Pre-op #3!

Okay, so I am officially the WORST at updating in time on here. I know that I said last time that it was hectic which it was but this month was VERY hectic.

We just got back from the beach last Saturday and Camden fell IN LOVE with it! He loved the water and the sand. We got his cast cut off right before we left so he was free for a little longer that we expected. It was all worth it though. We have been crazy busy ever since we got back from the beach so I haven't had time to sit down and type.

We had Camden's 3rd pre-op on Wednesday July 17th. Things went pretty quickly once again.
Dr. Pete's new assistant came in and saw Camden this time. We had never met her before, she was so sweet and loved Camden.
She rubbed her fingers up his back and said "Dr. Pete may want to take an x-ray today". I thought this was very weird because at the beginning Dr. Pete told us he wouldn't take an x-ray for a whole year. Dr. Pete came in and examined Camden without clothes on. There is a noticeable hump in Camden's back so he told us that he would not x-ray until there was no visible sign of scoliosis in Camden's back and as soon as that hump is gone it will be x-ray time. Camden is growing very rapidly and things are going very well.
As soon as we got done with Camden's pre-op we went shopping for his 1st birthday party. No, I can't believe he is almost a year old already. It feels like just yesterday we were in the hospital getting ready to have him.
This was a short and sweet pre-op also, which was good because we had the rest of the day. We just had to be up at 5:00 the next morning and be at the hospital for cast #3 at 6:00!
(I will get a picture as soon as possible)
 

Quick Little Update

Where in the world do I even begin?

Camden has done absolutely wonderful with this cast, just like he did the last one. At the beginning as you can all imagine it was the most difficult thing I ever had to hear in my entire life. I mean seriously who wants to watch their baby go through something this major? No one.

 

Some people don't realize how major Progressive Infantile Scoliosis really is. I have had a few people just roll there eyes and others that want to know things, who ask questions about it and want to know more.

Like I've said in the past Camden is put under general anesthesia for EVERY SINGLE CAST. That is probably the hardest part to this entire process. It's nerve racking also because you never know what you child is going to act like when waking up from that anesthesia. The 2 cast that we've already been through have been heart breaking to me. I can't take it at all.

We can't give Camden a bath, nor can we just take him up the street to the pool and swim with him because his cast CAN'T get wet, and we can't just take it off give him a quick back and throw it back on, the cast doesn't come off until we are getting ready to head to Greenville SC for another one. Some people just don't understand how heart breaking it can really be behind the scenes. Although Camden is happy 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I may not always be, there have been times where I can't take it anymore but I have to trust in the Lord to give me the strength I need to overcome this for Camden.

 

On a positive note, we are going to the beach here in a few weeks, and guess who gets to go swim, put his toes and his bottom in the sand, yep! Camden!

We are taking him to a local orthopedist to remove the cast with a cast cutter and he will be cast free for about 7 days, and then we will head back to Shriner's the day after we get back from the beach to have cast #3 put on. I can only hope and pray that this goes as good as I would like for it to go. I know that's a little ways away but it haunts me. I can only hope for the best with cast #3.

Other than those things, Camden is doing awesome and he is the HAPPIEST & CUTEST baby alive!!!! :)
Happy Mommy!!!!

Camden got his first hair cut a few weeks ago. Poor kid, he's only 9 months and has already had his hair cut.

 

 

He also decided he would scoot on over to the wipes and take them all out of the box :)



Little man gets cast number 2!!

Well as all of you know Camden got to go 2 days without his cast, which was VERY weird for me and him also. He was like a little noodle rolling around everywhere and doing the things he couldn't do before.

We drove up to Shriner's Greenville on Wednesday morning because Camden has a pre-op appointment every single time we go for a cast the day before. Just so they can check to make sure his vitals are okay and everything is set and stone ready to go.

We arrived at Shriner's at about 12:00 his appointment wasn't until 12:30 so we had just a little time to spare, we got checked in and walking through the door was Jennifer and Jackson and his family!! We were so excited to finally meet Jackson since he and his family had been coming here for the past 2 years. Jackson is the little boy I have previously talked about and put a picture of his little cast so that everyone would know what Camden's would look similar to. They are by far some of the sweetest people I have ever met in my life. They were so amazing and just so generous. I couldn't have asked God to put a better Casting family in my life but them. They also received the best news as a cast family they were told Jackson's cast #9 was his LAST CAST!! He was fitted for a brace and he is CAST FREE!! No one will ever understand that excitement unless you are going through the same thing!

Pre-op went by REALLY fast that day. No problems, and everything was healthy with Camden. We were in and out in about an hour.

So of course after that my mom, grandma, Camden and me go shopping! Bought Camden some things and me some things also.

