If you haven't read the previous post, read it and you'll be up to date.
Today has been good- long but good. We started this morning at 6:45, so everyone got to sleep in! Brian's mom and aunt are here, so they got Olivia ready for school while Brian and I finished last minute necessities before taking Ian to the hospital. The morning went smoothly, and we made it on time, no problems. Check in went great, and we soon started making the rounds of consults- primary nurse, social worker, physical therapist, anesthesiologist, resident, x-ray, blood draw, molds for new splints, and finally the surgeon came in around 6:30 or so this evening. Ian did great during all the appointments except rehab and x-ray. By that time, he had pretty much had it, and was needing a break. We got through it though, and he quickly recovered before we moved on to the next thing.
Nanna and Helen brought Olivia up for dinner, and she had had a good day and was enjoying all the attention. She does great with change and just goes with the flow, which is about a necessity in this family! Tomorrow will probably be lots of shopping and maybe a trip to the library.
Back to Ian and his surgery. The overview of the surgery is in the last post. We have a few more details, which involves taking some bone from where they make the cut on his leg and inserting it into the top of the cup. I was under the impression they might be scraping the inside of the cup, but that isn't correct. They insert this bone, kind of reforming the cup and extending it and then stitch some cartilage (or tendons I always get those confused for some reason). They make sure the femur is good and secure in the cup, so that it can't slip out. That's what I understand to be the procedure. One thing we were hoping not to happen that is going to is he is going to have to have the spika cast- body cast. If you aren't familiar with it, it will come to the waist area and got to the tips of his toes on both legs with a bar in between. The other option was less restrictive, but we were not given the choice, which is probably best. Of course we'll manage, and I just don't think about it too much. My reaction when he gets out of surgery tomorrow may come flying out, but we'll deal with that when the time comes. Who knows, with Ian, he may be fine with it. I just don't think about putting myself in his shoes because I don't think I would do so well!
Anyway, the plan for tomorrow is meds will start at 6:00 am, wheel him up at 6:45, and surgery starts at 7:00. It should last about 3 1/2 hours. We will wait in the family room, and they will call us throughout to let us know how he's doing. He will be in intensive care about 24 hours with his own nurse and respiratory therapist in his room at all times. We will be allowed in during the day, but at night Brian (who is at home tonight) will stay upstairs in a guest room. Thursday night I will stay and be able to stay in his room with him. Looks like we'll leave Friday night or Sat morning- depending on how he's doing and how comfortable we are. One of the many great things about Shriners is they aren't in any hurry for you to go home. You can stay as long as you feel like you need to. When we are ready to leave, they will loan us a special harness for the car since of course Ian won't be able to sit. I don't know how it works, but with the cast, he'll be flat, so he'll be stretched across the seat. They will want him to stand at least one hour each day (in a stander) and be up and about (in a reclining wheelchair) as much as possible- which I guess means around the house and going for walks, because I can't imagine going too many places!! If he does as well this time as he did with the ankles, we'll be good in good shape. It is a lot more involved surgery, but we have no reason to think he won't be a trooper again.
It's after 10:00. Ian is sound asleep so I'm going to get ready for bed, and read my book for a little bit. They'll be in at midnight to check vitals and then again at 4:00 am, and then two hours later we'll be rocking and rolling!
Say your prayers, and we'll be back on here tomorrow with an update or two.
Leah
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Wow! It's Been a Long Time
Now, coming up to the end of September, and all is well with the Haynes household. We had a great summer, which flew by, and are looking forward to fall and dare I say the holiday season!
