Surgery Day

To my surprise, Matt and I actually got some sleep the night before surgery. 

Thankful for that, since we were up bright and early for his 6:45am check in time. 

The night before, my Mother in law, Sally came in to spend the night, 

so she could stay with Rhetter the next day. 

(Thank you Nanny!)

We gave Case a long, warm bubble bath. 

Scrubbed his hands with the special wipes they gave us. 

Put him in cozy pajamas, prayed about his surgery, and kissed him Good-night. 

After our alarms sounded, we got ready, then scooped Case out of bed

and headed to Shriner's Hospital. 

We had been talking to Case daily, leading up to his surgery day.

"Dr. Riley is going to fix your thumbs, Case!"

"You are going to take a nap at the Doctor, and wake up with bandages on your thumbs, 

and they'll be all fixed under there!" 

After checking in, we were led back to the outpatient area, 

where we be spending the next several hours. 

What happened throughout the rest of the day, 

we can not even begin to explain or express how blessed, and loved on we felt.

First of all, they had TV's right above the beds, 

so right away Case was watching Mickey Mouse. 

Right across the hall was a play room, fully equipped with all sorts of toys. 

We played almost an hour in there, while simultaneously filling out the boring paper work etc.

Every single person we came in contact with,
were such a pleasure to be around.

Everyone made us feel so at home and comfortable.

A couple of hours later, we were walked down the the pre op area.
Again, we were blown away with all the things Case could play with while waiting.

 Our wonderful nurse, opened up a cabinet JAM PACKED with toys.
Case crawled down on the floor, so she got out a sheet,
so he didn't have to "play on that ol' floor" she said.

He's showing off his leg muscles...ha!

Then, everyone that was going to be in the operating room with Case,
came back and met us, shook our hands and introduced themselves to Case.

As you can imagine, that meant so much to us.
My anxiety started to rise a little, because I knew it was getting that much closer to Case undergoing surgery on his teeny tiny little thumbs.

After answering the last minute questions,and getting his hands marked,

we found out that Case was about to get his driver's license.

Why you ask?
Because he was about to drive his own truck to the O.R.
I mean, seriously.
How stinkin' adorable is that?
Our boy was so flipping excited, it literally took even the thought of being nervous
(for Case OR Mommy & Daddy)
away JUST LIKE THAT. 

Waiting for the truck to be pulled around...

and off he went.

...


While Matt and I walked away, hand in hand,
we prayed for our little boy.
Prayed for the Doctor's and the anesthesiologist,
prayed for everyone that would be with our boy.
Prayed that everything would go smoothly,
without any complications,
that he would have a successful surgery.

We wandered back to our room,
quickly grabbed something to eat at the little cafeteria nearby.
While eating my hash browns I started to feel it.
That lump in my throat.
 My knees started shaking, heart started racing, and I knew they were coming.
The tears.
We threw our trash away and walked back to the room where we were to wait for the call.
I lost it in the hallway on the way back,
as Matt rubbed my back and soothed my worried mind.
Matt was very confident, but I know my man was nervous as well.

So we get back, I've calmed down a little bit,
texting my sister, and friends updates, when we hear our phone ring.

They were already done!
Matt answered, and announced after hanging up,
"They are already done with one thumb, starting on the next and we can go ahead and go to the waiting room near the O.R."

We just started laughing!
It was so fast!
We had to wait a little while in the separate waiting room.
Nerves set in again, until Dr. Riley swooped in with news that everything went well, and they were all done!

Praise the Lord!

We raced back to our outpatient room,
waiting for our little man to be wheeled back to us.
 (and oh by the way, we came back to find a large bag with Case's name on it. 
Inside we found, a large puzzle book, play dough, a stuffed animal, 
a homemade fleece dinosaur blanket, and a big toy car. My oh my. I know I keep saying it, but we were absolutely blown away. Our nurse revealed that it was all donated by volunteers.)

Matt and I stood shoulder to shoulder,
when we finally saw our sweet baby being rolled in on a hospital bed.
His Bob, and stuffed Chocolate Lab (appropriately named Gunner, given to him by Avery) by his side.

