Temporary and Subject to Change!

Two Weeks Post T & A Surgery:

JJ's surgery was two weeks ago today. Most kids would be up and running around again by week two, as their parents start to reduce their pain meds and life returns to normal once again. 

We will get there. We are just not quite there yet. I just called our son's ENT to request more pain meds because we almost out. And, he needs them. (Mommy Side Note: it has been over a week now since he went the ER and was later on admitted and no one has called to follow-up on how he is doing. Grrr!)

Anyways.........

JJ had his first physical therapy evaluation two days ago. Our therapist is so great...she really is. Right now, she is double booked with patients, but when I told her what happened she worked things out to squeeze JJ in. We have known her for almost six years now and she has been a huge help to all three of my kids. My kids trust her and enjoy their sessions with her, even when they are in pain. We are blessed to have her taking care of our kids.

When she took a look at JJ's neck, she looked up and me and quietly whispered, "Dana, what did they do to him?!" My thoughts exactly (*big sigh*). The good news is his chin is no longer on his chest. So, there has been some progress. But, here is what he needs help with:

• He can only turn his head side-to-side about 40 degrees.
• If you ask him to look up at the ceiling, he can only look up 10 degrees before crying or yelling from the pain. He also hunches his shoulders to be able to support his head when he looks up.
• He is compensating now for the pain when he walks or does normal activities - he will turn his entire body so he does not have to turn from side to side; he holds his head downward and is very stiff when he runs.
• When he tries to lay down in bed, he has to get on his side and lower his body down to his pillow and THEN roll over. 
• When he tries to get up from laying down, we have learned to let him do it on his own and not try to help him because when we do we unintentionally hurt him. He has to roll back over to his side and use his arms to push slowly himself up to a sitting position.
• We can not limit his pain meds at this time. He is taking something just about every 2-3 hours and during the night. However, part of the problem with that is they make him feel comfortable and he overdoes it. When they wear off, he is worse than before. The PT would like to see us start to wean him off of Ibuprofen starting next week. But, right now, I just don't know how that is possible. Nor do I feel that returning to school next week would be a good idea at this time. His therapist agreed.

In the meantime, he will be going to PT every Monday. And then, we'll come home (squeeze a nap in for my youngest) and head back to PT for Mia. He has to wear the neck brace throughout the day, as much as he can tolerate it. She wants him to keep it on in the evenings, when the pain is the worst.

Our Homework:

She wants me doing at-home PT with him twice a day (morning and night) and went over gentle massage techniques for his spine, neck and back of his head and ways to gradually get him to be able to look up again. She started to introduce some yoga positions with him, but when she saw they way his was holding his neck/head, she decided that would only do more damage at this point and he was not ready for that yet.

This will take time. I have to remind myself of this daily. As a parent, the words, "Not fair!!!" scream in my head all day long. And, I pray for extra patience and extra strength, for both of us, as I give extra hugs and extra kisses. 

Day-by-day he will get stronger and "this, too, shall pass." Temporary and subject to change!

Thank you to all of our friends and family who have passed along encouraging words and agreed with us for complete restoration to our son's body. Thank you for the "get well" cards and sweet notes - they brighten his day! 

"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds [curing their pains and their sorrows]." 

Psalm 147:3 (AMP)