Straightenin' Up...

Show's Over, Folks

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:58:34 -0500

I’m pleased to announce that I see no reason to continue these updates. His last stitches came off today and he’s just a normal teenager. I rate this surgery a 9 compared to a 3 last time.

Now back to your regularly scheduled internet….

Doctor Visit

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 14:47:28 -0500

Brad’s kyphosis was corrected to 47 degrees, which is very close to normal. His scoliosis is gone completely. He feels really good and is pretty much painfree.

He asked Dr. Haber when he could drive again. Dr. Haver said 4 weeks is the norm, but people heal differently and to check with the insurance company to see if they had a rule. Turns out they don’t…gonna to hard to keep him penned up.

He can now swim and bathe, but should stay out of reservoir water for a couple more weeks. Think about that next time you drink jackson water.

I’m very glad that he doesn’t have any loose screws, or any more than he had before.

"Re yesterday…ditto."

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 20:51:32 -0500

“Re yesterday…ditto.”

- Rhonda

Pre-surgery

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 19:23:52 -0500

Pre-surgery

Doing Fine

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 19:21:17 -0500

No pain today. He went riding around with a friend today for the first time since the surgery.

Follow-up appointment is Friday….

"Brad is doing much better. He is taking Advil for pain, if he takes anything at all. He has..."

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:40:13 -0500

“Brad is doing much better. He is taking Advil for pain, if he takes anything at all. He has overdosed on Xbox in the last couple of days. He has been eating milkshakes almost daily to try to put some weight back on that was lost the week he didn’t eat. His post-op appointment is this Friday. I will post again after that. Now if I could just get him to the barber…”

- Rhonda

Brad et al up river…

Sun, 31 May 2009 18:00:36 -0500

Brad et al up river…

Tobi on the Bow

Sun, 31 May 2009 17:33:24 -0500

Tobi on the Bow

Brad Upriver

Sun, 31 May 2009 17:33:14 -0500

Brad Upriver

Up River

Sun, 31 May 2009 17:31:30 -0500

We went up river today, which entailed a 20 minute car ride on Yandell Road (ouch!) and crossing some big boat wakes. He seemed to do fine all day, much better than hanging around at home. He can’t get his stitches wet, so he complained about the heat some…nothing about the pain.

The current was running like crazy as they must have opened the spillway gates, so I had a trying time navigating the river. We ended up going all the way to Cole’s Bluff to our favorite sandbar. The current was so strong that we had to set an anchor fixed to a stern cleat to keep the boat from heading downriver without us.

The neighbor girl (MT, or Miles Taylor) went with us, along with Tobi and Beth.

Video to come…but it was too much fun to spend a lot of time videoing.

Tobi Fetching a Stick on Vimeo (via Vimeo)

Sat, 30 May 2009 19:07:16 -0500

Tobi Fetching a Stick on Vimeo (via Vimeo)

Saturday

Sat, 30 May 2009 19:07:12 -0500

Brad’s had an interesting day. He was kinda depressed earlier in the day, but got outside in the afternoon and really seemed to enjoy it. I recorded him throwing the stick for Tobi, which I’ll post as a a link in a minute. He seems pretty good tonight - spent $20 on amazon.com mp3 downloads and is listening to his purchases.

He’s only taken pain medicine once today (to my knowledge), and he’s planning to go on the boat with us in the morning. We’ll see how that goes….

Friday

Fri, 29 May 2009 15:00:32 -0500

Brad slept all morning after the restless night. Rhonda finally woke him up at noon and tried to get him interested in x-box, but he doesn’t care anything about it(?).

I just now texted Brad and he said he was doing well. He got the garbage cans in and he picked up one of Tobi’s toys….small victories.

Thursday night

Fri, 29 May 2009 14:59:24 -0500

…was a repeat of Wednesday night. Better than before, but not exactly restful.

Pain Free For a While

Thu, 28 May 2009 19:50:31 -0500

When I got home today, Rhonda said Brad just got up from bed and said “Hey, what’s going on? I feel pretty good!”. He was pain-free, all of the sudden. He was walking around like normal and didn’t seem to hurt at all.

Some folks from work provided dinner tonight (Thanks! it was great!) and stayed a few minutes to visit. He didn’t hurt the whole time they were here. Afterwards, we walked around some and he started hurting a little in a different place, but nothing like before.

I’m not getting my hopes up yet, but I hope he’s turned the corner.

from Rhonda: It seems that there’s a good day, then a bad day, then a good day… He has...

Thu, 28 May 2009 11:35:17 -0500

from Rhonda:

It seems that there’s a good day, then a bad day, then a good day… He has been taking less pain medicine and asking for it less frequently, which is good, but he is still in a great deal of pain. Last night, we didn’t get up as much as we have previously. He just would have me turn him over from side to side periodically during the night. He is a little depressed, which is understandable. I took the dressing off of the incision this morning and it all looks good.

I told Brad about the weekend and he said he may be up for it....

Wed, 27 May 2009 19:44:29 -0500

I told Brad about the weekend and he said he may be up for it. Tobi needs a sandbar!

Same Ol' Same Ol'

Wed, 27 May 2009 19:25:25 -0500

He’s getting pretty discouraged during his second week of bed/chair rest. This is not what an 18-year-old envisions for the summer after graduation.

Tuesday

Wed, 27 May 2009 12:26:05 -0500

I worked all day yesterday for the first time in a week, then was out at a company dinner until 9:30, so I wasn’t around much to observe him. Rhonda and Brad had another restless night, moving around the house at random trying to get comfortable. He has improved for sure and is in less pain, but at times, the pain is still quite a lot to bear.

No Medicine

Tue, 26 May 2009 11:02:01 -0500

No medicine today since 3:15am. It’s 11am now….