10 years

Tuesday (Steven's birthday) came and went so quickly. We started out with an appointment with Dr. Jones at 8am. The xrays looked great--even I could see the new growth and Dr. Jones had his assistant take Steven's cast off and ordered a splint to be made for him. He wants us to be able to work with Steven's foot to get it more flexible and strong and ready to use with his prosthetic. During the whole appointment, Steven was really worried that he was going to be late for school, he especially didn't want to miss P.E. :)

Here are some of the promised Xray pictures. This first one was taken on December 14th. My camera doesn't do it justice, so you may have to click on it and look at it prettly closely to see why I was alarmed when I saw it.



This is the same position on Tuesday, a month after the first was taken. Can you see the new growth at the fracture?



The splint order turned out to be a little more complicated than Dr. Jones anticipated. After a try at the orthopedic center, I called Shriners to set up an appointment with Steven's prosthetist. My calls weren't immediately answered, so in the meantime, Steven went to school. As I was in the middle of making Steven's birthday cake, I got a call from Shriners saying they wanted us there in an hour. So, I packed up the cake batter, the sleeping girls, and headed to the boys' school where I picked them both up and then dropped off the girls and the cake batter at my sister-in-law's house and asked if she could please bake the cake. (Which, of course, she kindly obliged.)

Steven was really dissapointed about being plucked from school for an appointment. His class sings "Happy Birthday" at the end of the day, so he hadn't passed out his treats or gotten his birthday attention before I checked him out early. He was crying when we were alone in the office. When I asked him why he was so sad, he said, "Today isn't going at all like I expected!"

I was thinking about the last year, since his last birthday when he was starting to limp, how so little since that birthday has turned out how I expected. And how our multiple trips to the doctors and my mother and sisters babysitting my girls, and unexpected medical needs of the day summed up the last year well. And later when he got a special birthday dinner surrounded by people who love him dearly and where he was showered with presents, I thought that also represented the attention he has been given all year.



By the end of the night, he went to bed happy. He was able to take a bath and we let him sleep without his cast. Things turned out well for him afterall. Today his splint was ready and we spent the morning getting it fit. It isn't perfect, but he only has to wear it for a few more weeks and then can very gradually start bearing weight. (Since the cast was cut off until he got his splint, we had been wrapping his cast back on his leg with an ace bandage.) Between the resetting of the bone and the fact that his foot has been stretched out in the cast, he can already straighten his foot out so much better. I'm wondering if he will even need a new prosthetic right away. We should know soon.

These ten years since Steven was born have been the best of my life. His birthday is particularly special to me because on that day I became a mother. Nothing could have prepared me for all the wonderful and difficult things that come along with motherhood. I grew up the oldest of nine kids and thought I knew what to expect. The moment I heard Steven cry, I knew that I would do anything for that child and when I saw him, I finally believed in love at first sight.

Happy birthday, little Steven. May your year be full of the wonder and curiosity that has marked your whole life. I wish you many happy birthdays and I hope that you will never have to spend one at a doctor's appointment again!