Gearing up for Friday

Well, Gabe is doing well. (HA!) He's off the Oxicodone now and is just on Muscle relaxers and Tylenol. He's such a trooper. I still haven't tried to move him on my own yet. Jeremy comes home for lunch to help me get Gabe out of bed and into his wheelchair. He's still up about 2-3 times a night crying but I think now it's more about forgetting that he's hurt and he tries to move and hurts himself. He does still get a muscle spasm here and there but they are getting to be rare. Friday is our follow up and I hope to find out what comes next and when we'll be going in for intensive rehab. Anyway just wanted to check in. He's actually doing really well- laughing and singing, counting along with Sesame street again and getting back to our sweet little man!
Thanks for all your cards, well wishes, and prayers!!
Kari

Doing well!

Sorry I haven't posted since last week! Gabe is doing much better and is sleeping less so it keeps me more busy. He's still up in the night quite a bit, but not sleeping as much during the day. He's got his appetite back as well as his sense of humor! We'll know more Friday about what his recovery is going to look like up until we go to inpatient rehab. Anyway, just wanted to drop a quick update.
Love & Miss you all!!
Kari

getting his rest and working on recovery

Gabe is doing well, he is watching a lot of cartoons, playing and snuggling with mommy- and being an all around adorable little man. We have our follow-up appointment at the Ortho clinic on September 28th down at CHOP. We'll have more information for everyone then.
Love you- until tomorrow!!
Kari

Good Morning

The evening went pretty well, Gabe is getting better and better each day- I'm sure this is too much information for most, but if grandparents read these they always like this kind of info... Gabe finally pooped last night! LOL With fasting for surgery, then anesthesia, then being on all these narcotics... It wasn't looking good for a while there- but he did it!! Enough about THAT!

Gabe is now tolerating laying on his side which makes it much easier on him and on me. I am able to do more of the changing, cleaning, etc by myself that way- it also takes the pressure off of his little back and butt!

Anyway, I need to get back in there- I just took a break to go potty and decided to post an update.

Thank you to those who check in with our blog!!

As time is going by and we get Gabe home, the worry is LESS the work is MORE. Thank you so much to those of you who have checked with the blog for updates and especially for those of you who occasionally leave us comments of encouragement and well wishes.
Now that Gabe is home- I will continue to update on his progress at least daily, and will also add posts when something important or interesting comes up. This blog has become an invaluable tool for me since I can communicate with everyone with one message. I can't imagine what I would do if I had to contact each person individually- well, I'd be on the phone all day and unable to take care of Gabe!!
So it is with the most sincere thanks that I leave this post.
I'll try to post an update about Gabe as soon as I get him settled in after dinner. If not, I'll post sometime in the morning tomorrow.
Love ya!
Kari

such violence from muppets I never did see...

Gabe (a little drugged up on pain medicine) has decided Bert deserves a butt whoppin' ala Ernie!

This was the first time Gabe expressed any interest in playing since his surgery- we were so excited to see him being silly- and I think it's hilarious how the medicine seems to have brought out a bit of a violent streak! : ) I appologize for laughing so much in the video- I couldn't help it, it was the perfect combination for me- it was so funny and I was so happy to see him having fun.

Enjoy!!

Happy to be home...

Here's a couple of quick pictures of our little guy shortly after getting HOME!!

He's loving getting the recliner all to himself!

His eye is really looking good now too!

I love this silly boy face! Sticking out his tounge when he giggles- just like his Mom!

More CHOP pictures...

Gabe's room (Gabe is sleeping)

ok, here's the other direction, this was a very big and comfortable room.

He had his own TV and playstation

The floor he was on was decorated with colors and shapes

and tons of thank you "cards" from other patients


They had all kinds of ammenities:

Laundry room

Living room

Toy "parking lot"

Play room for smaller ones

Play room for bigger ones:

I'll post more later- I need to get some rest, I am so tired. Anyway, I'll leave you with one of the first smiles we saw...

He's just so cute!!

Pictures from CHOP

Here's some pictures from our stay at CHOP

Gabe getting a puppet show from Daddy...

In case you were wondering: abductor pillow and multi-podus boots

Daddy keeping an eye on his little guy...

Discharged and headed to the top of Paperwork Mountian!!

Well, the process has started- we'll be doing final medications, discharge instructions, transportation paperwork, etc.- the next time I post....WE WILL BE AT HOME!!!
Until then- Kari

Going home today!!

As I write that I hope I haven't jinxed us (sad that I sometimes believe in that kind of stuff!) But, with that said..it looks like we'll get discharged sometime today. When the Ortho guys did rounds this morning they were very happy with how everything looked. Gabe is getting much better about letting people look at all his wounds and the only time he even fussed or cried is when they removed the tape- which I am sure had to hurt.
I will post more info as I get it- and I have some really cute video and pictures to post of our stay when we get home. Thanks for all your well wishes and prayers- again I can not express how much they truly meant to us.
xoxo!
Kari

tonight or tomorrow...

He's doing really well- he's handling transitions much better. It still hurts of course- he had major surgery, but he is handling it very well and is really beginning to understand that it will hurt a bit during the move but it will be all better when we're done.
The medicine is completely under control now. He's on a good rotation, one that allows him some lucid time as well as plenty of rest. We are going to talk to his Physical Rehab doctor however about increasing his muscle relaxer as the spasms have returned but not with nearly the frequency or severity.
So, it really depends on how busy the Ortho team is with surgeries. They may release him tonight, or sometime early tomorrow.
I'll post another update later if I find out anything new- If they are releasing us tonight, I'll just update after we get home and settled in.
Love, Kari

bit by bit...

