Reflecting One Year Ago Today, Caleb walked..

 

 Good Start Buddy!!!

It took him almost as long to learn to re-walk as he work the SPICA cast.. about 8 weeks.  Here is a few reminder photos of what he went through wearing it:

Comfy Sitting Position?

 

Backside View

wore two diapers at a time, one tucked inside

and the second diaper wrapped around the outside

ahhh reclining and watching tv

This is what it looked like after cast came off..

Happy Boy finishing up his burger on the way home

another shot of this lovely scaley leg

First bath in over two months... he stayed in there for an hour!!

It feels like forever ago that Caleb went through this.  A year later you cannot tell at all he had a broken femur on his right leg, no limp, no weakness, no scarring.  

Kinda funny how mom is going through physical therapy one year later from a ruptured ACL that happened falling from the same swing set Caleb fell from, one the same day, with Caleb in my arms.. That swing set is banned in 2012 the whole week of June 24th.  I only hope that a year after my surgery that I walk without a limp, regaining full strength, and a scar that's not terribly noticeable.  My recovery feels like its taking forever, but reflecting back on Caleb a year ago, next year this time it will feel like forever ago that I was recovering.  **((I hope..))**

Wordless Wednesday.. Caleb walked for the first time in 12 weeks today!!

 

 

Where's My Glasses???? and a Caleb Update

I jumped into the shower this morning before I had to get the other kiddos off today.  When I got out I was looking around for my glasses (knowing I had them on when I went into the bathroom) and couldn't find them anywhere.. Hummmm??? Well, I planned on wearing my contacts anyhow so I put them on and went about getting ready.  When I stepped out of the bathroom this is what I found:

Now talk about a huge belly laugh I experienced seeing this beautiful face :D

How did he get the glasses you might ask?? His brother Isaac came in and got them for him because they were watching a Yo Gabba Gabba show about wearing your glasses....  These kiddos are so smart!!!

While I have his beautiful face on here I'll give you a Caleb update:
Caleb had his SPICA cast removed on Friday August 20th.  That has been about 3 1/2 weeks ago now and he is still not walking.  He has started aqua therapy to strengthen his leg and to give him some confidence to use it again.  He IS crawling, but most of the time he still gets around by butt scooting.  We were told to expect his healing time to be at least that of which the cast was on.. The cast was on for 8 weeks.... He still has a long road ahead yet.. But he's doing is all with a sense of humor and a smile on his face.

LOVE HIM!!!

Cast Cooler - A product review

So a few weeks back I was blogging about Calebs accident and posting photos of the lil guy in his cast, when I had a nice gentleman leave a comment showing his concern for Caleb and wishing him well while in his cast.  He then went onto suggest a product for me called the CastCooler.  I went ahead and checked out the site with an open mind, after reading the stories and the testimonies I seriously thought this might be something I would be interested in purchasing.  I was hesitant to click on the purchase button fearing the "price of medical equipment" would be to high for me to even consider buying it.  I was plesantly surprised at the very low cost and decided to give it a try.  BOY am I glad that I did.

Caleb is a non-verbal 4 year old child with Autism, Down Syndrome and Sensory Processing Dysfunction.  I knew he was in pain or discomfort just by his actions and body language but I didn't know exactly what was going on with him.  I read about the Cast Cooler and decided that it was worth a try.  In all honesty I thought I was going to buy this product and never be able to even use it on Caleb as he's not much for being right near the sweeper when its running.  The first time I put the cast cooler on him, I did just that.  I put it on and we talked about it.  The next time, I explained to him that I was going to try to help him with his boo boo.  He looked confused but he permitted me to put the sweeper on the attachment.  It was amazing his reaction, I was thrilled that the reviews that I read on the CastCooler site were actually happening right here in my own living room.  He looked relieved, he was not scared, he had such a nice relaxed smile going on that I had to capture it with a photo.  Below is his reaction:

The cast is made of a very porous material, the cast cooler and the sweeper actually circulated the air from inside the cast and provided Caleb with some relief from the itching and it kept the cotton inside dry.  It also sucked the odor out and kept him smelling fresh like for the 8 weeks he kept the cast on.  We the cast was cut off today I was anxious to see if it was smelly or not.  It was NOT!!  Other than the little bit of urine that gathered in the diaper area that could not have been helped, it just had a slight body odor scent, nothing terrible like some of the stories I've heard before.

If you or anyone you know breaks a bone in the future (I hope not) I would recommend the CastCooler!!  I will be storing this away in a safe place for future use.  With five children, I'm certain that one day or another we may need to use this again.

Cast Off Day!!!

8 Weeks..... 8 Weeks.... that was Caleb's (and our) entire summer.. From June 24 to August 20 he wore the "big purple cast".  He sat in the stroller and on the couch for countless hours watching television, reading books, and sleeping his summer away.  Since it was not really fair for the rest of us to be outdoors enjoying the pool or doing lots of activities we all pretty much stayed home and sucked up the air conditioning right along with Caleb.
Amazingly, the 8 weeks went rather fast.  He had some amazing positions that totally did not look comfy to any of us at all....

But I guess when you don't have a choice you make due.  Caleb was a true trooper and I would never ever ever!!! wish this on any child, but if it had to be one of my kiddo's Caleb was the one that would just go with the flow more than the others.

Today we got his SPICA cast removed.  It was not a pleasant experience for an Autistic child with Down Syndrome and Sensory Processing Disorder to endure, but once the sawing was all done and the cast was removed he was actually quite exited that he could see his leg again.  He was anxious to get into the car and come home.  This was a photo I took in the car on the way home

Talk about dry scaly skin!!!!  He kept itching it the whole way home, but I think he was doing it just hard enough to remove some of the skin, he didn't make anything bleed or anything.  The GROSS GROSS thing and a recommendation I can now make to anyone traveling home with a child who just got off a very large cast in the summertime.  WARNING: Do NOT, I repeat, DO NOT roll down the windows to let air into the car.  You will have dry skin floating all over the car, including in your hair, around your face, and out the windows.. EWWWWWW!!!

