handsful

We left the house this morning at 7:15, arriving at our appt. at Shriners in Greenville, SC right on time.  We saw the child life specialist, nurses, anesthesiologist, surgeons, pain management specialist, and prosthetist.  Everyone was SO nice and welcoming, we feel very well taken care of here.  He received a stuffed dog at admission, his choice of Build-a-Bear (he chose the guy dressed up to go fishing…Ethan, you’ll love it), and then received another bear at the R McD house later on!

Some points of interest:

The surgeon said he would call Dylan’s deformity either a tibial deficiency or transverse deficiency.

He won’t have to cut through bone (GOOD news!), but will cut through the (fixed) joint instead.  Much easier, less pain, faster healing.

His surgery is scheduled for 10:45am and should take about 1 1/2hrs.  They expect he’ll only be in the hosp for 1 night.

They will give him a caudal block, which is similar to a spinal block – this will numb him completely from the belly down.  It’s given by injection at the sacral gap above his bottom.  This will last for 8 hours after surgery, which they say will help reduce the risk of phantom limb pain.  They will give him this when he’s already asleep.

He will come out of surgery already casted (his short leg completely incased in the cast), which will stay on for about 3-4 weeks.

After the cast is removed, he’ll be in a pressure sock (to help bring down any residual swelling) for another 2 weeks.

After that, work can begin on making his prosthetic leg!!

After his pre-op, we drove around downtown Greenville and were surprised to see how nice it is.  We parked and walked around, had lunch, and did a little shopping.  We then checked in at the R McD house, where we were given a tour and shown our room.  It’s actually a suite, with a living area, bath, and bedroom.

playroom…he’s loving the train table.

This place is wonderful, I can’t say enough about it.  Volunteers in the community bring a homemade dinner every night.  Tonight’s meal was provided by a baptist church, and we had mac n’ cheese, chicken patties, rolls, potato salad, sweet tea…all very good!  There is a huge pantry of food that we’re free to use, a great playroom and outdoor playset, big family room downstairs with TV (which, Randy is watching the b-ball playoffs right now), etc.  We’ve met some nice people staying here…one young man having surgery tomorrow right before Dylan’s and 2 families with pre-mature babies at the hospital beside Shriners.

Walking UP the slide.  There’s just nothing he can’t do.

he’s hopping so well lately!

daddy and Dylan slide races.

After dinner, we headed back out downtown for ice cream, then back to the room for Dylan’s bath (last one for 3-4 weeks!), and then it was off to bed for him.  He’s been asking all day to “go home”…I think he senses this is different and I expect him to be a little scared tomorrow.  We’ve talked about him going to the hospital, going night-night while they “fix” his leg, and then having a cast like last time.  (benefit of him breaking his leg in January is that body casts are BTDT for him…God does work in mysterious ways)   He asked for his new leg a few times today, and we keep trying to explain to him that other things have to happen first and THEN he’ll get his leg.  How do you explain time to a 3 year old?

Clean boy!

See you tomorrow with another update on our sweet guy.

Hollyn came to see us today.  She gave Dylan a glimpse into his future.  Almost 3 years ago, she went through the same surgery that Dylan faces on Tuesday.  She showed Dylan her short leg, and her prosthetic.  His eyes widened when he saw her leg was like his.

We met Hollyn’s family soon after we moved here.  We were amazed that God would provide this family for us!  Plus, her older sister and Abbey are great friends.  Sandi told us that Hollyn was very excited to have a playmate to have hopping races with.  So…

She kicked off her leg, and they hopped!

We leave tomorrow morning for Shriners.  I’ll be updating the blog while we’re there.  Lots of emotions right now…but, I’m trusting that God will hold Dylan and the rest of us closely during this time!

What?

You didn’t expect a photo of Ethan smashing a toilet with a hammer?  I guess you’ve never been to Gram’s for Easter.  All kids love a little demolition duty.

Randy had to get a swing in, too.

I had to include this shot….Randy’s brother on the throne, with his sweet son about to clock him on the head with a hammer.  Sweet.

Getting ready for the actual Easter egg hunt, Pa-Paul decided he needed a little practice for 4th of July.  We were all getting a tad bit confused.

Time for the hunt!  Dylan’s first.

Lainey was going so fast, all her pictures are blurry!

Dylan, feeling triumphant after a successful hunt.

