I See the Light

Well, I am feeling a bit out of sorts today. Perhaps it is the fact that the outdoors is both lying to me and teasing me. It is beautifully sunny but still pretty chilly. I can deal with chilly but the sun is directing me towards spring, when the reality is that come Sunday there will be snow and the high will be 15! Have I mentioned that I am so over winter????

I haven't posted in a few days because there has been little change to the situation. Well, that is not exactly true. We did actually make it through a weekend without ambulances, ER's or hospital contact of any kind. I will admit though, that when Friday rolled around my heart dropped into my stomach and pretty much remained there until Monday morning when I finally actually breathed.

After much thought and deliberation, I made a "Mom" decision which was really difficult for me. I am usually fighting to get David back into the swing of things and get back to whatever passes as normal as soon as possible. However, perhaps I have rushed it this time. Every time we try to have home bound school, it lasts a day and then something happens. Since Davids surgery we have had the flu, pink eye and various other forms of disgusting gastro intestinal things going through this house. I have cleaned until clorox and lysol have burned through my sinuses and now they are all that I can smell. Still he has gone from normal to critical three times since Jan. 1st. Because of all of this I decided that until after Spring Break, I am basically quarantining him. There is so much going through the schools right now....strep being the top of the list and we don't need strep......so I am keeping everyone a way. Even if someones immunity is great and they don't get sick, they can certainly carry it right into the house and expose David. This also means that when Z steps in the house after school he has to take a Silkwood inspired shower before he comes close to his brother. Because of all of this, instead of having normal home bound school services, we are working to possibly have Skype school where we Skype with his para, teachers and therapists and that way he is part of the class once again. It will only be until after Spring Break and hopefully by then his immunity will be better, the weather will be warmer and winter disease will be heading out the door. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this all works out because we are in desperate search of a new normal around here right now.

Yesterday brought us signs that we are indeed moving forward and that there are new and exciting things to look forward to in the future. First of all Davids casting date was set. He will go back into the hospital (out patient only.....hopefully) on March 13th. They are going to put him out so that they can remove the cast-like splint, check the bone so far and then actually cast him in a real cast this time. He should be in the cast for about 3 weeks and hopefully by then we will have a leg that is ready for physical therapy. Since we learned of his soft bones, I have been shoving calcium into his body anyway I can get it there.....foods, vitamins and TUMS! Then I have to keep his system flushed with water because calcium can cause kidney stones. Not wanting to trade one issue for another, I am pouring into him about 72 oz of water a day. This results in as much "out put" if not more than goes in. This means changing him at least 10 times a day in order to keep his splint clean and dry. Sadly it is not as easy as it sounds and according to Z.....his splint is not smelling all that pretty these days. Luckily at this point.....all I can still smell is clorox and lysol! Glad the splint removal is close at hand.

Along with the news of splint removal yesterday, I also talked at length to my step son. Him and his wonderful fiance will be getting married on June 7th and they have asked Z to sing at their wedding. I can't tell you what a light at the end of the tunnel this felt like to me. It seems like a workable goal that we can actually achieve. Of course Z is very excited to be singing at his first wedding. The fact that it is his brothers just makes it all the more special. Hopefully by that time splints, casts and soft bones will all be in our rear view mirror and we will be full speed ahead on standing, walking and all the other stuff that goes with PT. I can only imagine warm temperatures, ease of movement (no EMS necessary) and seeing my bonus kids that I don't get to see all that often. Finally.....something to brighten the winter months! I think we can actually see the light!

So onward and upward we go. Today, now that I have a cast date and an approximate removal date, I can move forward and reschedule appointments for David that I have had to cancel due to all that has been going on. He has to see the eye specialist, hearing specialist, neurologist and pediatrician along with appointments to be tentatively made for the casting of new orthotics and another fight with the mobility people to see about getting him a more appropriate and better fitting wheel chair for his post casting needs. So you see...it takes a great deal to keep a David in good shape. Lucky for him.....he is worth it all!