So glad I found you guys!

[jrnyc]

poor baby!
i hope Elias' pain is manageable with meds needed for the added weight!
i feel bad for any child who has to go thru this, but hopefully, it will all be worth it, when he finishes this with a straight and strong back...for a lifetime!

hope you can get some rest, too!

jess

[Elisa]

Spent some time with Clare & Alan (sister & BIL) today and did a bit of shopping b/c they will be heading back to Vancouver Island tomorrow and then it’s just Elias and me all by our lonesome. Bought Elias three button-up shirts that he can wear when he’s out of his gown, a half-doughnut neck pillow and few other odds and ends. We went for lunch at a Mexican restaurant and it was SO good. Then we went back to their hotel and had a glass of wine, okay, I had two but they were very small.

While I was gone the physiotherapist had Elias try out his walker but it was too small apparently. Not sure if there’s anything we can do about that. He did spend about half an hour in his wheel chair though and he said it was okay but he’s still getting a lot of head and neck pain from the halo and weights. They are giving him Valium along with his regular pain meds to help with the muscle aches. Instead of adding 4 pounds, only 2 pounds were added so he can adjust a bit better to all the stretching that’s going on. I think he’ll be getting out of bed and into his chair one more time tonight before bed. They are all awesome here!

[Elisa]

Out of sheer exhaustion and no major interruptions I got a pretty good sleep last night and feel really good today. Elias seemed to have a good sleep too with the Ambien as well as the Valium for his neck muscle pain. He’s enjoying watching a Lord of the Rings movie on his laptop that we picked up for him yesterday. He says his back isn’t too painful so the pain management set out for him seems to be working well.

Later on we’ll get him out of the bed and into the wheelchair again for a while but not sure what we’re going to do with the walker situation b/c it’s just too short for him. They might be able to rig up an adult one for him but in the meantime a physiotherapist will come in and help him with leg exercises to keep his leg muscles strong. Instead of adding 4 pounds of weights a day Dr. K. says to add 2 instead at least for now until his neck adjusts a bit more to the pull as it’s very uncomfortable. He’s up to 23 pounds now from 12 just after his surgery on Tuesday.

I hear a bit of belly rumblings and burps so it sounds as though things are starting to wake up and move so maybe he’ll be using the bathroom soon. He’s still got the catheter in and he’s fine with that b/c this time when they take it out he does NOT want to have it put back in. That was VERY uncomfortable he said.

Everything is going good at the moment. The other boy who is 16 supposedly arrived today so maybe I’ll meet his mom later on. It will be nice to visit with someone in the same situation as Elias is the only halo-kid right now.

[Pooka1]

I hear a bit of belly rumblings and burps so it sounds as though things are starting to wake up and move so maybe he’ll be using the bathroom soon.

That's about right... day three is when the gut sounds returned with mboth my kids.

It is a complete mystery how all surgeons do not restrict food and water until this occurs as the extremely predictable discomfort from eating and drinking before then is completely avoidable. It was hard for my kids to go without drinking for three days when they were so thirsty (they weren't hunger) but they had zero issues with throwing up or stomach distension and pain. It's a trade off.

Everything is going good at the moment. The other boy who is 16 supposedly arrived today so maybe I’ll meet his mom later on. It will be nice to visit with someone in the same situation as Elias is the only halo-kid right now.

That will be great if he has another kid there to talk to.

[Elisa]

Vertical.

Elias was sitting in his chair for a good hour and a half while playing around on his laptop and he seemed to really enjoy it as it’s a lot more fun than lying in the bed for sure. Interesting thing is, he can actually kinda have a nap in his chair b/c the halo and weights hold him still and his head doesn’t flop over like it would with the rest of us. I looked over at him and there was no keyboard activity so I checked out his face and his eyes were closed, haha. Time to head back to bed for a nap and that’s where he is now. Notice there is no back support on this chair and apparently you don't need one when you're in weight traction.

[Singer]

Just so you know, I am loving these pictures. I would never have known what the heck halo traction was all about. He's doing great!!

