Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Cast Off!

Big day for Jake as we headed to Children's Hospital LA to remove his cast from his arm and thumb.  Busy day there and after a long wait, we headed up to the cast room where the technician could bivalve the cast making it easier for Dr. Panossian to remove with care.  The cast saw's noise bothered Jake despite the fact that it doesn't hurt and we had to hold and calm him until the creases were made in the cast.  After heading downstairs, Jake was apprehensive about letting the Dr. remove the cast but with reassurance from all, Jake allowed the Dr. to remove the cast and all of the bandages.  Jake's hand looked a little weathered after being in the cast for that long but there was no doubt that his thumb is much longer and straight.   A pin is visible now as it runs underneath the nail and into his bone holding the graft in place.   The pin will remain for three weeks so we had to head back upstairs to have a splint made to protect the pin.   The splint covers just his thumb which is a huge upgrade from the heavy cast.  Jake's arm was still very stiff from being held in a bent angle at the elbow for 3 weeks but throughout the day he moved it more and more.   A little concern with summer time, camp etc. but we will work through it to make sure Jake is safe but can still have fun.  

Next up for Jake, his preschool graduation on Thursday!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have never met a stronger person as Jake, nor a stronger family as the Reiss family. Inspiring to say the least... :) I'm so thankful to know y'all and grateful that I can have even a tiny impact on the lives of your sweet family. I cannot wait to see the boys thrive in "big boy school." :)

Katherine

Tiffany Ann Johns said...

What an encouragement! Jake sounds like quite an amazing little boy! Thank you for posting about his (and your) journey.

Our daughter, Campbell, just received a prenatal diagnosis of Apert Syndrome (she's due in December 2012), and we are trying to learn all we can about Apert. I would love to connect with you, if you're open to it. We recently met with Dr. Mark Urata from Children's LA. I read that you've seen some of the doctors from there and would love to hear about your experience.

Our daughter's page is www.campbelltaylor.me and my email is ta_johns@rocketmail.com .