Monday, January 10, 2011

The Big Day in Pictures

Most people think of a big day in their lives as occurring for them later in life...a wedding...a baby..but for Jeffrey the big day came December 22nd when his fixator was removed. His right leg "matched" his other leg. I interviewed him during one of our last pincares. I asked him why he had a fixator, what did it do? His reply, "To make me stronger!" Okay, so I try to rephrase my question, "How are your legs different now than before your surgery? Jeff says, " I had one fixator leg and one non-fixator leg. Now, I have two non-fixator legs." haha.  I also asked him if he had any advice for anyone else thinking of getting a fixator. What would he want to tell them. His response, "That it's okay."
Enjoy a window into our day:
Waiting to hit the road to Baltimore (pit stop at Grandmom's first)

Night before: Opening a care package from our sweet Nanette who has never met Jeffrey but continues to send him packages

Night before surgery: Chillin' at the H.P. Watching t.v. in his Ho-Ho pants
 Jeffrey woke up on the day of surgery singing, "Dynamite." I slept in the same twin bed with him and Jamie slept in a different twin in a room at Hackerman Patz. We both woke up to what we thought was a dream, but it was Jeffrey belting out his version, "I throw my hands up in the air sometimes, saying ay yo, like it's gay-o...".
Getting ready to head to the hospital

Cheesy smile in his pre-op get-up! Everyone looooved his Statue of Liberty hat.

Waiting to head in to surgery

Still sleeping in recovery

Awake and enjoying a popsicle; red of course. However, he woke up and asked if he got a writing cast and was disappointed to find out he wasn't casted. We talked up the cast in case he got one and then...no cast. Can't win. haha
Disassembled fixator parts

Inspecting what used to be attached to his right "fixator" leg

Check out those pins/screws. They were inside Jeffrey's femur. Yikes!

Unicorn made out of his fixator distractor bar

Tormentor monster truck jousting with a fixator pin

I don't think this needs a caption. These parts are fun.

1st shot of a fixatorless leg

Groggy smile with ace bandage.

Walking with the physical therapist for the first time the next morning. She hoped he would walk to the door in our room. He, however, wanted to walk all the way to the Christmas tree. And he did :)

Jeff walked to the tree the first time. Our nurse then came in bummed that she missed it so he said, "I can do it again." And he did. All the nurses cheered and were saying how cute he was.

I'm walking, yes indeed, I'm walking.

Check that out. He now has a rod in his femur which will stay there for 6 months to a few years. It's to keep his femur stable.

Fixator Free Family Picture: Merry Christmas

3 comments:

  1. Seems like yesterday jeffrey had his initial operation. Went fast for me. You, i'm sure, not so much. CHeers to no Fixator!!

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  2. Post on Monday, Drama on Tuesday!!

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  3. Hey, your hair looks fine to me... did you get it cut?

    Props for Jeffrey and his walking!!!!

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