An Update and More Surgery For Sam

I know you're thinking like me...really....hasn't Sam gone through enough but unfortunately Sam needs to have dental surgery on Thursday at Children's Hospital in Milwaukee.

I remember a time when going to a dentist seemed easy, just an everyday event...and then along came Sam. Sam's regular dental appointments are no walk in the park. Sam has always hated anyone touching his head, unless it is Mom playing with his hair. I don't know about your dental appointments but Sam's involve a papoose board and mouth clamps and Mom wanting to curl up into the fetal position and rock but instead finds herself talking softly, singing or trying to calm Sam with a gentle touch. And when it is over, Sam will smile, hug and give high fives to all those that were originally responsible for making him so nervous and angry in the first place. It doesn't really make a lot of sense to me and is yet another moment in my life that ages me as if I haven't racked on enough years already.

Sam's teeth come in behind his baby teeth but the baby teeth never get loose so you can't really pull them out which may actually be a blessing. So when Sam needs more than a checkup we end up in surgery. Sam needs to have some teeth pulled, some teeth filled and possibly a cap or two along with extensive X-rays and Sam will have general anesthesia to make this possible.

As most of you know, general anesthesia is never a really great option with Sam. With Sam's respiratory issues we always worry. He tends to come out of anesthesia manic and swinging and then we go into a lovely pattern of shallow breathing. The last bout of anesthesia took us 4 weeks to get Sam's breathing back to normal but I'm thinking the massive pain medication was working against us too. We have requested our favorite doctor of anesthesia, Dr. Richard Berens, the only doctor who could actually get me to smile and laugh before and after Sam's hip surgery.

This week we take him off any supplements that thin blood which of course also kicks up the yeast in his system and his focus becomes weak. So, we ask for more prayers that Sam's smile looks even prettier and his breathing quickly returns to normal and we come home on Thursday.

I realize I haven't posted as much lately. I have had a lot on my mind which I will leave for a later post but I wanted to update everyone on Sam's progress. The last video you saw was Sam walking with his walker. Well check out what I caught last week:

Oh and by the way, yes Danielle I know how much you appreciate me posting your wake up look. You're welcome. Hee Hee! And look what I caught this week:

Sam now doesn't seem to want to bother with the walker and has begun to work on walking up and down the steps. I am thrilled and scared all at the same time. Sam is still in the breakdown stage of Perthes so I'm a little worried about the amount of walking he's doing. Also keep in mind Sam does not express pain which helps to escalate my worry and make my life more exciting. So he can have what looks like a really great day and then has trouble sleeping or puts himself in traction the next day. So you give him pain medication which just helps mask the pain and Sam thinks he's back to normal so he decides to overdo it again and the cycle continues. I will never get bored with Sam.

Along with all this excitement my system decided to shut down and I'm currently without a voice and struggling through a respiratory illness. Oh joy!! Children's Hospital called yesterday to review Sam's appointment and reminded us that if anyone is sick they should not accompany their child to the hospital. I looked at Jeff and said "Well, I guess you are on your own on this one." Jeff looked pale, confused and said, "You're joking, right?" I assured him that I will up my Vitamin C and Allibiotic so I can be there, wild horses couldn't keep me away. Yeh!!!

Hmmm, this image closely resembles how Sam comes out of anesthesia. Better get my chest pad and thigh high boots on. It's time for the rodeo.