The kids are doing great. Ian did not go to summer school this year, so it was nice being able to sleep in and not having to be on a schedule. We swam about everyday and had a great time. It makes Brian and me very happy to see Ian totally relaxed and overjoyed to be in the water. We started him on some new medicine for his stomach in July and a gluten free diet in August. We also adjusted some other medicine he has been on, and the result seems to be a happier and more content boy. Walking has been a struggle the past several months, and in fact, because of his size and his unpredictability to walk, we began using a simple transport wheelchair when we're away from the house. But last night, for the first time in several months, we had him walk from the car to the church building. He did great- did not sit down a single time. He has also been taking a few steps by himself in the house. I am very hopeful that one of these days he will be walking on his own- or maybe just with a sighted guide. Now that I say all that, I have to mention that one little detour in his improvement is coming up in November. That is that he is having surgery on both hips Nov 4 here in Shreveport at Shriners. They will be breaking both legs (femurs) and inserting wedges, plates, and screws to reposition the bones. Once they go in, they will determine whether he must have a spika cast (one that goes from the waste to ankles with a bar in between ) or one that is less restrictive and made of metal and leather. Of course we are praying for the less restrictive cast. Second only to his safety and a successful surgery, I am most concerned about the cast situation. After 6 weeks with the cast on, we will return to the hospital for daily rehab for several weeks. This is typically in-patient, but since we live so close to the hospital, we are hoping we can do it out patient. So, it looks like we will have the cast until about the 16th of Dec.- off just in time for Christmas! I often here me telling myself that we can do anything for 5-6 weeks. . . and I know we can. This should keep Ian from having severe pain in the future and will hopefully help his walking. When the time gets closer I will probably be updating our blog regularly.
As for Olivia Kantika Jane Haynes, she is doing great. She also became quite a little swimmer and jumped off the diving board a couple of times. She talks constantly at home, but you would never know it when we are out and about. We can hardly get her to say "hi". We took her to her first football game the other night, and she really enjoyed that. I think what sold her were the peanuts, coke, and M&M's! We just returned from Washington DC a couple of weeks ago, and she was a great little traveler. We had to go to the Thai embassy to get her registered, so we spent a few days seeing as much in Wash. as we could. We had a great time. Ian stayed with my parents a few days and Brian's mom and aunt a few days. He did fine and stayed happy most of the time, I think. Olivia is in pre-school a couple days a week, and she loves it. It is the same place she attended mother's day out last year, so the transition was easy. She would like to be going every day I think, but I wanted to keep her home a little longer!
Brian and I are both doing fine. He has not had any overnight trips for several weeks because of a project he has been working on close to Shreveport; however, that has come to an end, and he is going back to Chicago for a couple of nights this week. We have enjoyed having him home all the time the last couple of months. The minute he walks in the door, Olivia asks him if he is ready to play games! Ian sometimes holds on to him and won't let him go!
My morning is getting away and I have 6 mums to plant so I need to get out there. We have had so much rain lately, the ground is really soft, so it shouldn't take long. I hope all is well with anyone who ever thinks to check our blog. We would love to hear from you- Leah
The kids are doing great. Ian did not go to summer school this year, so it was nice being able to sleep in and not having to be on a schedule. We swam about everyday and had a great time. It makes Brian and me very happy to see Ian totally relaxed and overjoyed to be in the water. We started him on some new medicine for his stomach in July and a gluten free diet in August. We also adjusted some other medicine he has been on, and the result seems to be a happier and more content boy. Walking has been a struggle the past several months, and in fact, because of his size and his unpredictability to walk, we began using a simple transport wheelchair when we're away from the house. But last night, for the first time in several months, we had him walk from the car to the church building. He did great- did not sit down a single time. He has also been taking a few steps by himself in the house. I am very hopeful that one of these days he will be walking on his own- or maybe just with a sighted guide. Now that I say all that, I have to mention that one little detour in his improvement is coming up in November. That is that he is having surgery on both hips Nov 4 here in Shreveport at Shriners. They will be breaking both legs (femurs) and inserting wedges, plates, and screws to reposition the bones. Once they go in, they will determine whether he must have a spika cast (one that goes from the waste to ankles with a bar in between ) or one that is less restrictive and made of metal and leather. Of course we are praying for the less restrictive cast. Second only to his safety and a successful surgery, I am most concerned about the cast situation. After 6 weeks with the cast on, we will return to the hospital for daily rehab for several weeks. This is typically in-patient, but since we live so close to the hospital, we are hoping we can do it out patient. So, it looks like we will have the cast until about the 16th of Dec.- off just in time for Christmas! I often here me telling myself that we can do anything for 5-6 weeks. . . and I know we can. This should keep Ian from having severe pain in the future and will hopefully help his walking. When the time gets closer I will probably be updating our blog regularly.
