Forth of July

We had a great July 4th. The weather was beautiful. We spent the early part of the day into the afternoon out on the boat. We love being on the lake!

Then we spent the evening at a friend's house, where the boys enjoyed the lake and swimming in the pool. We had an awesome view of fireworks being set off all over the lake!

Also, this is my hundredth blog post, so yay!!

Off with the cast!

After six long weeks, Owen got his spica cast taken off today! I don't know who was more thrilled, him or me. He was glad to be able to scratch some very itchy skin and the first thing he wanted to do was take a bath. I am so happy to see him without the cast. Also, he is about 12 ponds lighter.

His X-rays looked great. He has done a lot of healing in the past 6 weeks. The flex nails in his femur should be enough reinforcement to prevent another break. However, since we haven't been able to count on what *should* happen, he is back in his abduction brace and non-weight baring for another three weeks. The great thing about this brace is that it helps to support his leg but can be taken off for bathing or swimming. The boy will get to enjoy the rest of his summer!

Just after the cast came off.

Another break

On May 15 Owen had the plate removed from his femur. He was in a brace and using his walker. On May 20 he took a misstep at school and broke his femur again. I got a call from the school and rushed to get there. He was laying on a bench crying with his leg at an angle such that I had little doubt that it was broken. I took him to urgent care for an X-ray to confirm my fear. Sure enough, his femur had broken right at one of the screw holes from the plate. I called the orthopedist and we headed to meet her at her office. That night he had emergency surgery to place two flexible nails inside of his femur. He is also in a half spica cast, which will be removed on Friday. We are really counting on those nails! He will also be going back into his brace. 

As always, he has been such a trooper. He never complains. He can't walk, play, swim etc. It is hot here in NC and surely even hotter in a spica cast. Still, he is taking it all so well. I am so in awe of his bravery and am so proud of him.

Saying Goodbye

My grandma passed away on June 10. She had congestive heart failure. We were driving up to visit her that day and she died probably about an hour and a half before we arrived. I was very sad that we didn't get a chance for one last goodbye, but apparently it was not meant to be that way. 

She got sick and went to the hospital on New Years Eve while visiting us. When she was released from the hospital she had to stay at my mom's house for about a month. It gave us all a chance to be close to her and spend time with her, and is a time I will never forget.

I miss her every single day, but am so thankfully that she didn't suffer, instead drifted away in her sleep. I love you Lala!

Get Pumped

Om April 7 Owen got an insulin pump. It was quite a learning process. While we are still getting used to it, it has gotten a lot easier. The first day the cannula that stays inside of his body got bent. His blood sugar just kept going up even though I had given him insulin. Because of the bent cannula he wasn't receiving the insulin. Thank God for the 24 hour help line or we would have likely been making a trip to the hospital. The cannula has bent twice more. It really sucks when this happens because then you have to put in a new infusion set, which is very painful for Owen. We have to change the infusion set every 3 days and to say he hates it is an understatement. 

On the bright side his blood glucose is much mor controlled. It is much easier to treat for high BG or for carbs that he has eaten. No more insulin shots! We see the endocrinologist on the 24th and will talk about starting to use the Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM). This will make things even easier. 

Had a great fall...

I will be sporting a sling for at least another 3 weeks after a not-so-great fall last Sunday. I fell down our very steep wooden stairs onto the wood floor because my pj pants are too long and I slipped on them. Thinking I was just battered and bruised I used a lot of ice and was in a lot of pain on Sunday. Monday morning I felt even worse, specifically my left shoulder and into my neck, so I went to Urgent Care. It turns out that yes, I am battered and bruised, but I also have a separated shoulder and a fractured collarbone. Apparently it is just a hurry up and wait healing process. I can say for certain I feel no better this week than last. I follow up with my doctor tomorrow and am interested to hear his take on the situation.

We walked together.

As many of you know, in November our family, along with some friends, participated in the Walk for Wishes. The Walk benefits the Make a Wish Foundation and helps grant Wishes to children in Western and Central NC. Owen is a Wish Kid (we went to Disney World in October, 2011) and this year he wished to help grant another child's Wish. I am proud to say that with the generous donations of friends and family, Team Super O raised enough money to grant half of a Wish with the average Wish costing $6,000. Not bad! Our team was also the 3rd highest family for fundraising out of 86 teams. I cried, which is not surprising. Owen got a cool Dr. Suess-like hat. (Photos to follow soon.) Overall the event raised enough money to grant 13 Wishes, which is wonderful! 

Like last year, a Wish was granted at the Walk. A little girl wished to meet Rapunzel and her family is going to Disney World. She looked to be about 3 years old. They told us the type of cancer. I can't spell the name. Wait, yes I can. Horrible. This is why I walk, why I love Make a Wish.

We will continue to walk together.