When he saw us, he became so weepy.
Bless his sweet heart.
His little hands were wrapped in bandages, and blue gauze.
He just cried and cried for several minutes.
I crawled up in bed with him, and we got him distracted by watching the Disney Channel.
We cuddled as he slowly came out of the anesthesia fog.
A few hours later he finally ate some crackers and drank some sprite.
It broke our hearts when we tried to feed him crackers,
he would reach for them, but then realize his hands were wrapped up, and would just cry and cry!

I tell you what though, after that fog faded he was one hyper little boy!
I hadn't imagined him coming out of it so well!
He was jumping up and down, ready to go home, ready to play puzzles, ready to see Rhett.
Just ready! Ready for anything!

So they discharged us, we waved Good-Bye and were home by around 1 in the afternoon.

What a trooper.

We came home to Nanny and Rhett who were anxiously awaiting us.

Case wanted to show her his puzzle book right away, and that's his new dinosaur blanket behind him.

Nanny stayed the night, and all day with Rhett. Oh and brought m&ms.
Mimi brought over a Dream Lite puppy, Case named Riley after Dr. Riley.
Case's teacher/director from preschool, Ms. Jennifer brought by a balloon and candy.
Our friend Clair brought over a gift card for dinner and lots of goodies. 
Mom and Dad brought dinner and dessert over for that evening. 
Blessed.

We were just overwhelmed by all of the prayers, sweet notes, gestures, messages, and posts by all of our sweet & wonderful, family and friends.
We felt so unbelievably loved on.
So unbelievably blessed.

Thanking our loving God for watching over our baby.
Thankful his little thumbs are fixed.
Thankful for an absolutely amazing experience at Shriners Hospital.
Thankful for a wonderful Doctor, and everyone involved in caring for Case.
Thankful for an awesome husband to go through this with.
Thankful for our parents who helped out so much.
Thankful for all the words of encouragement
Thankful for the prayers.
Thankful.
So thankful.

"Let's Schedule a Surgery Date"

We've been checking in on Case's thumbs with Dr. Riley every 6 months, since late 2011.
Our appointment in July 2012, was another x-ray and "let's wait and see" appointment.

As explained in previous posts, we were waiting to see if Case's bilateral trigger thumbs would release on their own, and we could avoid surgery. 
Typically, between 3-4 kids hands grow, and the tendons would either release or remain tightened, 
causing the bend in our little guys two thumbs. 

We had another check up Monday morning.

We realize now, after some time,
 that Case's thumbs probably aren't going
to permanently fix themselves on their own.
Our Doctor explained again, that the likelihood of this is less and less after the age of 4.

Well, we have a four year old, and he still has bent thumbs.

His right thumb still occasionally slips out and will straighten, but it always bends back up the same day.
With preschool, and kindergarten starting in the next couple of years, plus t-ball coming up again this spring,
Matt and I decided that it would be best to go ahead and get this over with.
Dr. Riley completely agreed and encouraged our decision.

So before we knew it, we were talking surgery dates.

We scheduled one for the beginning of February,
but Matt called, as I am writing this post, to let me know he has a work conflict for the date we had set.
Then quickly responded back that we were set up for just one day later, the 6th. 


I know that this will be much harder on Mommy & Daddy then for Case,
kids are so resilient, and I know he will barely have any memory of this when he is older.
I am just already a wreck about the thought of anesthesia, and of him feeling scared!

I know that God will see us through this, as He does everything.

We would be so thankful, and appreciative of prayers for our sweet little man,
and for Mommy & Daddy too! 

I am excited for Case to have working thumbs soon,
and to not ever have to worry about them again.
I know they will take such good care of him.
They had pictures and video taken of his thumbs before we left our appointment,
we are definitely looking forward to seeing the difference after surgery!

Now we are just waiting on Wednesday, February 6!

Case's Little Thumb

Today while playing Case stopped and ran to me crying saying "Mommy! My thumb hurts! OW OW OW!"

Whenever he says anything about his fingers or his hands, I always check out his thumbs to see if it could have anything to do with his trigger thumbs.

Usually I press on his little bent thumbs, and nothing happens. They are always still locked in a bent position. 

This time though, I noticed his teeny right thumb was moving - bending - working! 

