An anxious day

Waiting anxiously in hospital waiting rooms sucks.

Today was the day we went back to Shriners to get Aiden's cast removed or changed. When we got there we were told that it may be a cast change or if the hip is still unstable, they may open him up again and that he may have to stay overnight. We were caught off guard to say the least, we were told this was either a cast change or removal and were never aware of the possibility that he would have to have another surgery and were totally unprepared to stay overnight - I only brought one bottle, not to mention I HAVE to be at work tomorrow! The doctor pretty much nixed all our hopes of him getting his cast removed, saying it was very unlikely so we went to wait nervously in the waiting room wondering if we would be scrambling to figure out how to stay overnight at the hospital or if we would get lucky and just get a new cast and get to go home.

About 45 minutes later they came to get me (just one person allowed in the recovery area...ugh) and when I walked into recovery I was shocked to see his legs moving under his blanket! I'm sure the nurses thought I was a terrible parent because instead of comforting and kissing him I lifted the blanket to see his little legs that have been hidden for 6 weeks! Then I gave him lots of loves and kisses :)

The doctor said his hip is very stable and a little too stiff, so they did not want to recast. While that was good news, she also said she can't see the ball of his femur on the x-ray, which was concerning. So, Aiden is now kickin' it (literally) in a brace which keeps his hip in the right position but allows him to move his legs around. He will be in it full time for at least the next month, but the good news is we can take it off for diaper and clothing changes and to give him baths! We are just so glad to get him out of the cast! It was so weird to see his legs again, they are longer and so skinny. His skin was in pretty good shape except very dry and flaky - but no red spots or rashes.

So now, we just have to hope that his hip stays in place and that his bones grow and we will get another x-ray at the end of April to see if he can come out of the brace for a little bit each day or altogether, of course there is a possibility that it will slip out and we will have to do the surgery and cast all over again....so we are really hoping that does not happen!

Here are his skinny little legs, still in the "spica cast" position!

This is his new brace, it was so funny he reached down to feel his legs and realized he could move them and started laughing. He just sat there kicking his leg and laughing for a few minutes...ah the things you appreciate when coming out of a spica cast, sweet little legs and regular diaper changes!