As for Olivia Kantika Jane Haynes, she is doing great. She also became quite a little swimmer and jumped off the diving board a couple of times. She talks constantly at home, but you would never know it when we are out and about. We can hardly get her to say "hi". We took her to her first football game the other night, and she really enjoyed that. I think what sold her were the peanuts, coke, and M&M's! We just returned from Washington DC a couple of weeks ago, and she was a great little traveler. We had to go to the Thai embassy to get her registered, so we spent a few days seeing as much in Wash. as we could. We had a great time. Ian stayed with my parents a few days and Brian's mom and aunt a few days. He did fine and stayed happy most of the time, I think. Olivia is in pre-school a couple days a week, and she loves it. It is the same place she attended mother's day out last year, so the transition was easy. She would like to be going every day I think, but I wanted to keep her home a little longer!
Brian and I are both doing fine. He has not had any overnight trips for several weeks because of a project he has been working on close to Shreveport; however, that has come to an end, and he is going back to Chicago for a couple of nights this week. We have enjoyed having him home all the time the last couple of months. The minute he walks in the door, Olivia asks him if he is ready to play games! Ian sometimes holds on to him and won't let him go!
My morning is getting away and I have 6 mums to plant so I need to get out there. We have had so much rain lately, the ground is really soft, so it shouldn't take long. I hope all is well with anyone who ever thinks to check our blog. We would love to hear from you- Leah
Monday, March 30, 2009
I Forgot. . . .
That last post was TODAY. I started it Feb 3rd, have forgotten how to get it changed to read March 30th, and don't have time to figure it out right now! Leah
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
No News Is Good News!
You wonder where I have been the last 5 months? We have been rocking along just fine here in Shreveport. One of my friends said she was still waiting to see if Ian had recovered from his surgery! After a couple of people recently asked me when I was going to return to my blog, I decided to take some time to give a little update, with the goal of doing it at least once a month, if not more.
For starters- Ian did recover from his surgery with flying colors! We just had a checkup at Shriners last week, and everything looked good. School continues to go well, and I'm starting to think about summer school. It's usually 1/2 day for about 6 weeks. We joined a gym in January so Ian can swim year around now. He really loves it, and it's his main form of exercise in the winter. He and Brian swim twice a week while I work out upstairs, and Olivia goes to child care or kid fit, which is her own workout class. It's been so good for Ian, and he LOVES the water. His overall development seems to be about the same, with maybe a little progress. The summer is so much better for us so that he can get some stimulation from outside- swinging on his tire swing, riding his tricycle, swinging on the proch swing, or just listening to the outdoor sounds around him. He starts his horse riding lessons next month, and he really likes that too.
Olivia is doing great. She is getting more social all the time, depending on the setting and who is vying for her attention. Women and kids continue to have the best luck, but she is getting a little less intimidated by men all the time. She loves church and school, and is often carried around by my friends and their kids. Her favorite thing is for her Baba (Daddy) to give her bubbles (gum)! It is the first thing she says when he walks in the door after work. I'm not sure exactly how she got started on bubbles, but I do know her Memi (my mom) was the first one she started going to for it. She also loves to cook! Santa brought her a kitchen, and she cooks rice in her kitchen every day. She also received a mixer, so when I make cookies, she wants to be in the real kitchen with me on the barstool using her mixer to mix her real sugar and flower. It's a test of patience for me! I have told many people about her treats for Santa, but I must include it here too, even though it was 3 months ago. I have had a Christmas plate and cup for years that say "Cookies for Santa" and "Milk for Santa". I decided to get those out this year, and let Olivia leave something for Santa to snack on. She insisted that he wanted rice and chocolate milk! One other thing she loves to do is watch movies. Every day she wants to watch a full scale movie. Although we have a few now and are getting more as gifts all the time, she continues to beg for Happy Feet. I have to admit it is my favorite too, but we have seen it enough times to last a life time!
Brian has been traveling quite a bit lately but thankfully he is planning to be home all this week. Although trucking has really been hit hard, there are some new projects coming along. It's great for business of course, but not so great for me! Luckily, we do have a couple of sitters who are wonderful and can come help me out when he's away. They have been lifesavers!
We just returned last night from visiting Brian's mom in Tahlequah. We finally wisened up and got a DVD player for the car. WOW, the return home was the best we've ever had!! Ian seems to enjoy watching (listening to) movies too. I even got to take a little nap myself!
