Break a Leg...

It's been exactly a year since one of the worst days of my life. I've been thinking about it all week. I was looking back at the terrible X-rays, the videos of him using his walker, and finally walking again after months in a body cast. Those were some of the hardest few months! We went through all the baby stages again, twice. While in the 40 pound cast he learned to roll over, crawl, and then walk again - only to have to learn it all again when the cast came off. He spent Thanksgiving day laying in a bean bag chair. Today I am so thankful that nobody would even know that he broke his leg a year ago. He has recovered completely and doesn't even have a limp. I love watching him run around and play, and I am looking forward to a "normal" Thanksgiving where he can wrestle with Grandpa and sit on the counter while I cook!

Healed!

Alex had a follow-up with the orthopedic surgeon yesterday for his leg. It has been 8 months since the cast was removed. I am pleased to say that he does not have to go back!! The leg is healing nicely and you wouldn't even know what happened by looking at him.

He was fantastic at the doctor's office - smiling, talking to everyone, and having a good time. We didn't even have any tears in the x-ray room - a first for him! He is doing so well. Hopefully we never have to see an orthopedic surgeon again! Also, here are his 3 year pictures - I can't believe he will be 3 in a month!

Legs and Cheeks

Did that title get your attention?!? Actually, this post is an update on Alex's leg, and a note about an injury Aurora incurred today!

First, we had a followup with Alex's orthopedic surgeon today. He's doing great! His limp is almost gone and he is pretty much back to normal. Here is a comparison of his leg the day of the accident and today. We don't need to go back for 6 months!


Then, Aurora injured herself at school today. Apparently she was running and fell into the corner of a playhouse! Ouch! She has a mark from her cheek all the way up past her eye. I bet it will be bruised by tomorrow. I wondered what the doctors thought today while I was in there with my son recovering from a broken leg and my daughter's face all beaten up - yikes! Here is a picture of Aurora's face.

Alex's Progress

Alex's limp is going away and he's getting much faster - see for yourself!

Trouble!

Alex is recovering well enough to start causing some trouble! He's still walking with a pretty good limp...Josh calls it his "gangster walk"! He gets pretty tired by the end of the day still and often uses his walker in the evenings. But otherwise, he is pretty much back to normal. The other day I was putting laundry away in the bedroom and came back to find that he had gotten the stool out of the bathroom and climbed onto it to peruse the DVD's! And lately he's been hanging out on the back of the couch! I am terrified, of course, that he is going to hurt himself again...but what can you do with a rambunctious little boy?!?!

He's Walking!!

Alex is walking!! When I went to pick him up from school on Friday, they were playing outside and he stood up and walked to me! He has a significant limp of course but I've noticed him getting steadier and steadier this weekend. The ortho said he could limp for the next year. He's making great progress, I'm so proud of him!

Great Day!

Alex had a great day at school! He was very upset when I left, of course, but they said he only cried for about 5 minutes. The rest of the day he was fine - he ate, took a nap, and participated in activities with no problem! They worked on his walking and I did notice this evening that he could stand up without being wobbly. He did come home filthy though, from crawling around outside. But today was a huge success and he came home in a great mood! Hopefully the rest of the week will be the same!

Ortho Followup and Other Fun

Alex had a followup appointment with the orthopedic surgeon today. Our primary concern, of course, is that the cast has been off for two weeks and he is not walking yet. When he uses his walker or stands up, he holds his leg in the same shape as it was in the cast - bent and all weight on his toes. They were concerned about problems with his leg or maybe his foot so they did x-rays, but everything is fine.

His surgeon said this is pretty normal but that he might need some "incentive" to start walking again. At home he doesn't really need to do anything because everything is in his reach. She suggested we try taking him back to school and see how he does. Being around a bunch of kids his age who are running around everywhere just might get him back up and going. So he is headed back to school tomorrow! I am still working from home for these next few days so that I can be nearby and go get him if there are any problems. Wish us luck!

In other fun, the kids met up with their cousins at the Aquarium this weekend while my grandma was in town to babysit them. The older two are a year apart and the younger two are 5 weeks apart. They don't see each other very often but they had a blast together!

Big Progress!!

The Day After

Today was a pretty rough day. Alex could not understand why his leg is not cooperating and was very frustrated. First thing in the morning he tried to pull himself up on it and fell and started crying. He was still afraid to sit up normally, even though he sat up fine in the tub last night. He was pretty much whining all morning. Overall he was not a happy little boy! Since I am working from home as well, I wasn't being very productive because he needed me for everything. Fortunately, Grandma K. came to the rescue and took him to her house for a few hours to give him one on one attention so I could get some work done!

