Cast 1 is on and we all survived.

For more background information, please see: What is going on with Addison?

June 27, 2014

How appropriate for us to start our casting journey on June 10! June is National Scoliosis Awareness Month! This beautiful 3-minute YouTube video shows how resilient kids are and when faced with something that would make most adults shut down, they dance and play right through it. 

CLICK HERE TO SHOW VIDEO

HERE WE GO
When we first found out Addison would need a cast we couldn't imagine what life would be like with her in it for a whole year. We were panicked about how upset she would be about living her life with this foreign object attached to her. Would she miss baths? Not be able to run, jump and play with her brother the same as she had? Would she be able to sleep? Would she wonder why mommy and daddy weren't helping her out of this? And worst yet, would she be unhappy? I think we dreaded that the most; an unhappy child. However, none of this happened.

We decided to stay in town the night before just to alleviate any unnecessary stress of driving up from the Cape. We stayed at Hotel Commonwealth, which was a treat. Addison has not stayed in the city before. To our surprise, her favorite part was seeing all of the bicycles! Insert squeals of glee, BICYCLES MOMMY!! I do want to openly thank Hotel Commonwealth for their amazing generosity and kindness. They were aware we were staying in advance of going to Children's Hospital. We were greeted by great people and a room upgrade to a beautiful suite. Also their AGM sent us a thoughtful note after our stay with his well wishes for Addison. Their kindness was wonderful. I also want to note that they were not aware of any connection I once had with the hospitality industry in Boston. No quid pro quo, just hospitality at its best.

We arrived at Children's at 7:30am. The usual pre op stuff and then everything we could do to entertain Ms. Addison until they took us in 2.5 hours later. Dr. G. was delayed an hour so we did start to run into Addison complaining she was hungry (it was now almost 10 am and she had not eaten since the night before). Nemo and Dory on the iPad to the rescue. We had been warned that taking a baby in to be anesthetized can be traumatic. Only one parent can go in, your job is to hold the anesthesia mask tight to her face until she is out. Usually toddlers are crying hysterically because they don't like nor understand the mask on their face and then suddenly go limp. I will forever be grateful to my darling daughter for falling asleep at 9:55 am for her morning nap. Five minutes later I quietly carried her into the OR, laid her on the table with her favorite bunny, let the anesthesiologist put the mask on and when she was officially out I gave her a kiss. As her Dr. said when I left "It doesn't get any better than that". No one was crying. Phew!

RECOVERY
Well, no one was crying until she woke up. To our happy surprise Addison was most upset by the IV cuff and the wires stuck to her chest monitoring her heart and oxygen. That was good news because those are things we can remove! Dr. G. visited us to let us know she did very well while under and he was really pleased with the "push" he was able to get on her spine. They actually push and twist the spine to get it straight and then the cast holds it in place as it grows. It is unbelievable to me that there is no pain involved. But there isn't. And that is great.

This 2-minute video gives a quick explanation and visual of how the cast is applied and what it can accomplish.  CLICK HERE TO SHOW VIDEO

Once out of recovery we were off to the pediatric floor to play for the day and night. They ask you to stay one night after the first cast is put on to make sure everything is going ok. We had a good day/night; a visit from A's dear Aunt Jenny who brought toys and cookies, lots of playing and helping Addison regain her center of gravity. She toppled a few times from being newly top heavy but quickly recovered.

The cast is very high up under her arms so she cannot put them down all the way.  We had them cut the cast a bit (umm, picture an awake toddler and a cast saw). It helped but since her curve is high the structure on her upper back must be as solid as possible. There are limits, it's a cast, we need to just deal with that. Once in the car seat it was only worse! I wish I got a picture, the car seat pushes the cast up even more so Addison's hands were resting on top of her head because she didn't have anywhere else to put them :-(  Quick fix of stuffing bunny and baby under each arm for support and she fell off to sleep. I'll have to play around with solutions, maybe a boppy or neck pillow under her arms. We may not be taking too many long trips this year.

BACK HOME

Once home, life was back to normal and we were amazed how easily she adapted. Addison and her older brother Matthew were back to chasing each other around the house. As most big brothers do, Matthew likes to constantly tackle his sister. We did our best to stop it and warn them both. She landed on him once, it hurt more than usual, they got the hint. Now he knocks on the cast "That's hard". Yes. It. Is.  Her clothes are all 2 sizes bigger.  She has to wear a thermal wicking t-shirt under the cast all the time so we are learning what works best for summer. Most outfits make her look like a cross between the kid in the snowsuit from A Christmas Story who couldn't put his arms down and a pee wee football player. Our only hope is that under all that bulky plaster and fiberglass Addison's little spine is finding it's way to grow straight and strong.

My next blog entry will include how we addressed checking the cast before leaving the hospital, decorating the cast, dressing, diapering, bathing and entertaining our almost 2 year old through the summer without water or sand!

Thanks to all for reading about Addison's curve and following us along our journey.
xo