We got him home and to celebrate we had his favorite dinner of Pizza and then he got into the tub for the first time in 2 months and sat and soaked and splashed in a Mr. Bubble Bubble bath for more than an hour..

I must say, I am SHOCKED and surprised that they did not recommend physical therapy for Caleb.  We were told that the healing is going to take several months and they said that sometimes physical therapists can be hard on the patients to get them back up to par quicker and she did not see any reason to make this child suffer more than he already has.  She said the his fracture site is not tender or sore, however, his joints and muscles are stiff and sore.  We are to give him tylenol for the next several days for pain and she said that if he's motivated to move around ( he is!!!!) then he will figure this out much like he figured out how to get around in his cast like he did.  Makes sense to me.  We will go back in 6 to 8 weeks for a follow up, if at that time he is still not walking to his full capabilities then we will discuss further therapies.  WoW, go Caleb..  I am excited to see how things come along in the following weeks.  I will say that we have been home a whole two hours at the time of this blog and he is not moving his leg hardly at all, its still straight out and in the same position it was in the cast.  At one point, I think he got brave and tried to bear weight on his knees and fell to the ground crying.. just like an animal has instincts on how to heal, so is true of my boy Caleb.  We shall see how he progresses and I will share it all with you.

We plan on hitting the pools next week, the last week of summer before school!!!!

Some progress made yesterday..

We went to Children's hospital in Pittsburgh yesterday to see the orthopedic surgeon about Calebs leg.  I cannot believe its been 6 weeks already!! It really did go fast, for me, I don't know about for Caleb, but I am relieved we are at the end part of the cast being on.  We were secretly hopeful that the cast may come off yesterday, but fairly certain that it would not.  We were told the night of the accident that typical children wear these casts between 6 and 8 weeks, children with Down Syndrome tend to heal a little slower so to expect 8 to 10 weeks for healing.  After the x-ray the doc said he was real close to having it come off but wanted to keep it on another two weeks.  BUT he said that he can have his left leg back and had the nurse come over and cut off the left leg part of the cast.  His poor leg was so dry.  I have to say that I was very pleased that there really was NO ODOR, maybe a tiny hint of urine from the cotton around his diaper area, but it made me feel really good that I had taken great care of his cast while it was on.. hmm hmm, its not off yet so I better watch what I say :)

So we get him home and he wants on the floor so badly.  He scoots around on the floor and looks like AHHHH Mom I can move, I CAN move!!! It was so cute.

The only thing that is more difficult for me now is the diapering.  Believe it or not when the full cast was on, I would tuck a size 3 diaper into the little opening and then put a size 6 diaper around his waist.  Now, there's no where to tuck a diaper on the left side and its falling off.  This morning when he woke up his diaper was entirely off.. guess I better figure out how to master this way of diapering fast or I will lose my excitement of having a clean smelling cast coming off in two weeks.  Thanks for looking and keeping him in your prayers for another two weeks or so.

Wordless Wednesday

Lord, Bless the Hands that Fed Us!!!

  Tonight it was the Golembiowski family from Punxsy with a super delicious dish.  Thank You!!  We enjoyed it very much.

We have Brother Time!!

 Isaac has definitely been affected by not having his brother to run around with all day long.  We have been trying our best to accommodate them both during the day.  In the living room we pull the rocking chair up next to the stroller and they watch their cartoons.  Thank you so much Howerton Family for suggesting we find a bean bag chair to sit Caleb in and then bringing us one.. THANK YOU!!!  It works great and Isaac gets to be even closer to his buddy in their room!!   :)

Mom.. We want Calebs Cast to stay on a long time!!!

Imagine my surprise when my 8 year old daughter Camille came over to tell me "Mom.. we decided we want Caleb's cast to stay on a long time".  WHAT??!!!

Then I realized the three older children all decided this after two days of the flower shop making a delivery to our house for Caleb.   Yesterday he got some beautiful flowers, which we have where we can all see enjoy them all day and a Thinking of You balloon.  What kiddo does not like balloons??

Thank you JoAnn and Family for these beautiful flowers (a fellow MOPS mom)...
 


Then today Caleb received a teddy bear holding three BIG balloons and a fruit basket with his FAVORITE thing in the world.. Sandwich crackers, which he immediately dug into :)

Thank you Linda and Family for today's delivery (another MOPS mom).....





And how sweet is this photo..

Isaac is truly missing his play mate.  He is really becoming agressive and banging his head and being really mean to everyone, and I think the adjustment of not having a partner in crime is wearing on him.  We do put Caleb in a stroller several times a day to reposition him.  For a long time Isaac would just stand there by the stroller and watch tv with Caleb.  We figured out to pull the rocking chair over by the stroller and they both love it.. they sit there and giggle at their tv program and reach for each others hand to hold.. oh it breaks a mama's heart.


Now with constipation being an issue we've been trying to feed the twins watermelon daily for extra fluid intake.  They drink absolutely nothing other than vanilla flavored rice or soy milk, but give them a watermelon and they take it down.  Anyhow, a friend of Tom's grandmother gave us a hair cutting smock to put over Caleb while he eats and it works wonders while he's eating his watermelon...


So Day Five of this cast and we're getting alittle more used to what life it going to be all summer long.  Diaper changing is still a scary thing for me and an uncomfortable thing for Caleb, but we're getting there.  Let's see what's in store for us tomorrow :)