Doing good- transitions are still a little rough (bed to chair, changing the dressings, rolling over, etc) but as long as we time them with when the medicine is really working they are manageable. He's doing good over all- now we just need to incorporate the routine stuff like really eating good, going to the bathroom (between the epidural and anesthesia- well, enough of that talk- I'm sure for most of you that is TMI... (too much information) :)
Anyway, as I was saying- it's time to incorporate back in the normal daily things with all the regular med's and pain med's then they might actually let us leave this joint some day!!
Thanks for all your messages and well wishes- it does really mean a lot to us & really goes a long way to brighten our days in this place. (while very lovely and kid friendly-it is not home)
Until tomorrow!
Our Love- Jeremy, Kari & Gabe :)

Doing good...

Gabe is doing pretty good- he is as a matter of fact ASLEEP in his chair!
We were all over the place earlier and tired him out. He really likes exploring all the cool stuff they have for kids to look at and do in the hospital. We went down and explored most of it our first time out. We also went to the gift shop and got an Elmo balloon and he also picked out Bert & Ernie puppets. He's going to get a puppet show from Daddy when he wakes up.
It seems like we have the pain under control for right now- we just have to wait and see how he tolerates transitions and eventually small tasks.
All in All things are going well- I'll try to post one more time tonight, but if not- I'll be sure to post an update tomorrow after rounds.
Love ya!
Kari

Up and at 'em

Well, he had his "bath" and we got him into a reclining wheelchair and out and about. He is still a little out of it but he has re-discovered his love for mashed potatoes and is all about taking rides in the wheelchair. At this point I am pretty sure he wants to sleep in it so he can go immediately upon waking up! We're getting the pain meds figured out and all seems to be well- keep us in your thoughts and prayers! I'll update again later tonight- I have to go now it's time for dinner.
xoxo!! Kari

doing good! Looks like maybe Monday

He's doing good on the new pain medicines, he ate a bit and is now sleeping again. I have a feeling the combination of drugs is going to keep him pretty sleepy. I'm going to give him a little bath this afternoon and get him in a wheelchair for a little walk. It's looking like Monday he'll get to go home. Dr. Flynn isn't back until Monday and I don't think the Ortho Dr. who is covering his service this weekend wants to make the decision about Gabe's discharge. It's fine with me, I like the idea of having some time at the hospital on the new medicines- just in case Gabe has any weird side effects. But- as I said so far so good- He's just sleeping. I'll update again after his little bath and excursion.
xoxo!Kari

Bye Bye Epidural!!

So far so good- the epidural is gone (for about an hour now) but it takes a while to wear off so the next hour or so will be the real test if the oral medicines are going to be enough to keep him comfortable. He's still on Valium- they added Tylenol & Oxicodone- so he should be loopy and in no pain. We just need to make sure he can handle the medicine without getting sick, or having trouble breathing. (which so far he is doing just fine)
I will check back in later- I want to be with him in case the pain comes back- just wanted to let you all know the epidural is out- which is one of the first steps toward going home!
xoxo! Keep him in your thoughts as he transitions over the next day or two, we hope it will go smoothly!
Kari

pain in the butt- or in the hips rather...

Well, I will start by saying things are still going well- however, Gabe is having some pain issues, he was doing so well they were skipping a lot of the "as needed" medicines. He was sleeping like a baby (a good one that sleeps a lot :) Anyway, he woke up and the pain started and took quite a while to get all medicines on board to give him some relief. He's doing much better now, honestly he's completely drugged up and out of it- which is probably the best. Who wants to be awake figuring out if it hurts?? Not me and definitely not Gabe. Other than the pain management stuff today has gone by quickly and quietly- wait... it's only 4pm. Today I guess has not went by too quickly :) (Ortho came in at 6am to change bandages- so that's why it seems later I guess.) Anyway, I want to get back in there with little guy- I like to watch him sleep and make sure they haven't drugged him up TOO much :) It's a mommy thing- (except that I keep catching Daddy doing it too!)
Keep up the good work- the thoughts and prayers definitely help!!
-Kari

Epidural comes out tomorrow

The "Pain Team" was just by to see Gabe and has decided to wait until tomorrow to start to ween down and remove his epidural. That means most likely he will not be going home tomorrow- probably Sunday at the earliest. He is fairing well. Mostly sleeping right now, which is good- lets his body work on healing. He asked for breakfast so I better get back- I want to be there when the food gets there so he can eat right away. I'll update again later.
Kari

dreesing change went well

The Ortho team came in and changed Gabe's surgical dressings around 6am. He was a really good boy and everything looks really good. He's still on a lot of pain medication (and still has the epidural) but they seem to be working pretty well right now- not too many "boo-boo" complaints. The muscle spasm part is pretty much over, he may get some later on here and there but the typical "post-op spasm window" has basically passed.
I'm getting him some breakfast right now and just thought I'd let you know how things are going. Keep little guy up there in your thoughts & prayers, there's still a long road until it's time to go home.
Love, Kari