arms – drewunarmed

I can’t believe how long it’s been since I’ve written about Drew. I just checked my last post and I’ve been quiet since June 2018. It’s not that I’ve been so preoccupied with endless challenges of special needs parenting, but it’s not been uneventful either. I’ll call it a mix between lack of motivation and…

Hurtful Words

As you can expect, Drew is quite the curiosity when meeting new kids. It’s not unusual for him to be subject to looks and questions, which is totally understandable. Young kids are naturally curious and polite questions about his arms haven’t been an issue. Drew would casually respond, “I was born this way.” But, other…

Going Through the Motions

I know it’s been a long time since I’ve shared. I’ve just been going through the motions of raising a mobility-challenged child so it feels slighty routine and unremarkable, yet there are highlights of excitement. Physical therapy has been normal. I am disheartened to acknowledge that Drew has lost a lot of range of motion…

In Our Stride

I’m relieved to report that we have hit our stride in this surgery process. Pain is no longer as intense. Drew only requires pain medicine twice a day. I give one dose about 30 minutes prior to bedtime just as a preemptive strike to avoid pain throughout the night, because a good solid night of…

What’s to Come

T minus 7 days (including today) until Drew’s surgery in Florida. Our 1000+ mile road trip is looming in our very near future. With each day’s passing, my anxiety is becoming more and more prominent. Within days of this event that we’ve been anticipating for over a year, I find myself clouded with doubt, sadness,…

We had our first follow-up with an occupational therapist in Cincinnati this week. It’s exactly eight weeks post-surgery and three weeks since having the cast removed and starting the physical therapy. The appointment was to gauge his function and ensure progress is as expected. I was especially dreading this trip because it was my first…

CCK, How Do You Feel!?!

Well, it took 10 weeks, but we finally received Drew’s braces. And, this time it was quite the drama. After numerous calls to the doctor’s office to rush paperwork and update requests to the orthotist, we finally had an appointment to fit Drew’s new braces. And, just in time too because mid-week on Spring Break,…

It has been pretty hectic in our household this past month. I’m struggling with how to smoothly transition between one subject to another and, well, basically figuring out where to start…. So, it’s been over a month since Drew’s hand surgery. He had his cast on for a total of five weeks and it was…

“Why Are His Arms Like That?” The Pivotal Question

PSA: The following is simply my opinion and I do not suggest that those who think and act differently are wrong or should be condemned. I’m merely sharing my perspective and describing how I came to respond to a specific situation. I still offer the utmost respect to those who, using their own experiences to…

Life in a Cast

Drew is nine days post-hand surgery and overall it’s been fine. Drew has had no pain, other than the few times his hand got jarred from rough-housing activities. Drew even returned to school a mere two days after his surgery amazingly. When you consider he had two fingers cut off and one sewed back on to…

Ten Fingers are Overrated

It’s no secret that Drew has undergone many surgeries, 16-17 total. So many that I struggle to remember exactly how many (has he had three sets of ear tubes or was it four?) So many that I struggle wondering if I should count his GI procedure as a surgery (it was just a camera going…