Good news from today!!!

Jacob's appointment today was scheduled for 11 AM. It is a bad sign when you show up two hours early as requested and the surgery has already been delayed 80 minutes. It would have been nice to know this ahead of time because Jacob was a. antsy b. sweating and c. starving. None of these makes for a good 4+ hour wait in a crowded waiting room. Jacob was flipping out (think MEGA toddler tantrum) and Ian and I had to take turns restraining him and pacing the halls trying to calm him down. Ian even went over and parked himself in front of reception with a flailing Jacob hoping they would pity us and send us in early. Nope. They also told us it IS necessary for us to show up two hours early so they can spend 5 minutes "taking his vitals" which consisted of taking his temperature. That's it.

Once we got called back it was 1 o'clock and we had been in the pre-op "holding" area since 8:30 AM. We were taken back to anesthesia and waited another 15 minutes before the doctor came to talk to us. He explained the procedure again and answered a few questions for us. He said this would definitely NOT start the clock over again and Jacob should still have the cast on for 6-12 weeks from the date of injury which was good news in and of itself. He also said this type of bone movement is common in the first 3 weeks and could possibly happen again in the next week. After the 3 weeks, the leg should stay put until the healing is complete. He said the 6-12 week time frame depends on the biology of the child and since Jacob was a preemie with a history of rickets he could very well be on the 12 week end of things so not to be surprised.

Another 40 minutes went by before the anesthesiologist and his team came to get Jacob. Only one parent can go back until he falls asleep so Ian suited up and headed back since he knew the drill from the first time. They told us the procedure would take 60 minutes....maybe less (HA! right....) so we headed over to California Pizza Kitchen to kill some time, eat a quick lunch alone and regroup before heading back over for the post-anesthesia meltdown. On a sidenote, can I just say that CPK's Pesto Cream Penne is to DIE for....but I digress.

After splitting the chocolate souffle with vanilla ice cream (SO good) we hurried back to the "holding area" and right as we were walking in they called our name! Perfect timing! When we arrived in the PACU, Jacob was flipping out and a nurse was trying to hold him down and prevent him from ripping his IV out. We ran over to him and as soon as he saw us he started calming down. Can I just say there is no feeling worse than watching your child in pain and not being able to do anything to help them? After 45 minutes of waiting in recovery, Jacob was sitting up happily watching Dora and eating graham crackers and apple juice.

The doctor came in and told us the best news we could have heard. Jacob's leg has already started the healing process and has come along "significantly" as the doctor put it. He said it is ahead of schedule and the longer breaks tend to heal quicker than the shorter breaks. He said if all continues to go well Jacob could have his cast off in 2-3 weeks!!!! Dr. Braun was fabulous and is going on vacation in two weeks which is when we were due to come back and he set us up with his partner so we don't have to delay anything and he can get it off sooner rather than later as long as everything goes smoothly. We were very happy with him and would highly recommend him if anyone is looking for an Orthopedist in the Boston area. The nurses, on the other hand, were atrocious this time around and I am considering writing a letter to Tufts. I have never dealt with a more moody and disrespectful group of health care professionals which is shocking coming from me because I rave about everyone at Tufts.

All in all it was a successful day. Jacob has his new green cast (pic below), we got wonderful news and we had a fabulous lunch!