Kevin's Healing Journey: Home from Surgery

Monday, February 19, 2018

Home from Surgery - February 19

KEVIN WAS AWESOME TODAY!

Home! Fed! and Happy!

Grandee and Pap arrived yesterday and we went out to the winery for a meal. Everyone was in a good mood including Kevin and we talked about seeing the doctor for surgery the next morning to help him walk better. He seemed to be agreeable. It's a big help and makes a big difference to have Grandee and Pap with us!
Early this morning I made Kevin a quick one-page overview for the day.

We left the house at 6:00AM and arrived at the hospital by 7:00AM with NO problems. Kevin was okay during the drive and when we arrived at the hospital. He sat very calmly with Grandee and Pap in the waiting area...and smiled! I couldn't believe how well he did during the entire before-surgery wait. Kevin didn't even need his stimming spoons, music, or photos. PRAYERS WORK! Thank you God and to all our prayer warriors!

Kevin was given some medicine before we left for the operating room and when they put the mask on him it took him longer than the other surgeries to fall asleep...and he got to listen to one of his favorite songs in the operating room - Mulan's "I'll Make a Man Out of You".

Waiting very calmly with Grandee & Pap

They're ready for us

Smiles!

Kevin and Mom dressed and ready

The surgery started about 9:00AM and lasted not much more than an hour. The doctor took his time to talk with us before and after the surgery. Can I just tell you how much I love and trust this doctor. He made us feel very comfortable going through these 3 surgeries in 13 months. All the staff at the hospital has been great...some of them even remember us from our previous surgeries. We have been very blessed with these good experiences.

The Doctor said that Kevin did very well for the bone growth restriction surgery on Kevin's right (good) leg. He made two incisions on the inside and outside of the knee. He "irritated" (or drilled) the growth plate to break it up and added two screws to make sure it can't grow anymore. The knee and entire right leg is bandaged with a couple wraps that we will remove on Thursday. He used a numbing medicine in the knee that will be effective for about three days. Based on Kevin's past experiences I doubt we will need to use much oral medication except for an anti-inflammatory. Kevin is able to move his knee and encouraged to gently move and weight bear as tolerated. After about 7-10 days we can try walking.

Upon waking up from surgery...Kevin quickly became agitated with the wires and the wrap on his leg. We were glad the Doctor had specifically told us that Kevin is not brittle or fragile and it is okay for him to move around. He was bending, moving, and kicking his leg a lot while he grabbed the tubes and wires and his wrapped leg. As we left the hospital he settled down and was happy to be going home. He's been wide awake and content on the couch watching his favorite movies. He is able to transfer into the wheelchair ON his right foot...he doesn't put much weight on his left foot without his brace and shoe on.

It's going to take time to visualize any change in leg length difference. Currently there is a 3cm difference between the legs. The growth plate grows 9mm (10mm equals 1 cm) per year and now that the growth plate is stopped and Kevin has 3 more years of growth remaining...it should allow the left leg (short leg) to make up those 3cm of growth. Of course there are no guarantees and there will probably always be some difference in leg length (like most people) but at least not any greater difference than we have currently.

Front view

Side view

Sorry the photos flipped and are sideways

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My Blog

This blog was created to keep our family and friends updated on Kevin's healing journey. It is also our hope that others may find this blog to give help and hope to other delayed kids.

About Kevin

They told us Kevin would never walk or talk. But with lots of prayers, hard work, and extra hands, he began walking when he was four years old and we continue to have faith and hope as we wait patiently for his speech to develop. Kevin is now eight years old. He is diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy due to a brain-injury he had before birth that was caused by a stroke. In 2006, before Kevin was 2 years old, we found Glenn Doman’s book "What To Do About Your Brain-Injured Child" that had answers to help children with special needs and developmental delays. We began an individualized home treatment program for Kevin immediately and have been dedicated to our program ever since. We spent three years with the Doman family at The Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential (IAHP) and now we are with Matthew and Carol Newell at The Family Hope Center (FHC). Twice a year we return to Philadelphia where Kevin receives a neurological evaluation to determine the progress he has made in the last six months. Then they provide us with an individualized, program that puts me in charge to help Kevin develop and reach his fullest potential.

Do You Know a Delayed Child?

The best recommendation we can give to another parent with a special needs or developmentally delayed child (brain-injured, brain-damaged, mentally retarded, mentally deficient, cerebral-palsied, epileptic, autistic, athetoid, hyperactive, attention deficit disordered, developmentally delayed, or down's) is to read Glenn Doman's book What To Do About Your Brain-Injured Child and/or Dr. Coralee Thompson and Dr. Philip Maffetone's book Healthy Brains, Healthy Children. By simply reading these books, you will gain valuable information to help your child which will begin to unlock the potential your child has. And best of all you will learn that there are other options to helping your child that you can do yourself. We would also highly recommend attending the parent course at FHC or IAHP. To read how our journey began and the successful progress Kevin has had refer to the January 2010 blog archive.