The Rollercoaster of Life!!!

I'm a little behind in updating the blog...because honestly I think the lack of sleep finally caught up to me. On Friday we took the ambulance to see Dr. Thometz for the post op. appointment. The incisions looked great and are healing nicely. Dr. Thometz showed us Sam's X-ray from after the surgery...yep I winced. That's a lot of hardware in one little boy. He has a plate along his femur and 4 to 5 screws including one going to the hip, he also has hardware along the edge of the hip. Ouch!!!

We then swung by Children's Hospital so Caz from Hanger Orthotics could check and tweak the brace and show us how to tighten and line everything up. As Sam moves more he will loosen things up and we will have to use Loctite and some Allen wrenches to keep everything in line. More fun!

Sam has been working hard on his respiratory exercises and has not needed any oxygen, even at night. His heart rate and oxygen stats have both returned to normal. We are on a uphill trend. By the way, that's Grandma, my mom and yes she is a saint!!!

But then...

Friday night Ben came home, went to the bathroom and then woke me up to tell me he had thrown up all over the floor in the bathroom. Oh joy!!! Yep, that kicked in the whole Suzy Germ

a Phobe phase and I began to sterilize the house, cleaning up the bathroom, wiping down door knobs, light switches, handles and anything Ben could have come into contact with using Clorox wipes. I must have washed my hands 20 times during this process. YUUCCKKK! I quarantined him to his room and told him if he needed anything he could call me on his cell phone. I Lysoled each room and told Danielle not to use the upstairs bathroom until I could sterilize it. Argh, we can't do the flu now. Sam can't get sick. Didn't Ben read the signs posted at the entrances to our house????

Unfortunate for Ben but fortunate for Sam we came to the realization that both Ben and his friend James got food poisoning from the subs they ate for dinner.....so no flu. WHEW!! Oh, and I didn't make the subs either...just in case you were wondering.

However, another night with limited sleep for Mom and another ton of laundry. Sssooooo....on Saturday Mom required another afternoon nappie and since my family members did not want to see a repeat of my last meltdown they were happy to comply. For a special treat Jeff picked up 2 lbs. of crab legs from Ghostown (a local restaurant) for Danielle and I to enjoy. As you can imagine, Ben looked a little green when he smelled what we were eating. Kinda serves him right after making me freak out and clean the whole house the night before. Hee Hee

During this last week we started to get Sam moving more...even if it is just his upper body. I brought out his favorite Trio blocks to snap together some cool towers and buildings...of course under the ever watchful eye of Buddy. He was supervising the construction.

Then we brought out the puzzle board and had him work on a couple of his 60-100 piece puzzles. He just loves puzzles.

Ben finished designing, welding and painting Sam's over the bed contraption to attach his basketball hoop and other items too. It's heavy duty but there isn't much that Ben owns or designs that isn't heavy duty.

Then it was time to get the computer games, programs and academics going again. With a little move of the bed I was able to get the mouse and screen on Sam's table and away he went. Time to wean him off the TV and get him engaged in other things.

And you can never go wrong with Play Doh. Sam tried to feed some of it to Buddy but he wasn't interested so Sam decided he would mush the colors together. Oh well, I always thought the colors looked nicer swirled together, it gives your creation more dimension.

We were again on an uphill trend.....but then...

On Monday Sam began to cough and sounded kinda gunky...and yes that is a technical term. The nurse was coming to view the incisions and assist in the bandage change so I had her listen to his lungs. Thankfully they sounded clear...we are hoping that the coughing is finally some good movement in the lungs and not illness related. Fingers, toes and eyes crossed!!!!

Today Sam was still coughing, but no fever, his disposition was good and he looked good. With Sam you have to go by your observation because he's not going to offer a lot of verbal assistance. I asked him, "Does anything hurt?" He smiled and said, "No, all better". I asked him if he was sick, he said "No doctor, no hospital". Hhmmm...not really getting anywhere with the questions.

I will check his oxygen stats tonight as he sleeps to assure myself that his breathing is good and productive. Overall each day gets a little easier. One day at a time, one day at a time...but it's a really good feeling to be 2 weeks on the other side of surgery. Just keepin on praying that he stays healthy...since I haven't gotten a call from Oprah offering to fly us somewhere sunny, warm and relaxing. Um, Oprah another option would be flying the whole family somewhere fantastic after we get Sam up and moving again. Really...I'm flexible!!!