September 2013

We went on one more razor ride in September with Grama and Grampa Gause. We have some really cute pictures of Jax riding with his grandparents but I think they are on Justin's phone... I'll have to get them and update soon.

 Justin went with his Dad to do electrical work in New York for 5 days. So me and the kids just hung out--i don't think I made dinner even once while he was gone...:) 

 We played and we ate out a little bit which was kinda treat. Below are the kids thinking i'm pretty cool for taking them to get sandwiches. :)

 AND THEN...

Rod went down the slide with Justin while we were at the park for family night. And Rod's leg got stuck and BROKE!!
And of course, as these things do, it happened at night--which is After Hours Clinic or ER, and we don't have insurance. So After Hours it was--which almost turned into ER as well but the doctor took pitty on us and just put the splint on in his office at 10:30 at night. He was really nice. So we were expecting a pretty large bill from it all. But it was okay because it's still cheaper than the premiums we would have to pay if we did have insurance.

 It looked like this. It was very, very sad.

So the plan was to have the splint on for 4 days and then get a full cast (toe to thigh) on Friday.

Those 4 days were seriously, the WORST 4 consecutive days I can remember that dealt with one child. He was in SOOO much pain. We had him on Tylenol and Ibuprofen every 4 hours and still he would shake, and shutter and squint his eyes closed and moan...and he is a very tough kid. He couldn't sleep and he couldn't get comfortable--I couldn't sleep, it was horrible.

 I called the doctors office a few times--once at like 4 in the morning, telling them "He is in SO much pain, are you sure it's okay?" and they would just say "He DID break his leg...blah blah blah" And I just couldn't believe it was normally so painful, I even asked the nurse if I could bring him in to see if his hips were broken as well, because I knew there had to be something they missed--there had to be a reason why he was in so much pain. They finally prescribed some Loritab for him. Which helped only slightly, but wired him and did NOT help him sleep. I just didn't know what to do about it, I just knew something had to be wrong, I just didn't know what--or what to have them check. It all felt so out of my control, and in the end, we made it to Friday.

 

 So Friday morning I'm very excited to finally get that STUPID splint off, and get a more stable cast so that he would hopefully feel more comfortable and eventually be able to walk with his cast on. 

We go to the doctors and the doctor takes off Rod's splint and kind of gasps. Because this is what was under his splint! They are called Pressure Ulcers.

I was HORRIFIED. And felt SOOO GUILTY.
THAT was why Rod was in SO much pain, why he would shutter and shake and whimper, suddenly everything made sense, oh the guilt...I almost lost it.

The doctor, bless his heart, was as horrified as I was. I could tell he felt really bad, I think he knew I had called in at least twice complaining of Rodrick's pain level, because he was the one that wrote the prescription. But he said this kind of thing never happens. He was very shocked.

The one on his heel was the deeper and more severe wound. The doctor got me in to see the wound specialists at the hospital, and sent us to get another x-ray to make sure he didn't miss anything else. He was very nice and is very graciously covering the entire cost of all of this. Which is a huge blessing, tragic happening, but still a big blessing. 

As a result of the those darn wounds they could only cast to Rod's ankle. This means that Rod can not put any standing pressure on that food/let. This has been a HUGE pain for me and for Rod. He needs to be carried EVERYWHERE. It's been 5 weeks, almost, and he has gotten REALLY good at scooting on his bum quite quickly. But that also puts pressure on his heel wound, which is not helping it heal faster. 

A few things have happened to Rod because of all this, one I find really interesting. He can just sit, and play, with 1 toy, and be very content for quite a while. He did not used to be able to do that...His current disablility has really made him very easy to watch, because he doesn't really move and he is a LOT more content just playing in one spot with one thing, because that is his life, and he has accepted it. It's amazing to see how he has totally adapted.

He has also become SUCH a momma's boy. Like even more than before. I think he kind of felt like his life spiraled out of control and I was the constant, so he really is clingy now, even more than before--which is really saying something...:)

This is what the wounds looked like at like 3 weeks (we are almost 5 weeks now) :

They are gross-and they are taking forever to heal.
 The wounds do look like they are getting better--I just can't believe how slowly they are healing. And the specialists say that they children's wounds heal WAY faster than older adults. Thank heaven.

And Jax finished his soccer season...My children are so beautiful.:)