A Little Something Extra

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Cast is off

The long-awaited day arrived.  Micah had his cast removed yesterday afternoon.  He did GREAT with the cast removal.  We were warned by the nurses that he would probably cry after it came off due to the sensory change.  I was more worried about the noise of the saw which is used to remove the cast.  I attempted to minimize this by bringing the iPad and headphones.  It worked like a charm.  He didn't cry at all... during the cast removal.

But he definitely wasn't happy when the orthotist put the leg immobilizer on his leg.  I'm pretty sure he just didn't want anyone touching his legs at that point (that included me, by the way... he was quite irritated when I touched his legs).

I do not have a photo of the x-ray from the day Micah broke his leg.  But here's a photo of the x-ray taken at his 2-week checkup (taken through the cast).


And here's a photo of his x-ray taken today (the bright white dot by the bone is just the mouse cursor):

Does this looked healed to you?  It doesn't to me.  But there is healing going on.  You can see faint lines connecting the brokenness together.  Apparently this bone will always have a slight lump on it (we felt it today).  And apparently anything less than a 20% angle is considered a good fix.  But we neglected to ask the surgeon whether Micah's bone growth is taking longer than anticipated.

We had been prepared for a few weeks in the leg immobilizer brace (it keeps his leg straight).  But I certainly wasn't expecting to hear, "No weight bearing," for three more weeks.  Eesh.  I was looking forward to getting him back on his feet.  No dice.  Not only that, but they have made me terrified of Micah re-fracturing his leg (apparently 1:20 chance).  Another quote: "Don't let the leg twist."  I'm still not quite sure about this one.  I mean, I can control how I move his legs when I change his diapers.  But for those of you with kids who have hypotonia, remember back to how our kids sometimes get from sitting to the floor and vice versa?

We were told that Micah can sleep without his leg immobilizer brace, but that was making me nervous.  Apparently it made Micah nervous too, because he cried when I took it off when I was dressing him for bed.  I imagine that it might feel more secure since he's been wrapped so tightly for 6 1/2 weeks... maybe his leg needed the hug.  Whatever the reason... HE SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT LAST NIGHT! :-)

Best part of the day: putting Micah into the car after the appointment.  His face lit up like he had won the lottery.  He started to laugh and he giggled the whole way home.  He was SO EXCITED to see out a window again!

5 comments:

my family said...

nice to have a free leg again...im with you that leg doesnt look so "healed" but Im not the dr either:) I know this must be good to have him out but opens a door of new worries.

Jonathan said...

Jennie, I am SO happy for you that he slept!!! I know that I commented yesterday that the photo looked alarming, but now that I think about it...

My mom broke her arm very close to her shoulder a few years ago. It was a horrible, painful experience. When they took the "after" x-ray, it looked just like Micah's leg, and they were happy with the angle. She had a complete, on-time recovery and no after-effects.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that I've heard the 20% thing before and it worked great, and I'll hope and pray the same thing for Micah. I hope the next few weeks go quickly and smoothly!

paige said...

wow - that didn't look good to me either - i'm glad i'm not a doctor! i'm glad there is a ray of sunshine in him being able to see out his window. What a cutie.

Rena said...

So glad the cast is off, though I'm sorry there is more need to be extra careful in the next weeks. Will pray for God to protect and heal Micah. Hooray that he slept well!!

Kris Delaney said...

Yeah for the cast off!!! It sounds like there's still some healing to do and I pray the next three weeks go smoothly for you. We heard similar reports when Aidan broke his arm two summers ago. (We still had to be extra cautious after the cast was off). I love how Micah giggled on the way home...he is such a sweetie!