Tuesday, February 14, 2017

3 weeks post op!

I have been meaning to update this for weeks!  I haven't had time because Lincoln is feeling SO great that it is a full time job trying to keep him entertained.  If I had a dollar for every time I have told him to stop running or to be careful I am fairly confident I could buy all of you a brand new car!  

Last week, however, we had a scare and spent about 6 hours in the emergency room.  Lincoln woke up with a fever and later on in the day he finally got out of bed and told me I should be careful not to touch these bumps on the side of his head.  So, of course, I freak out a little.  As I am looking at his head I notice that the right side of his forehead is sticking out.  From a bird's eye view his head was definitely lop sided.  I called the Dr. and they wanted us to get to the hospital ASAP.  Thank goodness Auntie Kaitlin was here to stay with Little Miss V!  The poor kid was so upset that we brought him back to the hospital.  He was crying and asking us why we would ever bring him back there.  He wanted a drink for about 2 hours but they wouldn't let him have anything because they were afraid he was going to be going back into surgery.  It was AWFUL.  I can't sugar coat it!  I have never prayed so hard in my entire life!!  They attempted to put an IV in his right arm but he was screaming so hard that it didn't work.  We finally got him calmed down enough for her to get one started in the other arm.  They sent some blood down the lab and sent us off to CT.  He had to get contrast through his IV and he was being a total champ going through the scanner until he got nauseous from the contrast.  He was sweating and dry heaving and once again asking why we brought him back and how it wasn't fair.  :(   :(   :(  I knew we were doing the right thing but I couldn't blame him for losing his shit (there is no other term that will do, haha)!! He was saying what Logan and I were both feeling too.  Finally, we got the good news that his head was healing just as it should.  The Dr. seemed to think that he probably laid on his right side in the bed all day and all the swelling just went to that side and was making it look like it had changed shape.  But we could see in the CT that his skull looked totally normal.  He must have just caught a virus at his two week post op appointment and the next day he was pretty much back to normal.  I felt so dumb for bringing him in and putting him through all of that but they reassured us that we did the right thing.  You don't wanna mess around with an infection.  

Since then, it has been smooth sailing.  KNOCK ON WOOD.  We have been super careful about guests coming over because he just can't get sick again right now.  We haven't left our house until today and it was just a quick trip to get Violet some new birthday shoes.  Our friends here have been absolutely amazing.  We have had someone bring us dinner almost every night.  It has been so nice to spend the extra time with Lincoln during the day.  He has definitely had a hard time not going outside and playing with the neighbor kids.  So instead of worrying about cooking dinner I am able to spend that time keeping him entertained.  It is so hard to accept help sometimes but I am looking forward to returning the favor to them all!  Initially we were going to use his own rib and I think the recovery would have been a lot harder. We have been pleasantly surprised with how well he is doing at just 3 weeks.  We have our next appointment May 1st.  Until then....wait for it......no running, no playing outside with friends,  no recess, no bike helmets (so no riding bikes), no playgrounds, no sports, basically nothing a 5 year old boy really wants to do!!! It is all for his safety though.  We will plan to have a fun summer FOR SURE!!  So if you see me this spring and you think I have gone a little crazy its probably because I have.  If your kids like quiet play dates with no running and they aren't sick, hit me up!  ;)  I think we will send him back to his preschool in a couple weeks..... unless everyone and their dog still has the flu.  So once again, thank you for all the prayers!!  If you want to keep them coming until we get the thumbs up in May it would mean the world to us.  HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!! Also, happy 2nd bday to the best little sister in the world, Violet Raye!  She sure loves her brother more than anything.