Fall Outing

This Humphrey family didn't really have any plans for today so when Drew called and said their first choice of friends to hang out with got sick and they wondered if we wanted to meet them at a nearby orchard, we decided to take them up on it.  Ian hasn't really been out except to get his casts on, so we thought it would be good for him and of course, we never turn down a chance to see the granddaughters!

The orchard was young and not producing yet but we took a wagon ride (which thrilled Ian) and brought home some gourds.

 Ian has never met a dog he didn't like.

 Family photo (Felicia needs her shades!)

 Brenna signing Ian's cast

 Pops making Felicia laugh

Now, tilt your head to the right....

 (This picture was not sideways when I loaded it, so I'm not sure what happened but I can't seem to fix it.)

Again, no clue why it's like this.

Cast Signing

Ian got his casts yesterday and it turned out to be more of an ordeal than we were prepared for.  They stretched his legs a bunch and he was in more pain than after the surgery, even with meds to help.  After a traumatic ride home and some rest in his favorite recliner, he finally felt like getting in his wheelchair and having everyone sign his neon green casts.

 Dad got to go first with a giant marker

 Lucas was next

 Then Jeremy (and mom, too!)  In this picture, you can kind of see the stretch that they got.  His legs used to only stretch to about a 90 degree angle, so he's already made progress.  We are praying that the pain and discomfort will be worth the end result.

 Jeremy always wants his picture taken whenever a camera is present and if Ian was going to have his picture taken with Jeremy, then he certainly insisted on having one with his favorite person in all the world......Dad!

We are so thankful for our good friend, Lynn, who came with me to have the casts put on and brought dinner, too!  I can lift Ian with the casts on but he was in so much pain and it was a huge help to have someone there to help get him in the van and hold on to him on the trip home.

Before bed last night, Ian was trying to tell me something that I didn't understand so I got his talker and he said he wants to go back to school!  The plan is for him to go on Monday for part of the day.  I think he's tired of mom.  ;-)

Simple Joys

One thing I've learned in the last 3 years is that those of us with functional legs cannot even begin to imagine how important a wheelchair is to someone who doesn't have the ability to walk.  Because of a miscommunication with the surgeon's office, Ian ended up with a non functional wheelchair after his surgery.  In other words, we are paying a month's rental for a chair that he can't even sit in.  Anyway, our incredibly wonderful OT and PT were on it immediately  and managed to get the parts (which had to be painted and shipped from CA) here in record time, so Ian could have his chair back.  Lenard came this morning and attached them and we wasted no time!  We headed out into this beautiful weather and Ian directed me to his favorite corner.  He still LOVES watching semis roll by and tries to get them to honk.  

It all reminded me of how often we used to do this when he first came home and before he started school.  If you care to see what he looked like 3 years ago, you can go here. Some things never change. 

Not only did he get to see lots of semi trucks, but we had a caravan of large vehicles pull onto our road due to a problem.  I asked if they minded an audience while they figured it out because they were making Ian's day!  So, he got to see everything up close and personal until they pulled out again.  

You can see by the above picture, that he still has splints on, but gets the casts tomorrow.  He's doing really well but frequently asks me to take those things off his legs.  

To everyone who has been praying, thank you!  What was supposed to be a one day hospital stay turned into a 3 day visit because something made Ian very sick (anesthesia, narcotics, flu bug???) and it took awhile before he could keep anything down.  He is back to his normal happy self and boy, are we thankful!!!  Now we begin the serial casting process.

Another Surgery

Yes, I am once again woefully behind on blogging and I continue to blame it on our pitiful excuse of a computer.  However, feel free to go to Lindsay's blog to see what I was up to last week:  http://lindsayandtroy.blogspot.com/2012/09/a-week-with-grammy.html  It would take me weeks to upload all of those pictures.  

On a different note, we would appreciate your prayers for our sweet Ian as he will be undergoing bilateral hamstring lengthening on Thursday morning at 8:00 a.m. at Peyton Manning Children's Hospital.  Ian's hamstrings are very short due to the cerebral palsy and also, the fact that he has learned to use them to help hold himself up while in his chair.  They will be lengthened as much as possible and he will have full casts on both legs that will be changed every week for 6-8 weeks, as they stretch further and further, we hope.  There is no way to know if his legs will be completely straight (probably not) but our hope is that they will be straight enough that he will be able to bear weight more effectively.  This would help with transfers as he continues to grow.  We are dreading the next few weeks because we can't stand to see him in any discomfort and know it won't be pleasant.  However, if anyone can get through it with a smile, it will be Ian!  Thank you for praying!