The big kids (who hide all the eggs for the younger kids) work together to figure out clues that lead them to their BIG eggs full of treats.

Tony and Randy…doing what they do.  Making each other laugh.

Great shot.

The crew, minus 1.  We missed having Caleb here this year, but he wasn’t able to get away from college this time.

For the record, Abbey had on cowboy boots with heels.  Just sayin’

Time to open the eggs.  Gram has each egg coded with a sticker, one for his grandkid.  So, each child gets the same number of eggs.  I can’t imagine how long it must take to do ALL those eggs.

Skip forward to today…on our way to church.  Jesus is risen!!

Gram came home with us, so we can take Dylan to Shriners in SC for his surgery…she’ll stay home with the other 5.  What a blessing that is!

Easter carnival at a local horse ranch = horse rides!  Or, as Dylan says “poursie” rides.

They asked for days before, “how many night-nights till we ride horsies?”

they couldn’t stop smiling.

I guess we have more horse lovers in the family.

our knight on a white horse :)

A happy day for our littles!

Yesterday, we spent the day in the woods.  It was a fabulous day for it, partly sunny and around 75 degrees.

I’d been organizing this trip for weeks, and all the work was so worth it.  Our big kids – along with a few kids from our local homeschool group – set off for the Outdoor Education Center, run by our parks and rec.

They started with a few ice breaker games, like bandana tag and a name game.

It was serious business, trying to snatch those bandanas.

Next came learning to trust each other with “trust leans”.  They learned the terminology they would later use with the more advanced activities.

Problem solving with team work.  How to get all the kids up on to this rocking platform without the sides touching the ground.  Abbey has no problems letting her opinions be known.

It took them two tries, but they got it.  And, were very pleased with their team work!

Yes, I had the littles with me the whole 4 hours.  They did great, watching the big kids and exploring the various plant and wildlife.  It helped a lot that one other mom stayed with us, Lainey and Dylan just loved Shyla.

Time to get serious, and suit up for the fun stuff.  The 4 guides we had were fantastic, always emphasizing safety.  Each child had to have 3 separate equipment checks before they were cleared.

everyone in the vicinity had to wear head gear…don’t they look cute?  I had to helmet-up, too.  I looked goooood.

The kids rotated between two activities – zip line and centipede.  The centipede was a series of boards put together like a ladder…but, it moved all over the place.  The boards had foot holds on them.  They were also hooked to ropes while doing this, and then belayed down.  All 4 kids made it all the way to the top, no problem.  This is Abbey.

Payton, making me think he’s scared.  He wasn’t.

Ethan

and, Marley

Lainey, finding another use for the hard hat.

Dylan, finding another way to look cute.

Time to zip…Ethan was quite nonchalant about the whole thing.

Whereas, Payton struck a pose.

Abbey has perfect zip-line form.

Marley smiled for the camera.

It was a wonderful day in the woods.

I just couldn’t stand it any longer.

We will have been in this rental home for a year next month.  We’ve been good, and hadn’t put a single nail hole in the wall.

Until today.

I decided it was time for a change.  ANYTHING would be better than the blank walls I’ve been staring at.

My first thing…

I admit, I stole this idea from my hair stylist.  She had canvas’ spray painted with chalkboard paint in her shop, with funky and inspirational messages on them.  She said she changes them often, on a whim, when something interesting occurs to her.  So, I made my own.  And, my first message sets the tone for the new board.  It’s MINE.  :)

Other canvas’ are being worked on now, too.  One that all the kids will have their brushes on, and another that involves all of their HANDS.  Easy to guess, huh?

This one isn’t so artsy, but I decided I wanted the kids to have something more than magnetic letters to play with on the fridge.  So, I bought some magnet sheets and cut them into different size strips, bits, and half circles.  They all love them, even the big kids.

I like seeing what they come up with!  Lainey has discovered that she can make a few letters and even numbers.

No pictures, but we also have 5 caterpillars eating and growing in a little cup…soon, they’ll cocoon and we’ll put them in our butterfly tent.  We’ve done this many times with the big kids, but I’m especially excited to see the littles experience it for the first time.

We don’t know how much longer we’ll be here – I am quite anxious to be in our own home.  But, all in God’s timing.  Until then, we’ll make it as much our own as we can.

our resident duck whisperer strikes again.