Then we had to put up Kate's hair so she didn't get any in the casting material, also put Vaseline on her armpits, Kate thought that was pretty weird. She actually laughed through most of the process. Had to remind her to think very unfunny thoughts. Having her hair up makes her look so old! It's really cute, though. I hope she will wear it that way when she's older.
After having a few measurements taken, the casting material was applied. It got warm and cooled as Kate gave us the play by play. She did say it was kind of hard to breathe in, but her real brace will have a "release" or an open spot that is opposite of where the pressure will be applied on her spine.
You can see in the photo's all of this taking place. Then the cast was cut off. Of course Kate asked her how many people she had cut in the past, she is so snarky, ha ha. She picked out a brace called tattoo, it's white with some swirls on it. Kate thought that was pretty fitting given my RN job of removing tattoos.
While I am holding back tears and sending texts to my sisters using code for swear words, Kate is happily talking about the color of brace she wants to get. This amazing kid, her smile and roll with the punches attitude is literally the ONLY thing that keeps me not falling totally apart. Any mom of a child with health issues can probably relate, but I seriously feel guilty about all the things Kate goes through. What had I done in this pregnancy to mess things up when she was forming? How many times have I wished to go back in time and redo the pregnancy.
So here's the deal. We come back on Wednesday the 24th for an hour long appointment that will take us through trying the brace on and making adjustments, how to slowly start wearing the brace, things to watch for, etc. After she wears the brace for two weeks, we come back and get rechecked. We will also go in and have another X-Ray of her spine done. Assuming the brace is helping, we continue to have regular check ups and change brace as she grows. If it's not helping, well, we will cross that bridge when we get there. Another surgery.
We got some information on websites that other scoliosis kids go to to meet each other and talk about clothes and life in a brace, etc. I will definitely be getting Kate talking to some other kids. She can wear the brace underneath her clothes as long as she wears a seamless cotton t-shirt underneath it.
Since Abby is now living in France, Kate has been sleeping on Abby's bed at night. Abby's mattress is incredibly uncomfortable and hard, but Abby likes it, and Kate has not ended up on the floor since she has taken the bed over. Small victory? I'm counting it.
The other victory, her cardiac echo shows that while her body continued to grow, her aorta and other vessels have remained stable, and even slightly smaller than last year based on her body to aorta/vessel ratio comparison. EKG also normal. It is good news, and I am incredibly grateful.
Thank you to everyone for your continued support through this journey. Kate and I joke around how our bodies love us so much. I sometimes think I got Meniere's Disease, deafness, tinnitus, etc. just so Kate will have a partner in crime in having our bodies really kind of fail us.
No comments:
Post a Comment