Year In Review

I thought it would be fun to do a quick (yeah right!) summary of the past year. 

January

The year started with some fantastic family photos. Seriously, just gorgeous.

February

We took Caleb to his first wheelchair basketball practice...he was instantly hooked.

March

(This was a busy month, a lot happened during this time.)

We took a trip to San Antonio.

Benjamin said "good bye" to his burp cloth.

And we learned that Caleb's spinal cord was tethered and surgery was scheduled.

April

Caleb had tethered cord surgery.

(That pretty much consumed April)

May

Caleb got to meet Wheelz. Very cool.

And I had a "mommy tantrum".

June

It was the summer of crafting at our house!

It was also the summer of the Slip'n Slide!

I ended the month with some Deja Vu

July

I went to the SB Conference. It was amazing! These women are amazing!

We got ready for the Olympics.

August

Caleb turned 7....I'm still trying to wrap my brain around that!

Caleb started 1st grade.

Bond between Brothers

September

With your help we raised $1335 for the SBANT!

Benjamin got up close and personal with a fire truck.

Benjamin started preschool, just 2 days a week.

October

(an exceptionally crazy month)

The month started off with a "Rough Few Days"...and that's putting it lightly.

Benjamin photo shoot at the park.

We celebrated a Shuntiversary.

Awesome Cardboard Creations.

Pumpkin Patch fun.

November

Caleb had his first basketball tournament.

Spina Bifida Family Camp.

December

Our ADVENTure began.

Oklahoma Basketball Tournament.

A lesson in "Sibling Love"?

My baby turned 4. Unbearable to believe he is already 4.

I think that about sums up our year, well the highlights anyway. Thanks for sharing this journey with us!

Freeing Butterflies (and a quick Caleb update)

A few weeks ago I posted about our tiny baby caterpillars and how the boys were anxiously awaiting to see them transform into butterflies.  The caterpillars took about 10-12 days before they were full grown.  It was amazing to see how quickly these caterpillars grew.  When they were ready they climbed to the top of the container and hung upside down.  Within hours they have a hard shell around them, also known as a chrysalis.  So weird.  Once all the caterpillars had formed their chrysalis, I moved them into the butterfly garden.

And then we waited.  And waited.  It takes another 10 days or so for the butterfly to emerge out of the chrysalis.  We had 4 butterflies total, 2 of them emerged on Monday (we let them go on Wednesday) and the other 2 emerged on Friday (we let them go today).

The boys loved watching the butterflies.  

I gave the butterflies fresh orange slices twice a day.

The butterflies were pretty eager to get some fresh air.  I tried to let the boys hold them but the butterflies were ready to fly free.

Caleb did get to hold a rollie-pollie. :)

This kid just has mischief written all over him.  I love that little stinker.

Today I noticed 2 butterflies hanging out on these flowers.  I can't be certain that they are the same butterflies we let go, but they sure look like it.  I like to think our butterflies are going to hang around our house to visit.

Quick picture with my big boy.

My sweet Caleb has been so sick today.  He woke up with a 102.7 fever and very cloudy urine.  I had been worried about a possible UTI since he was in the hospital for his tethered cord surgery.  They actually checked it before we were discharged and it came back clean.  I have just been pushing fluids all week, hoping that it was nothing.  He never had a fever so I assumed that he didn't have an infection.  Well, he got sick fast today.  His fever was over 105 degrees by lunch time.  Over 105 degree temperature makes this momma start to freak out a bit.  We took him to the ER because we were pretty sure he has a kidney infection.  We were right.  Luckily, they just gave him a heavy shot of rocephin and sent him home.  As long as he doesn't get worse or start vomiting then we can avoid a hospital stay.  He did throw up once tonight after dinner but it was minimal.  He is burning up though, poor baby.  I hate kidney infections.  They make him so sick.  He was just starting to get around more since his surgery and now he is down and out with this infection.  Kid just can't catch a break.  Hopefully the rocephin will take the edge off the infection and we can avoid going back to the hospital.  His previous kidney infections have landed him in the hospital for 3 days.  I really don't want to go back to the hospital.