Well, my free time is up in 15 minutes, when Ian gets off the bus, so I guess that's all I have time for right now. I will try to get some new pictures on tomorrow.
Hope everyone is well! Take care!
Leah
For starters- Ian did recover from his surgery with flying colors! We just had a checkup at Shriners last week, and everything looked good. School continues to go well, and I'm starting to think about summer school. It's usually 1/2 day for about 6 weeks. We joined a gym in January so Ian can swim year around now. He really loves it, and it's his main form of exercise in the winter. He and Brian swim twice a week while I work out upstairs, and Olivia goes to child care or kid fit, which is her own workout class. It's been so good for Ian, and he LOVES the water. His overall development seems to be about the same, with maybe a little progress. The summer is so much better for us so that he can get some stimulation from outside- swinging on his tire swing, riding his tricycle, swinging on the proch swing, or just listening to the outdoor sounds around him. He starts his horse riding lessons next month, and he really likes that too.
Olivia is doing great. She is getting more social all the time, depending on the setting and who is vying for her attention. Women and kids continue to have the best luck, but she is getting a little less intimidated by men all the time. She loves church and school, and is often carried around by my friends and their kids. Her favorite thing is for her Baba (Daddy) to give her bubbles (gum)! It is the first thing she says when he walks in the door after work. I'm not sure exactly how she got started on bubbles, but I do know her Memi (my mom) was the first one she started going to for it. She also loves to cook! Santa brought her a kitchen, and she cooks rice in her kitchen every day. She also received a mixer, so when I make cookies, she wants to be in the real kitchen with me on the barstool using her mixer to mix her real sugar and flower. It's a test of patience for me! I have told many people about her treats for Santa, but I must include it here too, even though it was 3 months ago. I have had a Christmas plate and cup for years that say "Cookies for Santa" and "Milk for Santa". I decided to get those out this year, and let Olivia leave something for Santa to snack on. She insisted that he wanted rice and chocolate milk! One other thing she loves to do is watch movies. Every day she wants to watch a full scale movie. Although we have a few now and are getting more as gifts all the time, she continues to beg for Happy Feet. I have to admit it is my favorite too, but we have seen it enough times to last a life time!
Brian has been traveling quite a bit lately but thankfully he is planning to be home all this week. Although trucking has really been hit hard, there are some new projects coming along. It's great for business of course, but not so great for me! Luckily, we do have a couple of sitters who are wonderful and can come help me out when he's away. They have been lifesavers!
We just returned last night from visiting Brian's mom in Tahlequah. We finally wisened up and got a DVD player for the car. WOW, the return home was the best we've ever had!! Ian seems to enjoy watching (listening to) movies too. I even got to take a little nap myself!
Well, my free time is up in 15 minutes, when Ian gets off the bus, so I guess that's all I have time for right now. I will try to get some new pictures on tomorrow.
Hope everyone is well! Take care!
Leah
Sunday, October 12, 2008
So Far So Good. . . .
Ian is doing great! So far, things have gone really well. He is pretty content during the day and isn't even on pain medicine except for at night, which is partly for him and partly for us so we can all sleep! Brian's mom and aunt left Thursday morning after taking Olivia to school, and we checked out of the hospital that afternoon. My parents arrived late Thursday night. I think the biggest challenge right now is maneuvering Ian from one place to the other and dealing with his weight, it being awkward, and trying to keep his legs elevated. Plus, we're going to be bound to the house for who knows how long. Yikes!! I'm afraid the days are going to get a little long. If he can go to school next week, that would make the next few weeks seem a lot less daunting. We'll see how it goes though. His appointment to remove the casts is November 13th, so we'll be marking each day off the calendar for sure!
Oliva has had a great time with her grandparents and great aunt, so that's been a lifesaver! My parents haven't made a definite plan as to when they'll go home, but they will definitely be here until Tuesday. Also, Brian is going out of town Monday (tomorrow) but he'll be back Tuesday. Several people from church have offered to help out, and that is also a comfort.
I better go check on Ian. He enjoys being outside, so he's out on a lounger next to his Pops. He also got to go out in the wagon today. Hopefully the weather will stay nice this week, although we could sure use some rain.
Hope everybody has a good week! We're praying for one too!