It was unbelievable! 

I thought back to what the Doctor told us. That as he got older and his hands grew, his thumbs would most likely "fix" on their own or get worse as the tendons would either slip out or tighten even further.

I could tell his thumb was sore to the touch, he didn't want me pushing on it, but I couldn't help laughing and saying Case look! Your thumb, it's working! A few minutes later he started playing again, and I began calling the Grand-ma's, and family and whoever would listen! This was exciting news - I mean this could mean no surgery! His left thumb was still locked, but having the right one release gave me so much hope for the other one! 

(Below: Last November when we discovered it, you could literally not budge it from this bent position)

Well, a couple hours later, at nap time. I examined his thumb again. It was locked. Back to a tight bent position. My heart just sank. I assumed that maybe it had slipped out while playing, which caused the pain. Then again, it sort of "popped" back into place. I convinced him to let me mess with it for a minute, I put a little pressure on it and POP it started working again - only this time bless his sweet little heart he just screamed and screamed and screamed! Hello Mother of the Year Award! 

Oh my word I felt terrible! 

He was inconsolable! 

I was trying to comfort him, when I asked him if he'd like a band-aid. 

That's when I quickly figured out, it did hurt, but it scared him more than anything. Because the mention of a band-aid had that boy laughing...and Mama very relieved that I didn't just traumatize my child. 

So, a quick trip downstairs for a sympathy band-aid and he went right down for a nap. 

I was so confused. 

Before nap time I had actually called Shriner's hospital and left a message with our nurse. 

I was happy I didn't hear back from her until later that afternoon so I was able to tell her how it was working, went back to a bent position - then how I pressed on it and it worked again. 

She assured me there wasn't really anything they could do, and that we should keep our appointment in July for the additional x-rays and talk to them about it then. 

 So I decided to leave it alone. 

Seems like they are starting to maybe loosen, or at least we are hoping they are. 

We are hoping and praying little guy doesn't have to have surgery on them, and if they continue to do the slip in and out thing - I am hoping that is a sign we might not have to. 

As I said, we go back in July. 

Can't wait to hear what they have to say about it! 

Hopefully they'll play another waiting game with him, and they fix on their own! 

That would be just the best thing ever.

Follow Up Appointment

We met back with Dr. Riley today, about Case's teeny bilateral trigger thumbs. 

The last time we saw him, was back in early December. He wanted to give it some time to see if his thumbs would improve on their own. 

Apparently, kids his age with trigger thumbs either get better or worse, 

and it just takes time to see which way it will go. 

In December, we met with him at his office at Central Baptist, 

and this time we met with him at Shriners Hospital. 

It was amazing. 

It's a hospital set up just for kiddos, everyone was so nice, and it made Case feel so comfortable. 

Almost too comfortable, he didn't want to stop playing! 

I dropped Rhetter man off with my friend Kelli, 

and Case and I headed over to the hospital, and met Daddy there.

Case was SO excited when he saw Daddy's truck in the parking lot! 

We walked in, and he played in the awesome play area while we waited for new patient registration. 

While waiting in the exam room, we had another Dr come and examine Case before Dr. Riley came in. 

He asked him to touch his thumb to each finger, index, middle, ring and pinky - on both hands. 

Case did it just fine, and he later told us that, that was one of the most important functions of the hand. 

(Yay!) 

He confirmed that Case obviously isn't hindered or in pain by his bent little thumbs, 

which we are so thankful for. 

 

A few minutes later, Dr. Riley came in.

It was kind of a repeat of the December appointment, he explained again that as 3 to 4 year olds with this condition grow, their bones enlarge and the tendons will either tighten, causing an even tighter bend, or it will release and his thumbs will be forever "fixed".

 So, he wants us to meet back with him at Shriners in 3 months, and take some more x-rays to see what's going on in those hands of his.

Sometimes no news, can be good news!

Mommy & Daddy just have to wait this one out. 

We are just thankful that we aren't doing a premature surgery that could possibly be unnecessary. 

 

We know God is in control though, Matt and I prayed together for our little man last night, 

and I know He will be with us every step of the way.

