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Friday, May 31, 2013

Waiting for the Green Light

Our littlest made it through surgery.  THANK YOU FOR PRAYING.  It was a LONG surgery but in the end -all is well.
 


 

After a night on a couch next to his bed... my brain has little creative power in it so I'm just going to be simple.



For some reason unknown to the doctor - Aaron's bones hadn't healed from the first surgery.  We knew they were not fully healed based on an end of April X-ray but everyone had assumed that by now the bones would have knit together.  It didn't happen.  This meant that surgery would most likely have been inevitable.  We just did it sooner rather than later!
 
On top of that - when Aaron fell we think he hit the plate in his arm directly on the threshold.  There is no other way that that plate could have bent the way it did.  We were gifted the plate after surgery and I could not bend it.  It is a substantial plate.   When Aaron fell - he fell HARD.
 
So in surgery Dr. Z worked hard to ensure that Aaron's brain would recognize a broken bone and fix it.  This included roughing up the edges of the two ends and doing a bone graft.   He also put in a larger plate which has its own risks but protecting the broken section took priority.
 
Here's the wild part of the surgery.... while Aaron was under, Dr. VanBosse, Aaron's lower extremity doctor, went into the OR and manually manipulated Aaron's frozen knee.  We had NO IDEA he was going to do this so imagine our surprise when he came up to the surgical waiting room to tell us that he had worked on Aaron's leg to try to break up the scar tissue inside.   He was able to get it moving again.  We were absolutely overjoyed.  Honestly - that stuff happens only at Shriners.  It will take a lot of determination to keep that knee moving because it is going to HURT Aaron.  We plan on doing a lot of heat, massage and therapy to keep what was gained while he was asleep. 

Me thinks this little stinker is going to do whatever he can to thwart our plans!


Two and a half years ago, when we received Aaron's one-page little medical record from the director at the mental institute - it had on it a list of his hospitalizations.  That was all we ever received.  No explanations - just a list.  One of those hospitalizations involved his left elbow.  When Dr. Z took the bone graft he took it from Aaron's elbow.  Here is where I need a vomit bag.  Apparently Aaron either fell when he was a little guy or someone tried to force his elbow to move and ended up breaking it apart (That was Dr. Z's theory).  Aaron's elbow was a mess inside.  Hearing Dr. Z describe the condition of Aaron's elbow made me ill.  Let's just leave it at that.  Things were misplaced that didn't happen at birth.  No it isn't fixable. 
 
 
We are heading home this morning as soon as we get the green light.  
 
 
Thank you again for all your prayers and love.
 
The love for our little guy from all over the world continues to astound us.
 
God is good.
 
 
 
 

19 comments:

  1. So thankful for an update... Thankful u r going home. Prayers for a speedy recovery and for his knee and elbow.... Your littlest one is quite impressive :)

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  2. Seeing his smile... makes all the bad things go away. =)

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  3. I am so glad Aaron is home with his family and that He is watching over all of you on your journey. Prayers for quick healing!

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  4. So happy for all of you. Hope the sailing is much smoother this time around. Keep that knee moving!!!!

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  5. Talk about fabulous doctors - wow! I am very impressed. As for Aaron's elbow, that history is heartbreaking. How anyone could hurt a child is beyond my comprehension.

    Sue H.

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  6. Prayers for quick healing and that therapy is effective for a wide range of motion in his knee!

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  7. If you are into natural remedies, Complete Bone and Tissue salve might really help him heal. We just went through a major surgery with our daughter from Armenia and the doctor was amazed how little scar tissue she had and how quickly she healed. I'd be happy to give you more info if you want it.

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  8. Aaron, you are one amazing trooper! Thanking God for the wonderful doctors at Shriners. Praying for Aaron as he works thru the pain and that his body will heal well this time. Once he can be in water, I vote for some water therapy. =) (I know, I always vote for water therapy. Such a fun and helpful way to increase rom.)

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  9. I am so glad that they were able to work on his knee, but so disgusted at the state of his elbow. The things people do. We will keep praying for Aaron.

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  10. Praying you are home for a wonderful weekend together! Great news about awesome doctors - they deserve all the praise at times it has to be so difficult to do what they do. And when you find those docs it is a treasure indeed :)

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  11. There is just something about that smile that makes my day every time I see it!! Praying for a speedy and as painless as possible recovery!!
    Kerri

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  12. So glad to see his smile......and know you are happy to have him home with his surgery completed. Praying for healing and peace and sleep for you all!
    Cathy

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  13. Oh, my! We will be praying with you along the road to recovery!

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  14. So glad he came through and the unexpected knee work happened while he slept. Praying God helps you process the new information. We had unexpected news when the neurologist was from Russia and able to translate and interpret parts of our documents that were not translated for us. I also don't believe in "irreparable" God knows what we need and when we need it. Praying for healing in his time. HUGS!

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  15. I am so, so happy that Aaron is doing so well. Hugs to you and sweet Aaron!

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  16. Praise God for successful surgery!! And praying for little to no pain as he heals and recovers....especially for that knee of his!

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  17. Wow. Great news :)!
    Praying for You and Your family.

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  18. Praying his healing goes well. Sick to think of his little elbow being manhandled at the institution.

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  19. I agree w/ you the Dr's and techs at Shriner's are amazing!

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