Anyway by this evening he was crawling around pretty good on it, and he is able to pull himself up and stand for a bit, although he is pretty wobbly. I have the kids' play table in the middle of the living room right now for him to pull up on and play on. And just now while I was writing this, he took a few careful steps with his walker from the table to me! So we're getting there.

He has also lost A LOT of weight and is very skinny. His 2T clothes are big on him, as is his diapers. I'm probably going to have to go back down a size on diapers. And it's been so long since he has seen his belly button, he calls it a 'boo boo'!

It's OFF!!!

Hallelujah!! The cast is off!! It was removed today and the leg is healing well. He also has no sores or rashes from the cast, just scaly, dry skin. Alex is VERY touchy about the leg right now, as can be expected. He does not want it touched. For awhile he wouldn't even sit up; he was sitting back like he was still in his cast. When he crawls he holds the leg out, like it is still in a cast. He also tried to pull up and stand on it as soon as we got home and quickly learned he can't do that yet, and was pretty ticked off!! However, he was SO happy to get in the bathtub!! As soon as I put him in he sat up correctly and played and sang in there for a good 30 minutes...he missed his bath so much!

So doctor's orders are to let him take things at his own pace, no physical therapy needed, and a check-up in 6 weeks. BUT she does not want him to go back to school for at least another 10 days, until he has been walking again comfortably. So we continue at home for awhile until he gets back up to speed. Thank you everyone for your comments and well wishes, they mean a lot to me! I will keep you updated on his progress.

Back to Reality..

It's such a downer when the holidays are over! In spite of that, we had a very quiet and laid back weekend. Aside from trips to the grocery store and the pet store (for crickets for the lizards), we pretty much stayed at home and played around. Aurora got to have a little fun in the snow on Sunday. I can't wait until Alex will be able to go out - he has not had much chance to really have some fun in the snow! BTW He is getting braver as the days go by....this weekend he actually went from one couch to the other WITHOUT his walker! He just built up the momentum and kept going until he hit the other couch - wow he is amazing. Anyway we are around and not much to blog about - but stay tuned for Weds - which is CAST REMOVAL DAY!

The Walker

When we first came home with the walker, Alex didn't want to have much to do with it. Actually, he pretty much hated it and would scream if I encouraged him to use it. So I put it away, thinking that he was at least exercising his leg by pulling up on the couches and toy boxes, standing at their new play kitchen, and walking while I held his hands.

And then, a couple of days ago he stood - without holding onto anything - for a few seconds before he had to grab the couch. Then a few hours later, Josh and I witnessed him try to walk, unassisted! He took 2 steps and then fell. Have I mentioned before how much I feel like I am going through the baby stages again? Anyway I thought it might be time to try the walker again. After a little bit of protest, I finally got him to try it. He walked from the living room to the playroom and realized how much freedom it gives him - and he's been using it since! The only problem we have is that it tends to topple when he tries to pull himself up to use it, so I have to help him with that; but what a difference it has made! I am so proud of the progress he has made; he hasn't let this get him down one bit. Eight days until cast removal!

His speech has really benefited from this, since he hasn't had much else to do and has had to communicate what he wants. He has about 30-40 words he says well now, he can identify some letters of the alphabet, and he can count to three! Here is a video of Alex using his walker (the pink basket is so he can take toys around with him.)

Alex Ortho Update

We had Alex's second follow up with the orthopedic surgeon today. The good news - they cut the cast off of his "good" leg. The bad news - that's ALL they cut off (nothing from the abdomen) and the rest has to remain on for 3 more weeks! UG! I don't know if we can do this for 3 more weeks...but I just keep telling myself, "this too shall pass". His leg is healing really well, they just want to make sure it is completely healed before they take the cast off or it may re-break. Better to be safe than sorry.

However, just having the cast off of the one leg has done him a world of good. They gave us a toddler sized walker to use to encourage him to stand and put some weight on his legs. We had a little session with a physical therapist to learn how to use it and how to encourage Alex to use his legs. She suggested we also stand him up against the couch - I did this when we got home and he loved it! He put weight on his good leg and leaned against the couch and played with some toys for a good 10 minutes or so. He can also move on his tummy a lot better now that he can get his good knee under him. And the two best parts - his pajama pants fit now!! And he can fit in a car seat!! Yay!! The only thing it has made harder is that he is lopsided now when he "sits" so it's a little challenging to get him settled.

Anyway we now have some new stuff to work with, which makes these 3 weeks seem a lot more doable. And we have a light at the end of the tunnel - January 7th is cast removal day! Here are some pictures:

Leaning up against the couch

Full picture of the remaining cast

The walker

Pajama pants!!!!