Leah
Oliva has had a great time with her grandparents and great aunt, so that's been a lifesaver! My parents haven't made a definite plan as to when they'll go home, but they will definitely be here until Tuesday. Also, Brian is going out of town Monday (tomorrow) but he'll be back Tuesday. Several people from church have offered to help out, and that is also a comfort.
I better go check on Ian. He enjoys being outside, so he's out on a lounger next to his Pops. He also got to go out in the wagon today. Hopefully the weather will stay nice this week, although we could sure use some rain.
Hope everybody has a good week! We're praying for one too!
Leah
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Drink Ian Drink!
Ian seems to be feeling fairly well today. He's still on all his pain medicine, but we aren't giving him an extra jolt of it as often as we were, so that's good. The main problem we're having is that he won't eat or drink. They cut back the fluids coming through his IV in the hopes that he will start to get thirsty. They also gave him something for nausea in case that's the problem. Hopefully, he will at least start to drink this afternoon. When he does that, they can get rid of the IV, and he can start taking his meds by mouth. So, that's where we are. Brian stayed the night last night, and it went pretty well. He went home to sleep for a couple of hours when I arrived this morning at 6:30, and came back later. We had lunch and are just waiting for Ian to "get thirsty". It's still too early to guess when we will be able to go home. I'm hoping for tomorrow, but it's looking more like Friday.
Olivia is on the shopping trail again today- maybe looking for something to wear in her school picture tomorrow. Brian's mom and aunt leave tomorrow, and my parents should arrive here late tomorrow night.
Will post again when we start eating and drinking.
Leah
Olivia is on the shopping trail again today- maybe looking for something to wear in her school picture tomorrow. Brian's mom and aunt leave tomorrow, and my parents should arrive here late tomorrow night.
Will post again when we start eating and drinking.
Leah
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Out of Surgery
All has gone well so far today. I stayed the night last night, and things started getting underway about 5:30 this morning. Brian got here about 6:15. The only hiccup was when Ian wouldn't take his morning meds. He fought it all the way, but we ended up getting about half of it down. Apparently it was enough to get him calm and relaxed so that putting in the IV was not too bad. They had some difficulty getting it in but not because he was uncooperative. He did great.
They took him for surgery around 8:00, and he just arrived back in our room a few minutes ago. (It's 11:05.) They put three screws and a plate in each foot. These will be permanent unless there is a problem with them later on down the road. Of course he has the casts on but is still completely out of it. He has plenty of constant pain medication and has a pump if he seems to need additional relief. He awakened only a second or two and then went back to sleep. Anyway, all is going well, and we'll just wait and see as the day goes along. Hopefully he won't be too terribly agitated when he wakes up. So far so good!
Olivia has been having a great time shopping with her grandmother and great aunt. They came up last night for dinner, and then returned home about bedtime. Today is school for her, but they had so much fun shopping yesterday, I think they're back out shopping again instead. They'll probably come again after her nap. She has done great!
Brian is staying the night tonight, which will definitely be a tougher night than last. We still assume we'll be here until Thursday. The'll keep monitoring him, probably try to get him on his feet at some point, and rewrap his legs in a day or two- after the risk of swelling has lessened.
I think that's it. I better get back in there.
Leah
They took him for surgery around 8:00, and he just arrived back in our room a few minutes ago. (It's 11:05.) They put three screws and a plate in each foot. These will be permanent unless there is a problem with them later on down the road. Of course he has the casts on but is still completely out of it. He has plenty of constant pain medication and has a pump if he seems to need additional relief. He awakened only a second or two and then went back to sleep. Anyway, all is going well, and we'll just wait and see as the day goes along. Hopefully he won't be too terribly agitated when he wakes up. So far so good!
Olivia has been having a great time shopping with her grandmother and great aunt. They came up last night for dinner, and then returned home about bedtime. Today is school for her, but they had so much fun shopping yesterday, I think they're back out shopping again instead. They'll probably come again after her nap. She has done great!
Brian is staying the night tonight, which will definitely be a tougher night than last. We still assume we'll be here until Thursday. The'll keep monitoring him, probably try to get him on his feet at some point, and rewrap his legs in a day or two- after the risk of swelling has lessened.
I think that's it. I better get back in there.
Leah
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