I may have mentioned this previously, but.....physical therapy SUCKS.
That's a word I hate, and ask my children not to use, but I have to admit it applies pretty well here. It really does suck the cheerfulness and the optimism right out of you. It's such hard, menial work for such small results.
Mason's been at it for a couple of weeks, and he has made progress. It is not the high profile stuff a teenager wants to see, but it is significant. One example: his ring finger and pinky finger wouldn't straighten right after surgery, now they do. But there is so much more that has to be addressed, stemming back to issues in play before this last surgery took place. It is going to be a long and long and long haul. sigh.
He goes back to see the ortho surgeon Wednesday 12/21. Will update after that visit.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Monday, December 5, 2011
2 weeks after
First off, I have to say: O.M.G. to the long day we spent at the doctor's today!! If anyone out there is trying to decide which field of medicine to practice, let me give you advice: pediatric ANYTHING!! There are way too many patients, and not enough physicians!! You seriously have to get into the hospital/doctor office "zen" before you head off to a double-header appointment like we did today.
The visit to the Infectious Disease folks was pretty uneventful.Well, I guess I could backtrack and say that first we had to go to orthopedic office to have the cast removed so the ID doctor could look at it. That took a little while, then there was some confusion on if it was ok to take the cast off, etc. But in the end the prognosis was good, and we DID NOT have to renew the prescription for the clindamycin! Now *that* is some happy news in itself! So two more days of the brain fogger, and then Mason will be medicine free (except for pain killer as needed--more on that later). Of course they had to sneak in a flu shot before we got out of there. Mason was supposed to get one before surgery, then they decided it would be better to wait until after. So now he has a sore right arm too. :)
After that visit we had a break for lunch - Town Topic burgers were on the agenda. Mason at a triple, then a double. So his appetite is back, obviously.
The orthopedic appointment after lunch was the grueling one....because of the long wait. ugh ugh ugh. But, I guess it was worth it, because the doc said everything looks "good". Keeping in mind that good is relative, see below:
There were no x-rays today - I was kind of surprised, but frankly could not have handled one more thing at that hospital anyway. His next orthopedic appointment is December 21, and I'm sure by that time they'll x-ray to make sure that bone graft is taking hold. Mason's hip is still pretty uncomfortable when he goes up and down stairs or is on his feet very long. I could have sworn I heard them say it would hurt "for a few days", but today the doc said it often takes a month or so to heal up and start feeling better. I must have been thinking of the needle extraction of bone marrow rather than the chiseling of a hunk of bone.....or maybe thinking about how much I like vanilla. Oh well....it is the "gold standard" for bone grafts - nothing but the best for the G man!
The visit to the Infectious Disease folks was pretty uneventful.Well, I guess I could backtrack and say that first we had to go to orthopedic office to have the cast removed so the ID doctor could look at it. That took a little while, then there was some confusion on if it was ok to take the cast off, etc. But in the end the prognosis was good, and we DID NOT have to renew the prescription for the clindamycin! Now *that* is some happy news in itself! So two more days of the brain fogger, and then Mason will be medicine free (except for pain killer as needed--more on that later). Of course they had to sneak in a flu shot before we got out of there. Mason was supposed to get one before surgery, then they decided it would be better to wait until after. So now he has a sore right arm too. :)
After that visit we had a break for lunch - Town Topic burgers were on the agenda. Mason at a triple, then a double. So his appetite is back, obviously.
The orthopedic appointment after lunch was the grueling one....because of the long wait. ugh ugh ugh. But, I guess it was worth it, because the doc said everything looks "good". Keeping in mind that good is relative, see below:
To me it looks kinda like someone held a hot poker on him in a few spots....the skin has died a few places due to the extreme stretching it had to do - about an inch. If the skin looks like that (the doc assured us it will slough off and heal just fine) you can only imagine what the tendons and muscles inside his arm are feeling like!! Yikes! He still has quite a lot of swelling in that elbow area, and it is pretty bruised and tender. His incision, however, is quite "normal" looking - not much swelling, not tender, not red. Yay for that! The surgeon excised the old incision with all the scarring (due to the infection), so the new incision will end up looking nicer, too.
So they took the cast and modified it to be a half cast, like a shell for his bent arm to rest in, held on by ace bandage. This is temporary until his OT makes him a splint to wear. That's right - he already got a prescription to start occupational therapy. Gasp! No rest for the weary! I will call tomorrow and get things set up. There will be no weight bearing exercise for awhile, mainly just stretching type stuff. His muscles are really tight after being pulled apart about an inch, but the doc is optimistic that he is going to get more motion than he had before. We may have to use some of those pain pills after the therapy starts. But of course the best part of losing the cast is...showers!! No more press-n-seal, no more washing hair in the sink!
 |
| Half cast - before they put new cushion in it. |
There were no x-rays today - I was kind of surprised, but frankly could not have handled one more thing at that hospital anyway. His next orthopedic appointment is December 21, and I'm sure by that time they'll x-ray to make sure that bone graft is taking hold. Mason's hip is still pretty uncomfortable when he goes up and down stairs or is on his feet very long. I could have sworn I heard them say it would hurt "for a few days", but today the doc said it often takes a month or so to heal up and start feeling better. I must have been thinking of the needle extraction of bone marrow rather than the chiseling of a hunk of bone.....or maybe thinking about how much I like vanilla. Oh well....it is the "gold standard" for bone grafts - nothing but the best for the G man!
