What can I say...I had the best intentions, but that's never enough when you're dealing with our little patient...regardless, I'm sorry for taking so long to give an update!
Things have been going very well over the past week with Zane, with the exception of a few hiccups.
Zane was surprisingly content to chill out the first couple days post-surgery. He was actually living it up as he plopped himself on the recliner closest to the tv, surrounded by 20 or so of his most favorite "stuffies," the remote, cool books, the ipad, and a plethora of movies!
On Monday, we headed back up to the U for his follow-up appointment and cranking instructions for the distractor. Zane had been complaining all morning that he had a stomach ache so we shouldn't have been surprised what happened.
But how prepared can you be for projectile vomit? I submit that you, indeed, cannot.
Chris caught it in his hands...except for the vomit that went all over Zane's entire body, the exam chair, and the floor...yea, except for that part. Super duper. Daddy said it was likely due to meds on an empty stomach...well, too much of an empty stomach because Zane refused to drink all of his breakfast as instructed. Little pagan.
After getting the low-down on our new crank duty and the updated timeline, we headed to the mall to buy our cute little puker a new outfit. Chris got Z a CFA shake while I headed into Target with the patient. I won't go into detail, but Mama was in tears within 30 minutes. Not a proud moment, trust me...but the pagan turned into a terrorist pagan who hated all things and everyone.
Hoping to turn the tide, we headed to Zane's choice for lunch...Olive Garden. The surgeons suggested smashing up noodles for Zane...as long as he doesn't have to chew, he can enjoy anything he likes! Easier said than done, we were happy to give it a try.
At least Zane made it to the bathroom this time...that's all I can say about that. At least the adults enjoyed a nice lunch. We decided to forego the movie we'd planned and headed home. One more episode later a couple hours later completed the trifecta for the day, and I began to think this whole post-op was going to be the death of me.
Thankfully, Monday was an isolated event of awfulness, and we woke to a much-improved patient with no stomach woes and a blissfully-improved attitude. We were even cleared to start back to school on Wednesday, but we decided it was best to wait for Friday due to a conference Zane's teacher/principal were attending all week.
The cranking process never even gave Zane any pain until day 4. Since then, it has given him a good bit of pain each time, but eventually wears off. (We are cranking the distractor twice a day, for a total of 1 mm total per day.) I'm assuming it's similar to tightening braces which causes throbbing and such. Still, Zane is a trooper and is handling it all like a champ.
School went very well on Friday. Mama took one for the team and spent the entire day in the 2nd grade. :0 It was actually a good idea...although I immediately retreated to my heating pad as soon as I got home that afternoon...because I was able to see first-hand where Z will need extra help. Our original thought was that he would need constant supervision with the help of an adult. After my day in 2nd grade, however, it was clear that (at least for now), some HS helpers could handle Zane-duty for recess, PE, and lunch. We also spent some time explaining the surgery itself and the post-op info to the entire 2nd grade so they would not need to question Zane (something he really didn't want to happen) and so they'd also understand how to help Zane!
Operation Keep Him Down is in full-swing...1 more week of distracting...2 more weeks of cup liquid diet...5 more weeks of non-active activities...and we're home free! :)
It's all pretty incredible, isn't it? Such a positive and quick recovery! All was going great...until...the impossible happened.
More on that next...
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