Drew just finished up his sixth week of physical therapy. Drew has come a long way since the beginning of this summer: his legs went from perpetually bent to completely straight and he’s gone from complete weakness from unused muscles and abilities to just beginning to stand on his own and even attempt steps by…
Tag: leg lengthening
Therapy Continues
Drew just completed his fourth week of physical therapy. It’s gone pretty good, though his progress has been slower than I like. His range of motion is making incremental improvements. He’s standing for very short periods of time and walking using a Lite Gait apparatus to help support his weight. Drew has maintained cooperation and…
Just a Little Venting
You know, I’ve been through a lot in my life: the death of my first-born son, multiple pregnancy losses, learning to cope with challenges and limitations of a chromosomal defect that caused the aforementioned issues and some other experiences in my past that I never talk about. Everybody has their battles and their own coping…
Life After Surgery
Well, it’s been a nice change of routine to have Daddy home this last week. It wasn’t so overwhelming finally having him by my side again. The constant running and the “just trying to survive the day and waking up to do it all on repeat again and again” was getting exhausting. I finally have…
Eight Weeks Post-Op
Well, it’s been six weeks since my last post so in review: Drew had a rod surgically placed by Dr. Paley in his left leg on May 17th. Drew then had a rod surgically placed into the right leg on May 31st. Daddy returned home to Kentucky for work while I remained in Florida with…
And On To the Right
Friday, we had pre-op: just a quick visit with Dr. Paley and vitals with the downstairs team. It was a much shorter day than last time since they decided to do any blood work on Tuesday, the day of surgery. Drew has been in a great place after his left-leg surgery. During the day, he…
The Recovery Process Begins
Well, surgery was completed Tuesday in a 5-hour procedure and Drew was admitted to the hospital for two nights as expected. I don’t know what is worse: the actual surgery or hospital stays. Nathan and I constantly took turns staying with Drew. Nathan would sleep over in the pull-out recliner in Drew’s room each night…
Another Surgery in Florida Part 2
In summary from Part 1: Drew misses his friends and school miserably. We drove 1063 miles and 17 hours from Kentucky to Florida. It sucked, but didn’t go as bad as I had thought it was going to go. We love our new condo and had a day of fun before the real business began….
Another Surgery in Florida Part I
Man, I did not mean to withhold all of the details of our journey so long that I would have one long post about the various phases of our adventure so far. But, to say that this has been completely and utterly exhausting is a gross understatement. I went an entire three days without taking…
It Gets Real
I’ve known about these impending leg surgeries in Florida since July. Dr. Paley described them to us during our last visit. It’s no surprise. But, what was surprising to me was how hard it hit after Drew’s recent follow-up with Dr. Paley on Monday. Drew and Daddy flew to Florida the seventh time, thanks to…
Another Visit with Dr. Paley
I was going to wait to write about our appointment until after we returned back to Kentucky, but I just tried to summarize our appointment, which ended about an hour ago, to my mother-in-law and had already found myself hazy on some details so I figured I better document now so I can refer back…
Well, it happened. Drew spoke of his limb difference. I was rolling his sleeves up on a new shirt and Drew casually said, “I wish I was like other kids.” “How so?” I responded, always carefully avoiding implanting the idea of his differences. I was hoping that he was speaking of his legs, for which…
drewunarmed 