!Elbow & Shoulder Action!

So I sit, dressing my "little toy soldier" (that is what I called him the first year he was born, his arms were soo tight and straight down to his sides like a little toy soldier) and starting a new stretch the surgeron had told me I could start on his arm that had surgery back in August. I know I've mentioned the unintentional benefit of losening his entire arm. Well now he can lay on his back, raise his arm as high as he can, then gently relax his elbow. This allows him to passively touch his face laying down. Well the stretch part comes in once he's passively bent his elbow I take it and gently bring it over to the side and down toward the couch/bed/whatever surface. Thus the picture. When I'm actually doing it and not taking a picture it looks more like a right angle. I just had to share this pic because when he was born, and even into the last couple years there was absolutely NO WAY I could even imagine his arm up out and away from his body with him as an active participant. Sorry I just had to share my joy in this new found position.

P.S.- Never realized I had all these shirtless pictures of PJ. HAHAHA Now that we are done with the upper extrem. surgeries maybe I'll post some fully clothed shots!

Road to Recovery

The road to recovery seems to get shorter and shorter for PJ with each surgery. Today is December 12th and he returned to school today. He has been off pain meds and even tylenol for 4 maybe 5 days straight. It's only been 16 days and he acts as if nothing every happened. I believe he could have gone back to school the end or middle of last week.

Now he has matching scars on each arm. He calls them his number 1's. But I can see such SIGNIFICANT improvement. His arms were so rotated that when he brought them together in the front all you could get was backs of hands together. She rotated them out so that his arms are now in a nuetral position so that he can type without any strain but even better he can get them VERY EASILY to a thumbs up position!!! That is amazing. He will be able to bring both palms together. He will be able to do tasks that require 2 hands. he will be able to clap. AND now we've found a very good therapy to get that thumbs up position. VIDEO GAMES. His favorite it Tony Hawk. And though I'm not all about the TV time for little kids, I sat there and cried while I watched him actively use both hands on that controller, which his arms & wrists in an optimal position, and actively using his thumbs as well. It was a beautiful site. Just had to let you all know how awesomely he is recovering... I mean recovered. We go for our post op appt and regular old Arthrogryposis clinic Jan. 3rd.

OK so not the perfect position on the first night of video games with his hands in thumbs UP on both sides. BUT looks sooo much better than we could have ever imagined & he is improving his finger dexterity as well. Pics added 12/13/07

Pj's Last Surgery for a while

PJ was admitted to Shriner's Hospital for Children in Houston on November 25. This was the second time we had tried to do this surgery. The first he was not admitted due to an ear infection. He was first in line for surgery the following morning. The surgery actually began around 8:20 after his IV was run and he was put to sleep. The finished about 11 am. He did have to have a breathing treatment as he woke up, due to some congestion in his lungs. Once they got him up he was fine. He cried for about an hour. Then he slept for a couple hours and by 3 o'clock he was awake and ready to play. He played and played in the floor until it was time to go to sleep.

His is now at home and recovering very nicely. It's only been a week and he's up playing with his brother and running around and helping me put up Christmas decorations. Oh yeah... I forgot to describe what kind of surgery it was. It was a humeral osteotomy. Ok for those faint of heart this sounds kinda gruesome, but I've come to peace with it and the other side made a WORLD of difference. They make a small incision in his upper arm, cut completely through the humerus bone, rotate it outward so that his hands and stuff are no longer so inwardly rotated. Then they use a small titanium plate to hold it all together. The plate will have to come out in 18 mos to a year after they were put in. That is hopefully his next surgery. Barring anything else popping up and surprising us.With his arms not so inwardly rotated anymore, he can get his palms to come together, instead of the backs of his hands. So now he will be able to clap, type comfortably, hold heavy objects that require 2 hands, and hopefully his arms will be in a better position to write as well.

Well that's about it for now. He is having one little issue we are going to address after the new year. His AFO's are uncomfortable and it looks as if his feet are beginning to curve in again. He just had surgery this spring/summer on them to remove a wedge of bone there at the curve. I'm hoping it will be something easily correctable with a Dennis Brown Bar or something of the like. I'm just hoping and praying it will not be something else that requires surgery.