Monday, November 28, 2011
so far, so good
Mason had an impromptu visit with the doctor this afternoon, and there is no sign of infection so far. Yay! It is not uncommon to run a little fever in the days following surgery...but it is something to keep an eye on, especially with his history.
His incision looked pretty good, but he had a really big blood blister looking spot where the soft tissue was stretched/damaged during the procedure. The doc said it will heal fine with no scarring, but it was pretty weird looking. You can see it under the yellow gauze - the incision is at the bottom of his arm, and stretches nearly the length of his forearm. Overall there is still quite a bit of swelling and bruising, but nothing unexpected. The doctor probed his arm, and there was no pain around the incision, just around the elbow where the soft tissue is angry.
The doctor put a full arm cast on it (which makes me happy because it is more protected for going back to school) and he will go back next Monday, Dec 5, after the Infectious Disease clinic visit. Hopefully we will have an uneventful week with no fevers, no new pain.
His incision looked pretty good, but he had a really big blood blister looking spot where the soft tissue was stretched/damaged during the procedure. The doc said it will heal fine with no scarring, but it was pretty weird looking. You can see it under the yellow gauze - the incision is at the bottom of his arm, and stretches nearly the length of his forearm. Overall there is still quite a bit of swelling and bruising, but nothing unexpected. The doctor probed his arm, and there was no pain around the incision, just around the elbow where the soft tissue is angry.
The doctor put a full arm cast on it (which makes me happy because it is more protected for going back to school) and he will go back next Monday, Dec 5, after the Infectious Disease clinic visit. Hopefully we will have an uneventful week with no fevers, no new pain.
nervous
Mason started to run a low-grade fever yesterday. Could be nothing, but I am a little nervous because he did the same thing when he had staph. I can't see his incision because it still has the hard surgical dressing on it that isn't supposed to come off until Wednesday. I will be calling his doctor as soon as the office opens.Now would be a good time to send your healing thoughts and prayers his way. Thanks for checking on him.
Friday, November 25, 2011
3 days post-op
It was nice to be home for Thanksgiving :)
Mason hasn't felt great, but he is hanging in there! This surgery is probably his most painful, because not only was his bone cut, but since it was an acute lengthening of the bone, the muscles and nerves, even his skin to some degree, all had to be acutely stretched as well. So they are a little angry about that. Also, his hip continues to be annoying to him - I suppose having a chunk taken from your hip bone would feel similar to a broken hip. Anyway, he has effective pain relief medications, but they make him pretty snoozy. I am hopeful that today he will be able to cut back on the narcotics a little so he can get up and around a bit.
Another issue that's probably contributing to his general malaise is that the Infectious Disease department decided that he *should* be on antibiotics for a few weeks after the surgery. So, he came home with a prescription for clindamycin, which is the main antibiotic he took last year for the staph infection. Blehk. But hopefully that will only be for a few weeks. He did not test positive for staph, but they decided the risk was too great to not treat for one, especially since he has a sizable plate holding the bone together. We need that plate to stay!!!
Mason goes in next Wednesday for a follow up appointment with the ortho doc. I'll probably get some x-rays at that visit that I can post. The plan is for him to wear a brace, not a cast (yay) which will be nice for showering, etc. The doc said there will be NO drumming at all, until further notice by her. However, she will release him to some piano playing fairly soon. So that is some small bit of good news. He has an appointment with the infectious disease department on Monday, December 5 to test his bacterial load. This is the single most worrisome issue (says the doctors) because if the staph returns it can derail everything!
So, I will post after Mason's follow-up visit Wednesday. I'm not sure when he'll go back to school. As of today, I can't imagine him going back Monday - he is still shuffling rather than walking - but I know with kids things can change quickly, so we will just plan to be flexible. Thanks for checking on him.
Mason hasn't felt great, but he is hanging in there! This surgery is probably his most painful, because not only was his bone cut, but since it was an acute lengthening of the bone, the muscles and nerves, even his skin to some degree, all had to be acutely stretched as well. So they are a little angry about that. Also, his hip continues to be annoying to him - I suppose having a chunk taken from your hip bone would feel similar to a broken hip. Anyway, he has effective pain relief medications, but they make him pretty snoozy. I am hopeful that today he will be able to cut back on the narcotics a little so he can get up and around a bit.