[Lorz]

Elisa,

I have been looking for news about Elias, on the surgical forums, and missed this until now. I am so glad he is through the first surgery, and doing ok. He looks really good in the pictures. Kids are amazing patients, usually much more positive and resilient than us "old" people! He will do well. Don't forget to rest, and take care of yourself too. The caregiver role is not an easy one.

[rohrer01]

It's great that he can get out of bed and move around and do things that teenage boys like to do. I was worried at first when I heard how long he was going to be in the hospital. I was imagining that he would be trapped in that bed with the traction for that long! LOL He seems happy still. Keep the photo updates coming. They're great!

[titaniumed]

This is the undisputed thread of the year! Just fantastic!
Ed

[titaniumed]

I selected the "excellent" button on the rating system, and nothing has happened. No Stars, no happy face, what the heck?

Good thing these software guys dont do surgery. man-o-man!
Ed

[Jacque's Mom]

I absolutely agree with Ed. This is truly unbelievable. I am in awe of how Elias and you are handling this mountain of a journey. Elias is one brave young man. Bravo to his mom as well! I wish you a successful, uneventful recovery. Lynn

[Elisa]

Slow & Tedious.

This whole halo-traction thing is such a slow and tedious process. Just getting Elias in and out of bed to his chair or walker takes such a long time. It is not for the impatient type that is for sure. It’s like caring for a baby all over again and every little step has to be followed in order to move on to the next; it’s tiring. I’m sure once we’ve got more practice at it we’ll get better and we are but it’s so different than what we’re used to and it takes much longer to do the daily things. I am starting to empathize more with parents who have disabled children.

His catheter is finally out and that makes HUGE difference b/c the tube isn’t getting all tangled up on everything and now I can do most things for him by myself except for get him in and out of his bed but it only takes two of us now instead of three which means less wait time to have someone help us. He is now down to one IV as well.

He took his walker for a test drive today and it went really well. He said he quite likes the mobility and getting his legs going again is really important b/c being in an inclined bed for so long has made his ankles and feet swell up quite a bit. Again, getting all the weights transferred over and holding his halo while getting him positioned is a slow and tedious process, and I wondered what on earth I was going to do the whole time, well now I know.

I’m literally up and down like a yo-yo and have told Elias that I can only perform one task at a time and he needs to be patient and wait for me to finish something before asking me to do something else. He is getting better though and did tell me today that I’m a “good mom” so I know he’s starting to appreciate how hard it is to make him as comfortable and content as possible.

Met the lady and her son who is also here for halo-traction and scoliosis surgery. She lives forty minutes away so she’ll be back and forth and has a vehicle so she took me to Fred Myer’s today and we both picked up a few things which was nice.

[JenniferG]

So glad to hear it's all going to plan and both you and Elias are coping so well. Hope you find a new friend in the other Mom and you can compare notes and be a support to each other. Hope you both continue getting enough sleep, which I think is so important to be able to cope. It's a huge deal you're going through, both of you.

[Elisa]

So glad to hear it's all going to plan and both you and Elias are coping so well. Hope you find a new friend in the other Mom and you can compare notes and be a support to each other. Hope you both continue getting enough sleep, which I think is so important to be able to cope. It's a huge deal you're going through, both of you.

The lady next door is, umm, a little different so I don't really see us getting all that close to tell you the truth. I don't want to get into it here but let's just say we are VERY different... night and day different. We were talking today and apparently her son didn't have surgery, he just had the halo on but she keeps referring to it as "surgery" as well as she has no idea the size of his curve, but looking from her cell phone pics it looks fairly severe. She also thinks Dr. K. is going to do some sort of arthroscopic procedure which I'm doubtful of but what do I know. She only lives forty minutes away, has a vehicle, isn't employed at the moment but only plans to visit her son (ADHD) on the weekends. O_o

Elias is up to 26 pounds now.

[mariaf]

She only lives forty minutes away, has a vehicle, isn't employed at the moment but only plans to visit her son (ADHD) on the weekends. O_o

I am sitting on my hands so as not to comment on this :-)

Glad to hear Elias continues to persevere. I can't find the words to tell you how amazing I find his strength and spirit (and yours)!

It will all pay off nicely in the end!