WHEW!!!

It's done!

Not only is the surgery over with, but Alex is already home! He did so well!

We checked into the hospital on Wednesday afternoon, ate dinner there, watched TV, he played some video games and I answered a thousand questions about his diabetes, his meds, his - well, what didn't they ask about? It was also his first night wearing his CPAP machine....

He looks kinda loopy because he was. Literally 2 seconds after taking this picture he fell asleep. He slept great and didn't once try to take off the mask! Maybe it's because I told him he looked like Luke Skywalker. Yes, I'll do anything to get him to do what he needs to do!!

We woke up early and more doctors and more nurses came in. One doctor needed to verify which hip they would be operating on and wrote 'YES' on Al's hip. Alex thought that was the funniest thing ever, so we had to take a picture!

What they ended up finally doing is taking out both of the screws, putting in huge, new screws, drilled holes in his growth plate to hopefully stimulate bone growth, then casted him. If this doesn't work, his next surgery will be 90 times more intense - that's the doctor's words!

Alex was in surgery by 8:30 and out by 11:30 and back to his room by 1:00. And ate everything in sight by dinnertime. I'm not kidding! He started off with a Popsicle, moved directly to applesauce, then chicken noodle soup, then chicken nuggets and french fries. AND he wanted more!!!

Yes, that is a black cast! And yes, it goes from nipple to ankle. Let me clarify, it is around his whole torso, but only down the right leg, so the left leg and "other" areas are open. They gave him a couple of cute briefs that snap down both sides. Quite ingenious actually. But we'll have to make more!

He thought the cast was quite cool that first few hours, telling everyone he has rock-hard abs and that he's like Iron Man, but when it came to bedtime, it was a completely different story; "Take it off!!" "It's too big!" "It hurts me!" Yeah, we drugged him. I also let him move around to get himself comfortable, and that seemed to help instead of us trying to manipulate his body where we thought it should go. I didn't even try the CPAP on him - I figured the cast was enough to get used to. But he slept through the night once he fell asleep and woke up hungry. I got him some waffles and sausages and when the docs all came around for rounds there was no question he was going home that day. He just was doing too good! They gave us a loaner wheelchair, and I immediately took him for a walk. I HAD to take a picture of him in front of some very famous Shriner's........

I had no idea Sully was a Shriner! (These statues are in the entry to the surgical area and even though it wore Alex out, I got my picture!) He then slept for the next 2 hours while I packed up and got all the paperwork done. Mike helped us get in the car - thank goodness! I'm not going to be able to lift this lug. He's 87 lbs, and then add that huge cast.... awkward!! When we got home, we tried to get him down the hallway to his bedroom, and guess what? The chair is too long to make it around the corner of one door, and too wide to go in the other! So, Alex is camping out in our living room for the next 6-8 weeks. Yes, that's how long his cast will be on! We have an appointment in 6 weeks and they will take x-rays then to see if they want it on longer, but even when they do take it off they are putting on a splint of some kind, and I would imagine he will still be in the wheelchair with that, too.

Today was a good day. Got in and out of his wheelchair a couple of times to go for walks, ate lunch in the backyard, and pooped! Hey!! The first poop in a bedpan is a big deal!! And he's getting more used to the cast. He's even moving himself around the bed a little bit, so he's not just staying in one spot.

He truly is the bravest kid I know, and he is such a trooper! Hopefully the next 6-8 weeks will go quickly!!