Therapy Day

July 26, 2012
Yesterday was Christmas in July.  We had a great time.  Santa came and presents were abundant.  All the kids were so excited.  The RMH really did a great job.  I posted pictures on facebook from my phone but can't get pictures on the blog from here.  I will post those after I get home.
Today we went to Shriners for Physical therapy and he did really well.Measurements showed he had regressed since we were here last time.  Tomorrow they are going to put him in the stander again.  We are still waiting for insurance to approve a stander for Gideon at home.  He will have his casts changed tomorrow too.  We will load him up with Motrin before we go so maybe this will help with the pain.
Gdeon's friend Gracyn is having surgery tomorrow.  Please be in prayer for her.   She was in a motor vehicle accident.  We plan to visit her on Monday.
Another friend-Avery had chemo today and is not feeling well.  Please say a prayer for her too.
Talked to Tim and the kids tonight and all is well at home.  They saw big brother Jordan in Fiddler on the Roof today.  I was so sad to miss it.
It's getting late and we need to get up early.  Will update again tomorrow.
We are so blessed!

Cast #2

July 23, 2012
Today Gideon got cast #2 on his arms.  He had told Dr. Z that he hated having his casts sawed off so Dr. Z said ok we will soak them in water and then unravel them.   So we started the soaking process when we got there and after a 1/2 hour of soaking and still not soft enough to unravel and Gideon having to pee we decided to go with the saw.  He did very well.  Casts off and off to the bathroom!  Casts #2 went on with a great deal of pain and tears but Dr. Z is great.  He tried to distract him and make it fun.  He wrapped a ninja wrap around his head and painted his face with plaster and put feathers in his head wrap.  Gideon was very tough looking and said "nobody will mess with Gideon!"  Gideon also had informed Dr. Z that he was unable to play his DS the way he casted his thumbs so to be sure to let his thumbs free this time and Dr. Z abliged and tonight Gideon has happily played his DS.
Gideon has made many friends here at the Ronald McDonald house and not all of them children.  We have met several families with children just like our Gideon and it is great to be able to share experiences.  Tonight one of Gideon's friends arrived back to the Ronald McDonald House.  FuXia came in and Gideon was so excited.  It made his night.  This really is like a home away from home.  We are very blessed to be surrounded by some wonderful families and staff here.
Tomorrow we are going to take a trip to Target to get some needed supplies and maybe we will take a walk.  Gideon is getting a haircut tomorrow afternoon too.
Tim say the kids are doing fine.  He is keeping them occupied, taking them to movies in the park and out for ice cream.  They are going to see Jordan's play at Kincaid-The Fiddler on the Roof, on Thursday and then some swimming friday and Saturday.   Gideon will have physical therapy Thursdayand Friday and then another cast change Friday and again Monday.   We fly home on Tuesday.
Please pray for good results with the casting and for Gideon to tolerate the pain and be able to sleep.  Pray for Tim and the kids at home too.  We just thank God for these Doctors here and Philly and the great people at the Ronald McDonald House!

Philadelphia -Always the Unexpected

7/21/2012
Gideon and I arrived in Philly on Thursday and are staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Camden New Jersey, our home away from home.  The plan was to see both Dr. Z and Dr. VanBosse on Friday establish a plan and head home on Saturday.  Well-not exactly how it turned out.  I had big concerns in 2 areas.  First his right leg- the old hardware is still in place since January of 2010.  His femur is extremely bowed and causing him some pain.  The hardware should have been removed by 1 year.  Anyway we have been on the waiting list for surgery since last October.  So after 2 trips to xray Dr. VanBosse is concerned but wants to compare these xrays immediately following the original surgery in Cincinnati.  Although I had provided them with these xrays back in October they can't find them.  So for now the plan is for surgery in november and to plan on serial casting for the feet 2 weeks prior to the surgery.  So we come 2 weeeks prior to surgery for casting then a week for surgery and another week after.  So potentially a 1 month stay in November.  Hope I can take family leave.  The other concern was the arm that we had serial casted in cincinnati.  This did not do much good.  The problem was that the OT's did the casting-and they are not very aggressive- and they did not use plaster casts-they used soft casts.  So Dr. Z wanted to cast that arm again but also cast the right arm so my poor boy is in casts on both arms.  We will stay for 10 more days and have these casts changed on Monday, Friday and the following monday.  He is pretty miserable.  He throbbed in pain most of the night and has been pretty sore all day.  It will be a long 10 day for us but also for Tim and the kids back at home. I am on vacation and we had planned on taking a  2-3 day trip with the kids, now Tim will have to do it by himself.  As I said not what we expected.  So please pray for us and for Tim and the kids.  I trust these doctors and know they are doing what is best for Gideon-He is such a mighty warrior!  There was a young man here who had spine surgery for scoliosis and isn't moving too well.  After spending time with Gideon he told me that Gideon was an inspiration to him.  He was very moved about the way Gideon takes everything in stride and always with a smile.  My little guy is an inspiration to me too!