 

 Colossians 3:15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.
2 Thessalonians 3:16  Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.

 

So now, we're just waiting on July! 

Case's Thumbs : An Update

We had our appointment today, and it went so well! 

Daddy met us there, and we headed up to see the Doctor. Case had a blast pushing all of the elevator buttons. 

When we got there, we saw a very good family friend, Linda Mosley. She works in the office, and it was so nice to see a familiar face! 

We finally met Dr. Riley, after hearing so many wonderful things about him, and we loved him. He was great with Case, and was very easy to talk to.

Turns out, this is more common than we thought. Even the nurse that took us back to our room told us that her daughter had it when she was little! We had some x-rays done, and he quickly came back to explain what was going on. It is indeed trigger thumb, but he explained that 75% of kids with this condition heal on their own by age 5. However, we'll have to start thinking about how his thumbs are functioning closer to school age. (When he needs to know how to hold a pencil correctly etc.) He also explained that surgery would be the solution. Apparently, physical therapy and splints haven't proved that effective in trigger thumb.

So basically, there is no rush. He wants us to have our pediatrician refer us over to Shriner's hospital, so that we can be in the system. He wants to reevaluate him there in the Spring. He said we could decide then if we wanted to go ahead and have the surgery. We'll see how's he is doing then, and if his thumbs haven't had any successful change, then we'll probably go ahead with the surgery in the Spring. He suggested Spring, since he will have to stay out of water for two weeks, and it wouldn't interfere with swimming in the summer. (I thought that was sweet, and very thoughtful) Matt also mentioned t-ball in the fall so it just makes sense to get it taken care then.

Feeling a huge relief, now that we have a game plan...that might be a different story around surgery time if it comes to that. ;)

We'll keep you posted as we know more. 

We are SO VERY THANKFUL for all of the prayers and support. We really felt all of the love from our family and friends. 

We know God has this under control. :)

Stomach bugs and Cancelling Appointments

Remember my post about Case's thumbs? Well, the date finally rolled around for his Orthopedic appointment. The appointment was for November 30th, and a few days before, Matt called our friend Eric (a trauma surgeon) to see if he had any recommendations for an Orthopedic Surgeon. (The Doctor we were scheduled with, worked in the same building as Eric, so we figured he would be the perfect person to ask for many reasons!) He called us back that Tuesday evening and said the Doctor we were meeting with was great, but didn't work with children that often - and that he recommended a Dr. Scott Riley. 

We of course decided to keep our appointment, and then we would decide what we wanted to do afterward.

Well, plans changed around 6am Wednesday morning. I came down with a vicious stomach bug, I was getting sick every 5 to 15 minutes, and it was not letting up. By the time the boys woke up around 7, Matt ran to Kroger for me to pick up some Pepto and Ginger Ale. For the few minutes he was gone, I tried to pick Rhett up and change his diaper, and had to immediately put him down. Then, I was over the toilet with Rhett standing behind me patting my back, and Case saying "Eww! Yucky Mommy! Yucky!

(Sigh)

By the time Matt got back, I was in tears. I literally didn't have any idea how I was going to take care of the boys that day. I was just miserable. The only thing I was really thinking that morning though, was how Case was going to get to his appointment. I first thought that maybe Mom could take him, and Matt could meet her there - and I would just pray that Rhett would be napping while they were gone. It turned out that Matt had a meeting that morning, and wasn't sure when it would be over. It just kept getting more complicated. I called Mom and Dad, and Dad said "Well, these things happen, can you cancel and reschedule?" "It took us a month to get the appointment though." I said. It was so frustrating - but we ended up deciding that Dad was right. There was just no way it was going to work out today. I was so disappointed. I called the office and left a message, letting them know we weren't going to be able to make it. 

Now that was taken care of, I called Mom and pleaded for her to help me. She thankfully came over and took care of the boys for me, I had Phenergan left over from the stomach bug I got when I was pregnant with Rhett last summer - so I took that and literally slept the entire day. Matt was able to come home at 4, and let Mom get home. I was able to rest all day, and I took another half of a phenergan that evening and felt so. much. better. the next morning. I already called into work for that Thursday, I wasn't sure how I would be feeling, I'm glad I went ahead and did though. I know I wasn't up to getting everyone packed and out the door so early the next day. 

