Through 9-8-07
While we've not posted for quite some time, things are very good for Miles. He has: started kindergarten; started new after school care; put on five pounds since the surgery; resumed almost all activities including sitting astride the horse at hippotherapy; and acquired a new little brother, Malcolm. The only activity he has left to resume is walking. Miles does not seem to be in any pain and is moving his left leg pretty normally. The difference in leg length is going to require a lift in or on his shoe and we will address that when we get his new ankle orthotics. All in all, Miles has made remarkable progress in the short time since early June.
Annie
Miles with his brother Malcolm.
Through 8-12-07
Miles had a very busy week. He had TWO visits from his new four-legged friend, Isis. He spent a long time trying to say "good dog." He worked very hard at it and got all the vowels and consonants, but not quite in the correct order. Good trying Miles!
The rest of the week was full of therapy even though it was very hot. Miles' regular PT was on vacation, so he had his buddy Ryan work with him. Miles did not work as hard for Ryan as he was supposed to, especially on Friday at the barn.
This week was also full of trips to the pool. At aquatherapy, Miles ran into his friend Zoe on her way to the outdoor pool. Most of our trips are to the neighborhood pool. The water feels nice to all of us.
Miles spent 45 minutes with no complaining in his stander today. It did help that car racing was on! It was very clear that he was working his leg muscles hard standing at about 65 degrees. We'll keep it up and, as he gets stronger, we'll increase the angle until he's upright. Go Miles!
Annie
Big smile.
Miles in his stander!
Through 8-3-07Well, we are through the ninth week and Miles has been allowed to "resume normal activities as he is able." Nice to get that kind of clearance from the doctor! His progress has been good, and he occasionally experiences discomfort rather than pain. He still gets tired out easily, but his eagerness to please means that most therapy sessions are complete ones and he crashes later at home. Favorite activities continue to be the pool; hippotherapy; playing with other kids; and anything to do with animals (dogs, cats, rabbits, etc.). We're going to start having some time in the stander and see if we can't get some weight bearing in that left leg!
Miles also visited a new friend in the hospital this week, Finn. Finn had a similar surgery to Miles and was sporting a blue cast. Miles was a very good visitor while Finn was sleeping and was mostly quiet. He was an even better visitor when Finn woke up. We hope that Finn has gotten to go home by now and that his recovery goes smoothly!
Annie
Miles visiting his new friend Finn.
Until 7-27-07
Two days, two therapies per day, the results are the same.
Annie
Wednesday.
Thursday.
Through 7-22-07
Miles went back to physical therapy this week and he had TWO visits. He did pretty well with the stretching which has never been his favorite activity. It helped that his first visit included Milan the therapy dog. His trunk strength and head control are better than we expected, and his physical therapist was pleasantly surprised. The second PT visit was out at the barn and he was able to get back on his therapy horse, Buddy, though only on his belly. He REALLY enjoyed that (especially after stretching) even more than visiting with Thunder, one of the mini horses. The only thing we need to do is convince his orthopedist to give hippotherapy a try!
The BIG DEAL this past week was Miles' visit from his cousins. They brought their new puppy Chloe who is only seven weeks old. Miles got lots of kisses (from cousins and Chloe), and was pretty tolerant of a nippy puppy, although he did knock her down a couple of times when he was trying to pet her. Miles also enjoyed getting back to the pool with his cousins. Maddie and Emily really enjoyed the trip to the water park. All in all it was a fantastic visit and it helped Miles' rehabilitation quite a bit to have his cousins around.
With the resumption of PT, we've been adding some pain meds back into his schedule. Rather than being in pain, it seems like he's uncomfortable. However, after a day of heavy activity (PT, pool, etc.), we do give him pain meds at night. We think that his little muscles may be cramping a bit as they come back into use!
One more big item of news, Maddie helped Miles lose his second tooth! Her little fingers were much better at grabbing hold of the tooth than Mommy's. So, now he's getting a big gap in the front of his mouth. Thanks Maddie, you are very bold.
Annie
Miles with his cousins Maddie and Emily, their new puppy Chloe, and Daddy.
Puppy time!
Miles, Maddie and Chloe.
Miles with Thunder at physical therapy. Looking good!
Miles gets some horse time on his belly - doctor approved!
Through 7-14-07
Miles seems to be making progress. However, pain management has been tricky. Miles has very few ways of indicating pain, and most of the time it's more that we can recognize the signs rather than him directing the information to us. In some ways, he is suffering more than when he had the cast. His therapists have warned us to make sure that he doesn't associate pain with movement. Fortunately, we don't believe he has, so it shouldn't impede his physical therapy (which we'll resume next week). He is now off the valium, which is good. Miles does not wean well off of valium—we'd rather not go into the details, but it's not pretty. Unlike other children, Miles seems to have more pain in the morning rather than the evening, so, we've been giving him half doses of the Tylenol-3 in the mornings. He does not seem to need more than one or two doses per day. This does not mean that he his pain free. He still does not like being moved from one position to another, but gets comfortable quickly once placed.
We have also found that his new pelvis is far more stable than before. He sits up really well (no falling over to the left side any more!) and looks really good sitting. It is clear now that his left leg is still about an inch to an inch and half shorter than the right leg. His orthopedist warned us about this after the surgery. They had to remove some bone from his leg which wasn't originally anticipated. We hope this doesn't cause problems later.
His infection also seems to be clearing up. Hopefully this means he'll be able to go to the pool this week. With the dry, hot weather we have been having, it would be nice for all of us to take a dip!
Annie
Miles sitting up really nicely in his bath seat. He was not able to sit up this well independently before the surgery.
Through 7-10-07
Yesterday and today have been lessons in pain management. We only medicated Miles twice yesterday and he seemed alright except when he was being moved. He also slept ALL DAY. Today, we went down to half doses of his medications, and that might have been a little too soon. He still was very sleepy, especially after being moved. He acted like he was in more pain today, but that may have been partly because we lowered the doses. He did okay at speech therapy, but it was not his most alert session.
The big event today was the long soak in the tub. Miles smells a lot better and this is almost as nice as having the cast off in the first place. It took both mom and dad to get the job done (sorry, no pictures!), and it was pretty gross removing all that dead skin. One more good bath, and we should be back to normal. All the steri-strips are off and we got a good look at his scars. They look good, for scars. He's going to have to come up with some really cool story about having a bionic pelvis!
Annie
Miles with his brother Malcolm.