This time we stayed in a hotel since there were more of us. Camden couldn't eat after 12 AM so I tried waiting as late as possible to feed him that night.

We woke up the next morning about 4:30, and he did GREAT especially with no food in his belly he was fine. We were able to give him some pedialyte up until we left the hotel but nothing after that since they put him under general anesthesia.

His surgery was scheduled for 6:00 so we had to be there right at 6 to get checked in and go up to check in with the nurses. My dad and Paul met us there so that I didn't have to go through this emotionally I wanted Paul to be by my side every step of the way, which he has been! Thank God!
We got Camden upstairs and back with the nurses. It was time for them to take his to OR so they could get to work. I of course cried, once again but who wouldn't when it's your 8 month old baby. Dr. Pete only took about 45 minutes on Camden because he so tiny the plaster isn't that much to work with.
He got done with him about 8:30, came and talked to us and said Camden did GREAT, his back is at ZERO degrees in this cast, his bones just have to grow that way.   
But we didn't get to see him til about 9:15.
They had his room ready and we were able to sit and wait..

The nurse finally brought him in and he was HYSTERICAL. He did not know what was going on or anything. I gave him some pedialyte and his of course spit that up so that was stressful for me. He wouldn't calm down and I couldn't take much more so Paul had to take over and calm him down. We got the plaster dried, and it was ready to be adjusted. Camden didn't just lay there this time he rolled and whined and did not want her to touch him. She finally got done, wrapped it up again in camo, of course and we were off to the build a bear room where we got to pick out a different outfit for his bear that we got the previous time.
By this time he had a few ounces of his bottle and he was almost ready to be released to go home.
The nurse came in, look the IV out, I changed his diaper, put his clothes on him and we were headed out the door.
This is one thing that I NEVER look forward to, EVER. I hate seeing my baby the way he was on that day and no one deserves to see that.

Here are some pictures from Camden's second cast...

After we took Camden's cast off. You can already tell such a difference.

Right after he wokw up..

 

This mommy couldn't handle the tears so daddy had to take over while I held Mickey Mouse Clubhouse...

 

 Sweet baby was getting his cast dry under the blanket..

 



Finally!!

Hey guys!!! It's been WAY to long since I've updated this because it's been so hectic and crazy around here. But I'm FINALLY getting around to it.

After 6 weeks, we are already going back tomorrow for pre-op #2!! Time sure does fly when your having fun. I still cannot believe that it is already that time again!! This time, this mommy is prepared and ready to take on what is to come although I may say that now and get to Shriner's and have another opinion. LOL

The past 6 weeks have been memorable! I will definitely miss the first cast because of course it's got memories behind it. But tonight was the first night in 6 weeks I actually got to hold Camden with NO CAST at all. We were going to wait and get the doctor to take it off especially since it was the first time for us and all. But of course Paul got a wild hair and decided he wanted to cut it off of him. Well.. it didn't work out how I really wanted it to but we did get it off of him and that's all that matters.

It feels so weird to hold him without it, and to see him so all of his activities without it on. He's like a worm but he's so happy and in such an awesome mood now.

I gave him his first bath and he LOVED it, absolutely LOVED it. He splashed and splashed until it was time to get out. It was so amazing seeing him actually get to enjoy bath time while he can.

Like I said in the beginning I know I have been very slack about updating this but our lives get so crazy everyday that it's so hard to sit down for 5 minutes and type something up when I would love to go into detail about EVERYTHING. The past 6 weeks have been awesome with his cast, he has coped very well to it and so have we.

We lay him on the kitchen counter every other night to wash all of his hair and stick his feet in the sink to wash those too. We have a routine and he has stuck with it.

But tonight I really don't have much to update except that the cast is off for a day then we will have it back on Thursday morning and of course I will give an update tomorrow and Thursday on how everything goes!!

Now I'm going to enjoy my baby without his cast :)

Goodnight!!!

Better Late Than Never

I have been meaning to get on here since Saturday to post something but it's been so hectic around here it's been hard. All we have done is hang out with Camden this week and also trying to get into a routine with this cast. Bathing is more difficult and you pretty much have to wrestle him to change his diaper. Also, just a wipe down is hard since he's into EVERYTHING. So it's been an adjustment but we've coped and so has Camden.

Our first night home with this cast was uhmm.. AWESOME! Yes, I said AWESOME!

Although he was a little fussy at times he was just getting in the groove.

We went to dinner that night with my husband's cousin, Camden sat in the highchair at the restaurant and let all of us eat while he played his smack the table game. HA HA!

We had some storms that night, and I DON'T sleep through storms so of course we were all up. Camden fell asleep about 11:00P.M and of course the first night in the cast the power goes out, so there is no AC, I freak out because I don't want him getting hot. But thankfully the power was back on in about an hour and little man slept until 10:00A.M. And again, YES, I said 10:00A.M. I was floored. Although he did wake up a few times in the night trying to get settled and comfortable and I tried helping him a few times but he was so good.

