Smarties- the best bribe

We had another visit this morning to Chase's clinic to try out the next test socket. This one fit much better than the last one and didn't seem to hurt Elias at all. He wasn't too thrilled at first, and we couldn't get him to stand for very long. I found some Smarties in my bag, and wah la!, the mood suddenly turned around. He went across the little room a couple times with the walker and me helping him take steps. All for a little Smartie! It was awesome!

When we got home, the Physical Therapist came for one hour of therapy. Usually Elias uses a little stool to weight bear on while doing activities. But today he did it with the leg instead. The PT and I expected Elias to tolerate it for only about 5 minutes. BUT HE STOOD FOR 45 MINUTES! ON TWO LEGS! After the first 10 minutes or so we didn't have to hold him at all- he just kept his little hand on the table or wall while we kept him busy with fun activities. We put a full-length mirror in front of him so he could see himself. This was a great idea, because for the first time he could actually see his leg. He just stared at himself for the first few seconds, and I think he really realized what was happening. He didn't tire much at all, which means he was really using that prosthetic leg for weight bearing. It was so surreal actually, because it was if he had been standing on that leg all his life. It was so natural for him. This has been our exact prayer, and it was awesome to see God answer it like this!

Feeding Daddy a Smartie














Taking a few steps

Standing at the table

TWO shoes!

Today was the first time that Elias got to stand up on his prosthetic leg. It was so exciting to see him standing on two legs! Chase put Elias' shoe on the foot of his prosthetic leg, and when Chase brought it out, Elias was so surprised to see another Elmo shoe. He gave us this look like, "Where have you been hiding this other Elmo shoe???!" It was his first time to discover that he actually has TWO shoes!

Today was the fitting for the test socket, to see how it fits Elias' residual limb. Chase and the crew drew several marks on the socket and made a few modifications until they were happy with the way it fit his leg. Usually the fitting for the test socket doesn't have all the other prosthetic components, but Chase went ahead and put them all together so that we could see Elias stand up using both legs. It was a great moment! Elias wasn't too happy about it though. I'm sure it was a rather scary experience for him, and it also wasn't very comfortable for him until after they made a few modifications. The Elmo shoe factor did help a bit though. (Thanks, Lulo!)

We brought the leg home with us so that hopefully Elias can make better friends with it over the weekend. We'll have to think of some games to play with the new leg.

This is really an exciting step (pun intended) and makes me look forward to getting the final leg in a week or so- just in time for our trip to Texas for Aunt Lizzy's wedding!

Here are a few pictures of our day:

First time with the leg on

Making muffins with Levi earlier this morning

Happy Holidays!

We hope you're enjoying the Christmas season and are still eating all you can before the New Year's goals go into effect on Monday. :-)

We haven't posted in a while, mainly because we felt like we just didn't have much to talk about. Life really seems like it's back to normal, and who wants to hear about normal life?! :-) Elias is doing great. Totally back to his usual self. For a while there the nights were pretty difficult as he woke up constantly. It seemed as though he was/is having some kind of phantom pain or sensation and just couldn't get comfortable. Meagan would rub his little leg, and that seemed to help him relax enough so that he could get back to sleep usually. We put him back on the strong meds at night, and that also made a huge difference in allowing him to get much needed rest.

The swelling in his leg has gone down considerably and the incision is healing nicely. Right now the plan is for Chase to cast his leg on Friday, then make the first test socket. That's exciting! We went and picked out some fabric with monster trucks on it (Elias is REALLY into monster trucks right now). Chase will laminate that material into the plastic that makes up the socket. It's gonna be a cool leg! And we're hoping that the monster truck factor will make Elias excited about wearing it. He's certainly going to be the only kid on the block with a monster truck leg. Well, as far as we know at least.

A lot of people ask how often he'll get a new leg. Don't worry- he won't still have a monster truck leg when he's 28. :-) It really depends on Elias' growth and activity. Most likely Elias will get a new leg every 6 months to a year. The usual standard is a year on average. But of course Chase will want to hook him up with the latest and greatest stuff.

Meagan recently joined a support group for parents of amputee children. She's learned a lot and has developed a more realistic picture of what life will be like in the future with Elias. In short, it'll be a lot of fun and not much different from an able-bodied kiddo! But there are a few day-to-day issues that will be different (like taking off the leg for diaper changing and certain play activities) and learning about those things has helped her know more about what to expect. It will take Elias some time to learn to use his leg. And most likely he won't even like it at first, although the monster trucks might actually engage him a little- for at least the first week anyway. Our prayer is that he takes to his leg quickly, and that his 2-year-old mind will be able to catch on quickly to the fact that this new contraption we're asking him to wear will allow him to walk and run alongside all his little friends.

Elias turned 2 on December 14. Here are a couple pictures from his party and him playing with his newest toys.





Playing in the new ball pit from Lulo- complete with 350 colorful balls!











Testing out the new drum set (with built in flotation devices for pounding out rythm in the tub).









Yummy Elmo cake. Elias is a very neat eater, and at first he insisted on only using his spoon to eat the cake. Finally he caught on to the idea that eating with your hands is much faster and more fun!

