Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Pictures of Cast # 3


Greetings and a Reminder:

I write this blog as we go through ET Mehta Casting with our daughter Olivia. The blog is intended to inform, possibly inspire, and raise awareness of Infantile Scoliosis and its treatment/cure. Please share our story. For more information please check out http://www.infantilescoliosis.org/ 

As promised here are some pictures of Olivia's current cast. Let's start by going back in time shall we? Here are some pictures of Olivia's first cast.





Her second cast...



And her current cast...

Before Trimming





After Trimming and Taping





It may look like she's standing on an angle in that last picture, but the cast actually is sloping up there. I did not see this yesterday, or I would have asked for that to have been trimmed as well. We'll see how it all turns out. I will just be keeping a close eye on her skin for now. Here are some pictures of us enjoying A Charlie Brown Christmas. Have a good night!






Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Cast #3


Greetings and a Reminder:

I write this blog as we go through ET Mehta Casting with our daughter Olivia. The blog is intended to inform, possibly inspire, and raise awareness of Infantile Scoliosis and its treatment/cure. Please share our story. For more information please check out http://www.infantilescoliosis.org/ 

Well, cast 3 is on, and I must say that this experience was totally different from cast 2. I find that so interesting. The place doesn't change, we don't change, but yet the results did. In the end it all worked out, but man Brian and I were just a hot mess the whole day. 

It started with us hitting traffic and being 15 minutes late. That wasn't a big deal because we need to be there an hour and a half early anyway, AND they were behind. Usually, they're right on schedule, but they were 20 minutes behind today, which worked for us.



Olivia was in such a great mood! This was the best she's been since we've started this process. She didn't give them a hard time with anything. The best was when we went in for anesthesia. I've been prepping myself for the past week. It is the most stressful part for the both of us. I always feel terrible because she's normally terrified and I have to hold her down, and I get all worked up. This time she calmly sat there with the mask on and conked right out! I was absolutely amazed.







When we went to recovery to see her she was wide awake and ready for her second popsicle. This was also a first. She's usually out cold when we go to see her. They said she came out of casting awake and calm, and that she was a very good girl while they waited for us to get there. I should mention that when they put her under they do insert a breathing tube, so again, I'm shocked that her behavior is so good between the discomfort of the cast and the sore throat. We also have to add incoming molars this time, too. 

Anywho, I was not to thrilled with the way this cast came out. This was also a first. The mushroom cut out was not wide enough for her belly, and the cast rides low on the hip and high on the chest. The last one was short and fat looking and this one is tall and skinny. I don't know if it's because we complained that the last one was way to tight around her lower belly, and this is their way to compensate. We'll see. We did need to have this one cut. Unfortunately, the cast tech was in for another cast application so we had to wait in recovery for another hour until that was done. We entertained an irritable Miss O by riding her around in her stroller. She wasn't allowed to walk around, and she couldn't anyway because we've lost one of her shoes! Like I said, we were a hot mess.







The cast tech was initially reluctant to cut the cast, which I did not like. I mean I know how the cast is supposed to look and if we left it the way it was her tummy was going to break down rapidly. She very liberally cut the belly out a little bit more and trimmed down the top. I'm going to have to redo a lot of the moleskin, because it seemed haphazardly thrown on, and a lot of it was detaching due to particles of plaster getting into the sticky part. Again, not too thrilled. I'll have to research who the cast techs have been over the past couple of casts....

Diapering may be a challenge with this one because of how low it's riding. We'll see. We will definitely be scheduling this cast for 8 weeks and not 9. Fingers crossed she can hold out with this one. In the end we stayed at the hospital for lunch because it was past noon by the time we were done and she was famished. We spent a grand total of 6.5 hours at the hospital today and got home around 3. Long day. 

In conclusion, the positive of the day was how amazingly wonderful Olivia was. The con....I'm a bit skeptical about this cast. I will keep you posted. I will also post pictures of the cast after I've fixed it. These pictures are before the cast tech came to fix it. Good thing I had pictures of the previous cast, otherwise it would have been a challenge to get the cast tech to trim it. In the future I hope I do not have to do that. We are, of course, still very pleased with Olivia's treatment and all Children's has done for us. It was just a very different experience. Again, thanks for reading!





Monday, November 26, 2012

Giving Thanks and Ready for Cast 3


Greetings and a Reminder:

I write this blog as we go through ET Mehta Casting with our daughter Olivia. The blog is intended to inform, possibly inspire, and raise awareness of Infantile Scoliosis and its treatment/cure. Please share our story. For more information please check out http://www.infantilescoliosis.org/ 

Hello!

Long time no blog! Life for us has just been ssssoooo normal that I didn't have much to talk about. I know I've said it before, but I know that it can be reassuring the more you hear it; daily life is not hugely affected by casting. If you're a parent who is new to this PLEASE believe me when I say it. 

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and I know that Olivia is thankful for cast #2 coming off today. This cast was WAY too tight! The poor girl is purple from the belly button down. I must say she was in a wonderful mood tonight. Better than she has been over the past few days. I think she was really becoming uncomfortable in her turtle shell. Of course it also doesn't help that she's teething. Two new molars are coming in. With all that in consideration she has been a saint! I think 9 weeks in cast may be one week too long. It was supposed to be 8 weeks, but the Dr. rescheduled to this week. Here's hoping we can do 8 for the next one. 






Mommy and Daddy are also thankful this evening for all the fun squishy baby time we had. Olivia also got a nice long bubble bath. How her back gets so filthy under that cast I'll never know. The front I can understand but the back?!?! How does it all get in there?!?! Unfortunately, she got a particle of something right on her pressure point leaving a couple of little pin holes on her back. Nothing serious, but my hope is the air will heal them up quickly so they don't become a problem in the new cast. 

Anyway, here are some photos from Thanksgiving, cast #2 removal, and bath time. I know this may appear repetitive from the cast #1 post, but for us, it is a very special time that never gets old. I can't wait for the day we get her last cast off and she can run and play freely, and I can rub her back at bed time, or when she's sad, or sick. Don't take the simple joys for granted. Please enjoy the photos and I will post tomorrow letting you know how things go. Thanks for reading!

Thanksgiving




Cast off






Cuddle/Bath Time










Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Halloween!



Greetings and a Reminder:

I write this blog as we go through ET Mehta Casting with our daughter Olivia. The blog is intended to inform, possibly inspire, and raise awareness of Infantile Scoliosis and its treatment/cure. Please share our story. For more information please check out http://www.infantilescoliosis.org/ 

Olivia LOVES trick or treating and carrying around her basket of candy! It's funny because I remember in July, when I knew she would be wearing a cast, thinking to myself what will she possibly be for Halloween? Well, I realize now that that was a silly worry, because she wore not one, but two costumes and looked awesome in both! Here are some pictures of her as Abby Cadabby and as a cute little witch. Our fabulous day ended with an amazingly special email from a Mom who has been reading our blog. It truly means the world to me to know we have been able to help other parents going through casting. I hope you all enjoyed your Halloween!