 I was so thankful that my version of the stomach bug (that seemed like it took over Lexington) was quick and relatively easy thanks to medicine. Especially since I needed to schedule another appointment for Case as soon as possible. Matt and I decided to go ahead and cancel the original one all together, and try to get in with Dr. Riley. I was praying that morning that he took our insurance. I called first thing, and not only did they take our insurance, they had an opening the following Monday! (Praise the Lord!) 

Talk about one happy Mommy and Daddy. After telling Mom the Doctor's name we were recommended, she gasped and said that she knew him! That he was so gentle and sweet, and that he has performed hand surgery on my Aunt Sue Sue! Throughout the day, I just kept hearing more great things about him. Turns out he attends church at the church I teach in, and has performed hand surgery on my director's son's hands when they were little. We just couldn't be happier.

A few days after this, Matt got the bug too, his too was pretty quick. Thank goodness.

Well it's Monday. Doctor Day. Thanking God that we are over all this sickness, and that Mom is able to watch Rhetter man today.  We can finally take Case in for this consult (today at 2:30pm)  that we have been waiting for since the beginning of November. 

Case's Thumbs

Last week, we traced the kids hands at school for their Turkey hand prints craft. After Ms. Jackie traced Case's, she asked me if I had noticed that Case's thumbs did not extend to a straight position. I said No, and quickly went over to see for myself. Sure enough, his little thumbs seemed locked in a bent position. It was so strange, and I became obsessed with touching and trying to maneuver his thumbs all day long. By the time bedtime came around, I was still so puzzled. Matt was studying late that night, 

and I ended up calling Mom to talk about it with her. 

We started researching on the internet, and she came across something called "Trigger Thumb". It seemed to fit his description, and I searched further and found lots of Mom's telling their stories of their children having the exact same thing - though it is rare in children, Case is definitely not alone. (Most had surgery to correct it)

I showed Matt as soon as he came home, he agreed that he in fact couldn't bend them into a straight position, he quickly assured me that there were lots of other options other than surgery, splints, steroids etc.

We decided to go ahead and make an appointment with Case's pediatrician, to see what he thought.

I tried to make an appointment the end of that week we noticed it, but I didn't hear back from them and ended up calling again Tuesday morning on our way to school. The receptionist got us in for a quick appointment that day, right after school.

I talked to Case man the whole way to the appointment, explaining that  Dr. Latham would be looking at his thumbs, and wiggling them back and forth and that he needed to let him. (I had been driving him craaaazy touching his thumbs and moving them around, so I was afraid he wouldn't let Dr. L touch them!)

So, when Dr. L came in, Case immediately shoved his thumbs in the air for him to see them! (and was also obnoxiously shoving them in his face when he was writing in his chart! ;) Dr. L seemed concerned, and said he wanted us to see an Orthopedic Surgeon. He said he thought it was something that he was probably born with, and as he matured the tendons grew tighter and tighter causing it to lock into a bent position. That made me feel better, I was starting to wonder how on earth I had never ever noticed it. Dr.L seemed to be upset he hadn't noticed it either, he is always so thorough.  I did mention Trigger thumb, he nodded but didn't say whether or not he thought that was what it was. 

He was going to take x-rays that day, but decided to let us wait and have the Orthopedic Surgeon take them in case he wanted different angles.

SO...now we wait. 

Our nurse called us that afternoon and let us know she set him up for an appointment at the Kentucky Clinic on S. Limestone, on November 30th at 1:30. He's set up with the Hand Service Doctor there.

We are hoping for the best, we know God is watching over our little man, and if surgery is in his future we just pray that he will wrap his arms around us, and be there with us every step of the way.

Here's a few pictures of the little guys thumbs: 

This is literally as far back as he can extend it.

Comparison between his thumb and mine

Bless his heart. 

Prayers would be greatly appreciated, as we figure out how to fix his teeny tiny thumbs. He doesn't seem to have any problems with them yet, but of course as he gets older it could cause problems with writing and sports etc. Dr. L assured us that it would be best to get it taken care of now, and we totally agree.