Another issue that's probably contributing to his general malaise is that the Infectious Disease department decided that he *should* be on antibiotics for a few weeks after the surgery. So, he came home with a prescription for clindamycin, which is the main antibiotic he took last year for the staph infection. Blehk. But hopefully that will only be for a few weeks. He did not test positive for staph, but they decided the risk was too great to not treat for one, especially since he has a sizable plate holding the bone together. We need that plate to stay!!!
Mason goes in next Wednesday for a follow up appointment with the ortho doc. I'll probably get some x-rays at that visit that I can post. The plan is for him to wear a brace, not a cast (yay) which will be nice for showering, etc. The doc said there will be NO drumming at all, until further notice by her. However, she will release him to some piano playing fairly soon. So that is some small bit of good news. He has an appointment with the infectious disease department on Monday, December 5 to test his bacterial load. This is the single most worrisome issue (says the doctors) because if the staph returns it can derail everything!
So, I will post after Mason's follow-up visit Wednesday. I'm not sure when he'll go back to school. As of today, I can't imagine him going back Monday - he is still shuffling rather than walking - but I know with kids things can change quickly, so we will just plan to be flexible. Thanks for checking on him.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
overnight
Around 9:30 last night Mason was finally able to wiggle his fingers. His block was placed at 7:30am, so it was over 12 hours and he was starting to worry that something horrible had gone wrong.
No fears--the block definitely wore off. And when it did, it was like a wrecking ball swinging through this room. Nothing happens fast enough when your child is in that kind of pain, but they finally were able to get things under control. I was picturing his bones being chiseled and the muscles and ligaments being spread, and I could picture all this nerves screaming in protest.....and I was powerless. Sure, I can lean on the nurses, but I discovered last night that I no longer have healing powers. The mommy medicine of kisses, cool cloths on the forehead, holding his hand, stroking his face.....none of that helps at his age. In fact, what was once a comfort is now an annoyance. And this is how it should be, as he is growing up. But it was a reality check for me. I have to find my way to be the support he needs now, so I am learning. It's weird.
Anyway, we seem to have the pain under control now. Masons surgeon came by early, followed by a gaggle of other various doctors, some looking not much older than Mason. This is a teaching hospital after all. The doc says we will see how he does this morning and if all is well he will head home this afternoon.
I will update from home where I have a real keyboard for typing. I love my iPad, but I get a little long-winded for it to be comfortable.
No fears--the block definitely wore off. And when it did, it was like a wrecking ball swinging through this room. Nothing happens fast enough when your child is in that kind of pain, but they finally were able to get things under control. I was picturing his bones being chiseled and the muscles and ligaments being spread, and I could picture all this nerves screaming in protest.....and I was powerless. Sure, I can lean on the nurses, but I discovered last night that I no longer have healing powers. The mommy medicine of kisses, cool cloths on the forehead, holding his hand, stroking his face.....none of that helps at his age. In fact, what was once a comfort is now an annoyance. And this is how it should be, as he is growing up. But it was a reality check for me. I have to find my way to be the support he needs now, so I am learning. It's weird.
Anyway, we seem to have the pain under control now. Masons surgeon came by early, followed by a gaggle of other various doctors, some looking not much older than Mason. This is a teaching hospital after all. The doc says we will see how he does this morning and if all is well he will head home this afternoon.
I will update from home where I have a real keyboard for typing. I love my iPad, but I get a little long-winded for it to be comfortable.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
resting comfortably
Mason is in room #1 -- first surgery, first room I guess -- on 5 Henson tower. He has taken a few sips of Gatorade, and woke up long enough to tell me to "stop touching me please"! It's hard to be a mom sometimes. He also said his hip is sore--he can't feel his arm yet because of the nerve block. That will probably wear off this evening, and I'll be glad to be inpatient when that happens, cuz they have the good stuff here.
So he did get the bone graft from his hip, but his radial head is staying in place without the aid of any donor ligament. It was decided that we would stay out of the elbow joint as much as possible for now, and see how this works and if his cartilage will regenerate itself in that eroded joint. We did see the x-rays of the elbow before and after, and although it isn't perfect, it sure looks a lot better, alignment-wise! Hopefully this will eliminate his pain and allow him better mobility with his arm.
He should become alert in the next couple of hours, and we'll see how he feels then.
So he did get the bone graft from his hip, but his radial head is staying in place without the aid of any donor ligament. It was decided that we would stay out of the elbow joint as much as possible for now, and see how this works and if his cartilage will regenerate itself in that eroded joint. We did see the x-rays of the elbow before and after, and although it isn't perfect, it sure looks a lot better, alignment-wise! Hopefully this will eliminate his pain and allow him better mobility with his arm.
He should become alert in the next couple of hours, and we'll see how he feels then.
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