How do you spell relief?

At the Corner Haus right now, you can spell it many ways.

For example, Tad spells it ENEMA.

We finally gave him one last night. It was not pleasant. It is better than waiting for your child to come out of surgery, but not by much. Tad had so much pressure built up inside his little body that once it took effect and we had him sitting on the toilet, he was pushing so hard that his nose started to run and he was sweating terribly. But he is now unplugged – the gas that was coming out! Whooo! – and feeling a LOT better. I think he’ll be willing to eat normal meals again. That’s how backed up he was – he wasn’t eating much because he felt bloated (our guess; he’s not telling us this). However, he is now totally off the Tylenol with codeine (per doctor’s advice) and just taking regular Tylenol and ibuprofen, so we shouldn’t have any ongoing constipation issues.

I gave him a new Cars car (#28, Nitroade) to reward him for being so brave.

*****

Ane spells relief GRANDMA.

Tad had his check-up and follow-up x-rays yesterday morning, so Ane went to spend the morning at Grandma’s house. Since our appointment was really early (8:30 am in Bellevue, which meant leaving the house at 7:30 to wade through traffic), Ane made arrangements with Grandma to make and eat breakfast at her house.

They made Mickey Mouse waffles. My mother has owned a Mickey wafflemaker for years – I think we got it for her for Christmas sometime after our trip to Disneyland in 1992 – and Ane just loves it. She also enjoyed the extra bit of solo attention that she got yesterday, and after all that we’ve been through in the past week, she deserved it.

*****

The Webmaster and I spell relief X-RAYS.

I bundled plenty of pillows into our Radio Flyer Pathfinder wagon and carted Tad from the parking garage to the suite of Children’s Bellevue offices. He enjoyed the ride. Our appointment went well, and his x-rays show that his femur is still aligned the way they set it and healing properly.

Our next appointment is for September 4th – for x-rays and cast removal.

One week down, five to go!

Tad is also cleared for movement, so we no longer have to keep his leg elevated (the swelling is down). I put him on the floor at Grandma and Gichan’s after his appointment and he experimented cautiously with scooting around on his back. He even attempted rolling over, but didn’t quite make it. It’s like watching him learn to walk all over again. First scooting, then rolling over. Next it will be creeping and crawling, and then he’ll pull himself up on furniture and start cruising, and then he’ll be walking unassisted. It’s a fast-forward version of his babyhood. In a Spica cast.

Thank you, everyone, for your prayers and good wishes. We have surely felt them here.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 1st, 2008 at 1:37 am and is filed under Children, Family.
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