on the floor of the Dr.'s office immediately.
The X-Ray:
Feeling really nervous now...
The tech demonstrating the blade to show it won't hurt.
He cried at first...
But once he realized it didn't hurt, he was fine! It actually tickled him.
Now he's watching intently. Plus she just cut off the dowel rod, which he got to keep as a souvenir.
Now for the pliers.
And step two - cutting through the cotton.
Look Mommy! It's my foot!
Ewwww.
The remains. We could have taken it all home with us, but I thought a picture was enough. And the souvenir rod.
The lollipop reward.
The result of 6 weeks worth of no lotion:
Here's a better look.
Daddy gave him a hair cut post cast removal and pre-bath. Isn't he cute? He even tried to stand up and take a few steps. Already!
Can't get enough of the walking - so he used Mamaw as his walker to get him to the bathroom.
Just look at that face.

1 comment:

Beth @ The Natural Mommy said...

YAY!!!!!!!!!!! Loved the pictures. And... gross! The inside of the cast!! Pretty sure that's what I think it is.... :-)