Disney Princesses

Believe it or not, I had no idea that Sleeping Beauty's name was Aurora when we gave our daughter her name. In fact, Josh picked her name. He lived in Greece for several years and is a big astronomy fan (Aurora Borealis, and Aurora is the Greek godess of light) and thought it would be a great name for a little girl. I agreed.

Then when Aurora was around 4 months old we took an airplane ride to visit family, and there was a little girl in the row in front of us. She asked Aurora's name and when I told her, she said, "Oh wow, just like Princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty!" What?? When we arrived at our destination I looked it up and sure enough, that was her name! So then I was pretty excited for her, thinking how special she was going to feel when she was two or three and into princess stuff and was named after a princess!

Little did I know that my "princess" was going to be a certified tomboy, only interested in cars and transformers and all the little boy stuff! She did not want to have anything to do with pink and girly toys!

Until Now.

Every year my mom does an Advent calendar for the kids, and this year Aurora has gotten each of the little Disney princess figurines each day from her calendar. She has played with them all day every day for the past week. She has also asked to watch the movies (we only have Cinderella, Aladdin, and Little Mermaid - but Sleeping Beauty is under the Christmas tree) and has asked to get the other movies. She's totally into it, and I'm so happy! I finally have a little glimmer of a girly girl, even if she's pitting the princesses against the tranformers and putting them in her cars!

On a side note, Alex has his follow up with the ortho tomorrow, where he hopefully gets part of his cast removed! I'll update tomorrow!

Ortho Followup

This afternoon we had the first follow up with Alex's orthopedic surgeon. She said the break is healing really well and they added some more tape and padding to his cast. He has to remain in the full spica cast for another two weeks. At that point they will cut off the half leg and lower the torso part. This will improve his mobility but still keep the leg straight. Then it will be another two weeks before the whole thing can be removed. So unfortunately he won't be walking around Christmas. Good thing I didn't get him any walking or ride on toys! He also has a nasty rash on his bottom under the cast part. The technician today said that we should be using like size 3 diapers in the hole of the cast, shoving it as far up as we can. The hospital told us to use newborn diapers, so we weren't getting enough coverage in there. We're supposed to use a little diaper cream and the bigger diapers. The ortho also said he could move however he wanted in the cast.

Mentally and physically Alex is doing as well as can be expected. He stays upbeat most of the time, only getting frustrated occasionally and when I don't respond to him right away. He is still waking 2-3 times a night though; I'm guessing because he doesn't have enough room in the crib to roll or move. He can move around on his tummy pretty well and he can roll from his tummy to his back and back again, often watching TV on his side with his other leg up in the air (as in the picture below)! So now we're counting down two more weeks to some more freedom!

Moving Forward

Alex is getting pretty good at moving around now. He can now pull himself forward. It's tough to watch him have to make so much effort, but he seems to be happier when he can move around on his own. Hopefully this will also help his hair, which has been rubbing off a little on the back from laying against a pillow so much. He spends a lot of time now on his tummy playing. It reminds me of tummy time! I feel like I am going through all the baby stages again! Here's a video - disregard the music in the background, we often groove to 80's music in the evenings!

Thanksgiving #1

Happy Thanksgiving! We had a pretty good Thanksgiving. We went to Josh's parents house and they had friends in from out of town. Alex got very frustrated at times with his inability to do certain things and with all of the people around, but overall he did the best he could. We had good food and yummy desserts. Stay tuned for Thanksgiving #2 with my parents on Tuesday (they work on the actual Thanksgiving)!

Amazing!!

Well, the ortho said that kids figure out how to move in their cast, and I didn't believe her. Boy, has Alex proved me wrong!! This boy is amazing! I put him on his tummy this evening and he immediately figured out how to scoot backwards! He went forward a little bit too but it was much harder; I imagine when he gets his muscles built up he will be able to do it! He was SO proud of himself and even started screaming when I eventually picked him up to put his pajamas on.

Thank goodness he is starting to figure this out, because he was getting very frustrated with laying around, especially dropping toys all the time and not being able to play with everything he wants. Overall he's been quite the trooper though. We had some problems with sleeping; he was waking every 1-2 hours. I called the ortho and she said it was probably muscle spasms and called in a prescription of Valium. He has slept much better since!

Anyway we are doing pretty well, considering the circumstances. Josh is taking some vacation from work and I am fortunate to be able to work from home for now. I really hope Alex is able to get out of the cast by Christmas!

Video of Alex's scooting (with Big Sister helping, of course!):

The X-Ray

Here is the XRay of Alex's break