Friday was a bad day for me, I was alone with him for the first time since this, so I was a tad bit nervous but I'm his mommy so I had to be strong for him.

Our t.v. was out all day long so I thought I was going to go INSANE! Camden wouldn't let me leave his side, or get anything done so mainly my Friday was getting all the love I could from my sweet baby because I knew that it wouldn't last long after he got used to the cast. So we pretty much laid around all day and I got a little laundry done, and we took a nap which I ENJOYED very much!

 Over the weekend he was a tad fussy but nothing that we couldn't handle or calm him down over. Other than that he has been great! He's learning how to sit on his bottom like a big boy again, he already rolls back and forth and back and forth, and jumps in his jumparoo like he used to before!

 We even went to the grocery store and he sat in the buggy like a big boy and didn't whine the entire time!

Oh and you can't even tell the kid has his cast on, buuuut he does!--

so here's to a HAPPY MOMMY!

This child is so unbelievable to me and just so happy all the time!

 Although I know that some days will be harder than others for all of us, I have to remember that he is getting better one day at a time.

I feel so blessed to have everything God has given me these days. I am thankful for Infantile Scoliosis for my baby, and not something permanent because like I've said before I pray for those mommies who have to cope with the permanent things every single day, it breaks my heart to even think about what they are going through but just remember God never gives you anything that you can't handle and now I believe that. When Camden was diagnosed I was in denial, I prayed and prayed ALL THE TIME that God would change this and that I knew then that I couldn't handle something likes this.

Every single time I thought about "Casting" and all of the things that came along with it I would just break down. It was so hard! But now, I could talk to you about it all day everyday and not even shed a tear.

I am so thankful for Heather Hyatt Montoya (creator of Infantile Scoliosis Outreach Program) because if we didn't have her, I wouldn't get the chance to get to know all the mommy's that are going through this too.

I am so overwhelmed with joy in knowing that I will be able to help other mom's too(which I've already done for one) and reaching out to talk to people, get to know parents and children that are having bad experiences like we did, or ones that need my opinion on doctors, or the hospital's(if I am familiar with them). I actually got to answer my 2nd e-mail today from a mom who needs more information about Infantile Scoliosis. I could sit here and type all night long but I know you guys would probably get bored of my stories but I will be updating again soon when something else interesting happens or I have something on my mind that I would LOVE to share!

Goodnight!

Happy Baby+Happy Life in his cast= ONE HAPPY MOMMY :)



Cast Day #1

So many emotions going through me right now. I don't really know what to think about this new "thing" we brought home with us. Today definitely took an emotional toll on me. But he did absolutely amazing!

Of course, he NEVER wakes up in the middle of the night and last night was that one night that he just had to wake up when he couldn't eat after 3:00AM, now I know that I will just have to feed him in the middle of the night when this happens from now on.

We had to be at the hospital at 6:00AM so we were up and going at 5:00AM so we are exhausted now but we are still going. Nothing really hit me until the nurse came and took him away to take him back that was around 7:30AM, and I couldn't hold the tears back any longer. It was so upsetting seeing him go to the back without me.

We went back down to the 2nd floor and went into the waiting room where my mom,dad and grandma were waiting on us to report how he was. You would have thought we were chopping his leg off because he was so hungry and I hated not being able to feed him.

This is right before they took Camden back. They put these little shirts on him to protect his skin from the hard plaster that they will place around him.

 Mommy and Camden right before the nurse came

 

 

 

 We were starving so we went to grab some breakfast in the cafeteria which wasn't bad for hospital food. Around 8:30 right after we got finished they called us up so that Dr. Pete could meet with us and talk to us about how everything went. He said Camden is great! That he was fine and they were trying to wake him up to drink some Pedialyte. We got put into a room so that he could eat some food, get his cast cut around the edges and dry his cast completely since it is plaster. I couldn't wait to see him so I was pacing the door, and heard him down the hall, snubbing. He was not a happy camper since he hadn't eaten and all these strange women that he didn't know were carrying him around.

We got inside the room and started the drying process of the plaster. This is like a HUGE blow dryer to stick underneath a blanket so that the plaster can completely dry up.

The one thing that I didn't want to happen, happened. He threw up and I HATE seeing my baby throw up. But it was all clear so he didn't throw up any formula that I had given him, which was a plus. But he did great other than that, just looked around at everyone and around the room to check it out.

Mommy holding Camden for the drying process.

After the plaster was dry a new nurse came in to trim the edges off and complete the cast.