Caleb's PT came out this week.  After doing a quick re-evaluation, we decided that Caleb needs PT 3 times a week for the next 3 months, or until he gains back all of the function he lost after the surgery.  He is crawling much better but he still can't stand up at all and walking is obviously out of the question right now.  Ms. Vicki seems optimistic that Caleb will make progress quickly.  I am going to keep him home from school this next week and then see how he is doing the following week.  I will probably start him back with a half day here and there to see how he does  He misses school so much.  He had a couple of his classmates visit him over the weekend which was such a blessing.  His wonderful teacher came to see him a couple of times this past week and she brought letters and pictures from all of his classmates.  They were so sweet.  I will definitely tuck those away for safe keeping.

Day #3

Caleb was allowed to sit up a bit today.  The neurosurgeon said to let him sit up off and on throughout the day but to make sure he goes back to laying flat in between.  The doctor is still pleased with his progress and the incision.  Things are on track for us to be home by the weekend.  Caleb will have to take it easy for quite some time.  He will likely miss the next 3 weeks of school and even when he does feel up to going back, it will have to be for a half day here and there.  It will take some time to get him back to normal activity so we will have to gradually increase his activity.

Caleb was so excited to finally get out of the hospital room.  We took him for a short wagon ride down to the playroom.

The playroom had a giant screen for video games.  Caleb was in heaven.  We had to limit his time because we didn't want him to overdue it.  After about 30 minutes, we took him back to the room so he could lay down.

Luckily, he had his buddy Bryce to keep him occupied for a couple of hours.

I just had to share this.  One of Caleb's classmates made this "get well" card.  How cute is it that he drew a picture of Caleb in his wheelchair!  And with spiky hair and glasses!  So cute.

Caleb enjoying some pizza for dinner.

The physical therapist is going to come by in the morning to work with Caleb.  I think the plan is to see if Caleb is able to stand or take any steps.  I'm not sure what to expect.  I guess it is worth a try but I know that it can take weeks, even months, for him to regain the strength he had.  We'll see how he does.  

Thanks for all the prayers and comments. They mean a lot.

Day #2

Caleb is doing well.  He hasn't complained of any pain and hasn't had to take any meds since yesterday.  The neurosurgeon was pleased with how well he is doing and, assuming things stay good, Caleb should be home by the weekend.  I don't think we are out of the woods yet, we still have to be very careful and cautious about fluid leaking out of the incision.  Speaking of, his incision looks amazing.  I took a picture because I know that some of you (if you are like me) want to see what it looks like.

He is laying on his side in this picture.  The incision goes all the way across the back, almost horizontal but not quite.  It is angled a bit.  It looks really clean and neat.  I was impressed when I saw it, I was expecting to see something gross.

He keeps getting hot flashes (even though it is FREEZING in here) so he doesn't want a shirt on.  I get cold just looking at him but he says he is comfortable.

He has gotten a bit antsy and grumpy about having to stay on his side and not being able to sit up and move around.  Thankfully the Child Life volunteer came by and saved the day.

Caleb has been playing video games (mostly NASCAR) for most of the day.  It has kept him happy and occupied.  The neurosurgeon wanted to keep him off his back for the most part today so we have been flipping him from side to side.  He seems pretty comfortable, although he is tired of laying down and wants to sit up.  Hopefully tomorrow.  His right foot is twitching like crazy but his legs aren't jumping around as much as they were yesterday.  He did have a headache this afternoon.  It didn't last terribly long but it made me nervous nonetheless.  I will definitely be on the look-out for headaches.

(talking to Grandpa Al on the phone)

(the poster I made for him)

Anyone that visits him has to sign his poster!

So that is the update for now.  We are basically just passing time in the hospital, trying to keep him occupied and happy.  I'll continue to update on Facebook and on the blog regularly because I know many of you are anxious to hear how Caleb is doing.