Once again it has been far too long since I have updated this blog. Almost a year. Wow, Sorry! The good news though is, as they say, no news is good news and that has definitely been the case here. I am happy to report that this year has been a very good one for both Bryce and Annalise. We've tackled a few speed bumps along the way, but overall we have been very blessed and have thoroughly enjoyed some healthy, fun family time since my last update.
I'm not even sure how to update everyone after such a long time. I think I will just hit on a few highlights and promise to do better with the updates this year. Bryce's biggest challenge this year was his hip surgery. As I mentioned in one of my past posts, Bryce's hips had moved out of the sockets so far that surgery had to be done. Since it was going to be a major surgery we decided to get a second opinion from Shriner's hospital in Utah. Although the doctor we saw said that it is a very tough decision to make not knowing for sure what Bryce's diagnosis and prognosis are, she said that if he was her patient and we decided to have surgery done, the type that Dr. Shrader was planning to do would be exactly what she would do. So that was comforting. She said that if Bryce was only going to live a few months to a few years it would probably not be worth putting him through the surgery and possible "side effects" of it. But, if he was going to live for longer then that it would help with future pain and issues that would arise due to the incorrect growth of the hips. Although we didn't like the thought of putting him through a surgery, we did like the plan to have him for years to come! So, after much thought and many, many prayers and fasting, we decided to go ahead with the surgery.
After we had many discussions with Dr. Shrader to be sure we understood what was going to happen, Bryce had major hip surgery done on November 19th. To put it simply the surgery involved cutting the hip bones, moving things into place, and then securing everything with plates and screws. Thanks to the many prayers on Bryce's behalf, he did great and everything went well. In fact, Dr. Shrader said that the surgery went much better then he had even hoped. Blessings!
Finally January came and it was time for his checkup and permission to remove the braces for good.
I'm not even sure how to update everyone after such a long time. I think I will just hit on a few highlights and promise to do better with the updates this year. Bryce's biggest challenge this year was his hip surgery. As I mentioned in one of my past posts, Bryce's hips had moved out of the sockets so far that surgery had to be done. Since it was going to be a major surgery we decided to get a second opinion from Shriner's hospital in Utah. Although the doctor we saw said that it is a very tough decision to make not knowing for sure what Bryce's diagnosis and prognosis are, she said that if he was her patient and we decided to have surgery done, the type that Dr. Shrader was planning to do would be exactly what she would do. So that was comforting. She said that if Bryce was only going to live a few months to a few years it would probably not be worth putting him through the surgery and possible "side effects" of it. But, if he was going to live for longer then that it would help with future pain and issues that would arise due to the incorrect growth of the hips. Although we didn't like the thought of putting him through a surgery, we did like the plan to have him for years to come! So, after much thought and many, many prayers and fasting, we decided to go ahead with the surgery.
After we had many discussions with Dr. Shrader to be sure we understood what was going to happen, Bryce had major hip surgery done on November 19th. To put it simply the surgery involved cutting the hip bones, moving things into place, and then securing everything with plates and screws. Thanks to the many prayers on Bryce's behalf, he did great and everything went well. In fact, Dr. Shrader said that the surgery went much better then he had even hoped. Blessings!
After the surgery, the anesthesiologist told me that since two of Bryce's teeth were loose and he didn't want them to get knocked out during the surgery, he pulled them while Bryce was under. He handed me this container with Bryce's teeth and the dollar. He said the tooth fairy had left them for Bryce.
Taking out the epidural
The hospital was great about blending food for us and letting me feed Bryce real food that he is used to while we were there.
These little packets of Real Food Blends came in very handy as well.
Bryce was pretty out of it for a good couple of weeks after his surgery, but it wasn't long before he wanted to be up and moving whenever he was awake.
Bryce was originally scheduled to be in the hospital for 5-8 days, but everything went so well that we were able to come home on day 4. Annalise was very happy to have her buddy back. The rest of us were very happy to have him home as well.
After a couple of weeks we were able to take off the outer bandages. This is what was underneath. I wasn't quite prepared to see that. He had a matching set of stiches on the other leg. He had to wear the braces and hip stabilizers at all times except during his showers.
Getting a sponge bath. This was almost always a two person task.
Annalise always wanted to be by his side. Here she is having (pretend) breakfast in bed with Bryce.
Bryce definitely had some rough times,
but visits, calls, gifts, packages, etc from friends, family, school teachers, and even people we have never met, made this challenge just a little bit better!
Bryce's first smile since surgery. He loves this penguin that sings and dances!
Finally January came and it was time for his checkup and permission to remove the braces for good.
X-rays were taken of his hips and once again Dr. Shrader was very pleased, almost surprised with how the healing was going.
Bryce has had a couple of follow up visits since January and he continues to heal well. He suffered with a lot of muscle spasms and pain originally from the surgery as well as some issues with the pain medications, but considering how major this surgery was, we can't complain. ...well, Bryce can...but very rarely does...but we as those caring for him certainly cannot.
Bryce will go back to the Orthopedist in November which is when we will discuss surgery to remove the hardware that is helping to hold his hips in place. Unfortunately Dr. Shrader has moved to Minnesota so we will be meeting with a new surgeon. The change will be hard and a bit nerve racking since Dr. Shrader has cared for our children since the beginning. Through 3 surgeries and almost 7 years.
Okay, that was a pretty long post and I've only shared one thing from the past year. I think I will go ahead and finish this update in another post.