He was pretty good throughout this. He looked around and stared at her as she cut and adjusted his cast. Then we were able to decorate it with whatever color we wanted. Well we had some camo flex tape since daddy is a hunter so as of right now he has a camo cast which is too stinking adorable. They had also asked if we had picked out a build-a-bear for Camden, although Camden doesn't really know the difference right now we went to pick his bear out with a cute little football outfit, which we will be able to change every single time we go back!

Trimming up his cast.

 His new little camo cast!

 

After all these things were done we were finally able to get ready to go home! He had kept down all 6 ounces that he ate, and he was back to his smiley self. He would get a little cranky at times but he was so sleepy from all the events that went on today, we got 5 minutes down the road and he was out, and slept all 2 hours we were on the road and this mommy even got a little nap in too! 

 

He has been absolutely awesome since we walked in the door at home and I can only pray that every time we go back it gets better and better. All of the nurses that helped us, and my Camden man were AMAZING and of course as Jennifer(Jackson's mom) would say, Dr. Stasikelis is IMPECCABLE! No words can truly describe that man.

I felt like I had been going back and forth for 6 years, I felt like family there and that's how it should be. They are all so welcoming, comforting and warming. I would definitely recommend them to anyone and everyone that needed the help they provide.

 

 

 

 



Pre-Op #1

Today brought A LOT. Most of it, I expected so nothing came as a surprise to me.

Camden is getting to that age where he has to be into everything and he has to start discovering new things so he was a little wild today.

We left our house about 10:00AM and arrived at Shriner's Greenville, South Carolina about 12:15PM. The closer and closer we got the more and more my stomach started to get knots. There is absolutely NOTHING that could have prepared me for this day or tomorrow. After we arrived at Shriner's, got checked in, and immediately got Camden weighed and measured. We were put in a small check-up room where we would wait on all of the involved doctor's for tomorrow would visit us.

 

Dr. Pete's nurse came in and of course they always have 100 questions for you so we spent some time answering those. She also told us that Camden's procedure would be at 6:00AM and that was the time to be at the hospital to get checked in.

 After that she sent the anesthesiologist in to ask more questions and walk us through what would go on during the morning. They will take him back to the operating room without us, he would get a mask with gas to help him go to sleep(so not shots that's a plus). Although he will get an IV for other things(but that's while he's asleep). He should be back there for about an hour, or less then will start waking up and we will be able to go back and see him then.

After Camden has his cast on we will be taken back to a cast drying room where we will dry the plaster so that then we can decorate it with tape or whatever else we have.

We also had a visit from Dr. Pete who talked to us about the steps as to what he will be doing tomorrow and how he will do everything, he makes it sound so simple because he is the only doctor in the NATION to do casting and make the spine completely straight again. He told us that it was probably a good thing that we weren't in the operating room when he was doing this because we would probably pass out. Even though there is NO INVASIVE surgery involved and it's all outside the body he still has to use the body by pushing, and tugging so it would be a hard process to watch, he really had nothing more to say except to answer our questions that we had for him, which weren't many.

 

After the pre-op today I have taken advantage of every moment I had to hold, hug and squeeze my Camden. Surprisingly today there were no tears shed, although tonight when I was feeding him before he went to bed I just stared at him and balled. Knowing that will be his last real bath for a while and that it's a sponge bath from now until who knows when, that it will be the last time I can squeeze him tight for a while, or knowing that he is so comfortable now without his cast. It breaks my heart to so many pieces I can't even think about it.

When we were released from Shriner's we did a little shopping for Camden since it's 80 degrees outside and he needs some bigger clothes to cover his cast too, and just a little for my husband and I. We ate at this AMAZING restaurant in downtown then came back to the Ronald McDonald house where we will stay for the night.

 

Tonight is so bittersweet with my baby, he is sleeping so soundly right now and I can only hope that tomorrow night after he get his cast that he will be just as comfortable and sleep just as soundly. I need to prepare myself for the fact that a diaper change will be just a little harder after tomorrow, and cleaning up spit up or throw up is going to be a little more difficult, that rolling over will be harder, or that crawling is going to take a lot more work than before. The nurses keep telling me that they are SO surprised at how comfortable children get in their cast, so quickly. I can only hope and pray that Camden will be that child.

 

Tomorrow will be a new day and it will be our lives for the next 2 years, every 6 weeks. My entire life will revolve around Camden, he is the most important thing that I need to worry about right now and for the rest of my life, but I wouldn't trade it for the world and never will.  Although I know he will have to work a little harder for things. I know that I will too. Emotionally and physically. I understand that this will wear me out until I can get used to it and that it's going to bother me more than it will him but I have to live my everyday like that and I'm just going to have to get used to that.

Many many prayers would be appreciated tomorrow for Camden's procedure and his strength, for mine and my husband's strength to keep accepting these things, and for our families strength through the next year.