John’s Surgery

John had his surgery today. We knew he was to have this surgery since July, but it still seemed to sneak up on us. Probably because there was questions about insurance that didn’t get answered until this past Friday.

He was first on the list to have surgery this morning, so we had to get up nice and early. And then the waiting began.

First, we had to wait in the waiting room. Then, we had to wait in the pre-op room. It seems they didn’t have the implant ready, so they had to get it, then sterilize it (40 minutes). In the mean-time, we had to find something to do, so Beth decided to spend some time with John.

Of course, our doctor had to wait too.

He’s a crazy guy and has a great rapport with kids – always joking and making them feel comfortable. Soon, it was time for the surgery.

The surgery took about 2 hours total. They worked on both his legs/feet. They extended his right tendon (cut it and sewed it back together). This is so he can have more flexibility in his foot and walk with a heel-toe strike.

In his left ankle, they placed a metal shim. His foot was turning and the bones were not aligned properly. This shim should hopefully help. It won’t allow his foot to get any worse.

So, John came home with a cast on both legs. He is not to put any weight on either leg for a few days and then only on his right leg. His left, he is not to use at all for many weeks while the tendon heals. We want to be super cautious that he doesn’t blow it out.

It was great when John started feeling better in the recovery room. here he is goofing around.

John did feel a little nauseous when we returned home. He is feeling much better now. our biggest challenge right now is getting him from the bed or couch into the wheelchair. And then from the wheelchair back to the bed/potty/sofa, etc… He’s not a light little kid anymore and he’s not supposed to put any weight on his feet. you can pray for my back the next few days!

Speaking of wheelchairs, we found out Friday that our insurance would not cover the left foot surgery with the implant. this also means they probably would not cover a wheelchair. Not a good thing to find out just a few days before the surgery. We had to take a check over to the doctors office for the implant and for the doctors. Can you say bye-bye emergency money! (Thanx Dave Ramsey for that tip!!) That also means they wouldn’t cover any ramps or things like that. It made for a busy few days of preparations and planning.

Beth went a got a wheelchair from United cerebral palsy yesterday – yeah! They were great and even gave us a folding ramp. Double – yeah! They were such a blessing to us.

Then, Beth’s cousin told us that he would get us a powered wheelchair (he works for a wheelchair company). He said their company takes care of family. Triple YEAH!!! Can you say WOW! They delivered it this afternoon.

Can you see how big John’s smile is in this picture of him in the powered wheelchair!

He is to rest. So it looks like lots of movies for us! The plan is to get the cast off his left leg (implant) in about 3 weeks, and the other off in about 6 weeks.

It was such a blessing to get many emails and facebook updates of people praying for us, remembering us, putting band-aids on themselves to remember to pray for us throughout the day, etc… We felt very covered in prayer and appreciate it all so much!!

Thanx!