Almost one week ago...

Chase here. This time one week ago, Meagan and I had just drifted off to sleep in parent housing at Shriner's in Erie, PA. Elias was asleep in a pack-n-play beside the bed and oblivious to the life-changing event that would take place in less than 10 hours. I remember Meagan and I just staring at him while he slept... admiring his beautiful little face and laughing at the contorted position that he usually got himself into after drifting off. I remember thinking, we're finally here. All the preparation for the adoption, traveling to Africa and carrying my son out of an orphanage while he was sick and weak, long nights back at home trying to find a way to assure our new son that he was loved and that he could go to sleep, exploring surgical options for his leg and future prosthetic miracles... all coming down to this.

Now... we've weathered the storm. We've crossed over the impending mountains. We've passed through the gauntlet and lived to tell of it... and we came home with a stuffed Cookie Monster doll and some left over Slim Jim's - the booty of an epic adventure.

Elias continues to improve daily. Today, Nani (Meagan's mom) helped me perform a dressing change on Elias' incision and he hardly made a peep. I was able to touch his leg, test his range of motion, and generally inspect it without any problem. He even stood on his knees and put most of his weight on his amputated side! His pain is diminishing more and more, and he's starting to push the limits. He keeps doing things that make Meagan wince but I usually get a kick out of it. For example, Meagan was in the kitchen today putting away dishes and doing other various tasks at the kitchen sink. She heard Elias say something so she turned around naturally to see what he was up to. She heard his voice but couldn't see our little boy. As she looked down, she found that Elias had pushed the chairs under the kitchen table as they should be and then proceeded to climb into them and lay out over two of them (under the table) in some sort of hide-n-go seek kind of way that he thought was hilarious. I love that little boy.

We will continue to keep you all updated on the great Evil Kenevil of Ethiopia and his latest death-defying performances as they happen.

Chase

Post Surgery- 5th day

We've been home now for four days and it almost seems as though life is back to normal. Elias is completely off of his prescribed pain medication and is only taking ibuprofen now every few hours. Everyone told us that he would heal much faster than we expected, but that was hard to imagine when we were in the midst of the tough hours in the hospital. But it really is true! His leg is still pretty swollen but even that is getting better. As soon as the incision heals (10 days or so) then Chase will put a "shrinker" or compression sleeve on Elias' leg. This will help contain the natural atrophy that occurs, reduce the swelling, and get the limb ready for a prosthetic leg. (I have to insert here that this is all new terms and vocab for me. I try hard to get it right because Chase makes sure to correct me anytime I use the wrong lingo.) :-)

Elias still doesn't move around quite like he used to. The day after we got home, he would try to get up on all fours but then start crying pretty hard- a mixture of pain and frustration. Now though he either scoots on his stomach or slides along the hardwood floors on his knees. However, he's pretty much content to just stay in one place and play with the toys around him. Whenever he's hurting, he lets us know by saying "stuck", "I sorry", or "gentle." I was bracing myself for very difficult days of recovery, but I have to say that it's quite easy to have such a sedentary, compliant child for a few days.

We're supposed to change his bandages every couple of days. I generally consider myself to have a pretty strong stomach when it comes to stuff like this, but NOT when it's my own son! I thought I was either going to vomit or pass out last time we changed it. The incision is covered with strips so it's not even exposed. I'm just a real wimp I guess and a horrible assistant to Chase. I might have to enlist Nani to take my spot next time.

Well, off to bed. Elias has been waking up a few times during the night and I'm on "night duty". (Chase will take the early a.m. shift).

Thanks everyone for your comments and encouragement!

Pictures

Tuesday a.m.- Dressed and ready to go down for surgery.



















Tuesday a.m., right after surgery. We came back to our room and read books for a while.









Wednesday a.m.- Finally feeling good enough to play with tractors again.

Wednesday p.m.- a brief outing in the stroller out of the hospital room and down the hall to the FUNNEST game room ever.
















Thursday a.m- Hanging out in the hospital bed, surrounded by toys and watching his new favorite, Thomas the Train. The docs removed all the bandaging around the stump and now he only has gauze and tape along the incision.

Thursday p.m.- Wagon ride around the block. It felt so good to be home and get outside!

Thank you!

Wow. I can't tell you enough how much we appreciate your prayers, support, concern, and encouragement. As we talk about this time throughout Elias' life we'll always be able to tell him about the amazing group of friends and family we have that care so much about him. It's a great feeling as a Mom to know how many people love your son.

It feels wonderful to be home and see Elias laughing and playing with his toys. He's able to lay on his stomach and play with toys in front of him. And he occasionally tries to use his good leg to scoot around.

I have to say though how incredibly wonderful the staff at Shriner's are. They took such good care of us. It's a small hospital specializing in orthopedic care for children and we felt like the only patients in the whole place. Last night as Elias had trouble sleeping, his nurse came in and told us to go back to sleep and she would take care of him. I had tears in my eyes as we said goodbye to the staff. We'll see them again though when Elias goes back for inpatient physical therapy soon after he gets his prosthetic leg.

We love you all!