Zac's fixator was removed today...I for one was so happy about that, it has been a long time coming!!! My excitement, however, was dampened a bit when I saw the cast that he has to wear --thankfully for only 2 weeks. It is a Spica cast, which comes all the way up and forms into a waistband. I have heard horrible things about getting them wet and the smell that comes along with that. Like I said, thankfully it is only 2 weeks. The other thing is that he cannot sit up. it should be interesting trying to keep an almost 3 yr old named Zac down for 2 weeks. I was not planning this well as he will be in this cast over Easter. Then his cast will be made removable in order to mold him for the brace. He should have the brace in about a month.
We found out today that Dr. Paley will not be going to Orlando after all as the contract fell through there. He is still considering a place in FL., we should know the next time we come.
I will post pictures once I get a chance. We are at the H-P house at the hospital with limited computer access. I know some of you have e-mailed, but I have not had a chance to respond in part due to our home computer going down with a virus, hopefully all will be recovered this week...including pictures that I have not saved elsewhere!!!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
E-mail update 3/09
Dear Friends and Family,
Just a quick update to fill you in on our ever-changing lives. We will be back in Baltimore on March 31st for the removal of the external fixator. This has been a long time coming and we are all looking forward to seeing this fixator go!. Zac's leg will be casted with a removable cast so that we will be able to continue bending his leg a few times per day. (We are now getting about 50% range of motion in the new knee!) Then about 4-6 weeks later he will be fitted with a brace. This is all very exciting as we approach the completion of the process for the left leg. Zac will receive a new brace and a shoe stack for his right leg this week; providing more equal length and stability. I expect to see Zac standing longer and longer once this is in place. Although not yet completed, this is a good place to be in the process!
We have had an unbelievable few weeks as several things have fallen into place in other areas of our lives. God has always provided in amazing ways. With James being out of work for a while, and I only working part time, we have continued the Cobra insurance coverage as without it these surgeries would not be possible. The company that the insurance was through changed benefits carriers which gave us an extra month to make a payment, but then 2 payments were coming due and we were unsure how we would be able to cover both payments. Just in time our income tax return came through and we were able to make the payments! Then the next week James received a job offer and began working the following week. We are praising God for providing these things in just the right timing! James is now an employee of MasTec Advanced Technologies and will be installing DirecTV satellite systems. He is very excited about this as it will use several of the things that he has been training for as well as his natural technical interests. It was such a long time coming after hundreds of applications, and with the challenging job market we are just so grateful!
God is so good -through it all!
Thank you for all of your prayers. We love you all.
James, LeAnn, Cai, and Zac
Just a quick update to fill you in on our ever-changing lives. We will be back in Baltimore on March 31st for the removal of the external fixator. This has been a long time coming and we are all looking forward to seeing this fixator go!. Zac's leg will be casted with a removable cast so that we will be able to continue bending his leg a few times per day. (We are now getting about 50% range of motion in the new knee!) Then about 4-6 weeks later he will be fitted with a brace. This is all very exciting as we approach the completion of the process for the left leg. Zac will receive a new brace and a shoe stack for his right leg this week; providing more equal length and stability. I expect to see Zac standing longer and longer once this is in place. Although not yet completed, this is a good place to be in the process!
We have had an unbelievable few weeks as several things have fallen into place in other areas of our lives. God has always provided in amazing ways. With James being out of work for a while, and I only working part time, we have continued the Cobra insurance coverage as without it these surgeries would not be possible. The company that the insurance was through changed benefits carriers which gave us an extra month to make a payment, but then 2 payments were coming due and we were unsure how we would be able to cover both payments. Just in time our income tax return came through and we were able to make the payments! Then the next week James received a job offer and began working the following week. We are praising God for providing these things in just the right timing! James is now an employee of MasTec Advanced Technologies and will be installing DirecTV satellite systems. He is very excited about this as it will use several of the things that he has been training for as well as his natural technical interests. It was such a long time coming after hundreds of applications, and with the challenging job market we are just so grateful!
God is so good -through it all!
Thank you for all of your prayers. We love you all.
James, LeAnn, Cai, and Zac
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
too smart for his own good...
We are currently transitioning Zac from Early Intervention. All of the evaluations by various therapists, psychologist, and Pediatrician have had excellent results from a cognitive stand point. We are torn as parents as we are proud of how well he is doing, how hard he is working, yet he is not helping his own cause. The focus for the state is educational assistance, but he is proving over and over not to have any developmental or cognitive issues at all, yet he has orthopedic impairments and cannot access his education without constant assistance. At the age of 3yrs he will not require full time education, yet he requires OT and PT --that will also aid in accessing his education. Without this qualification then we would need to soley rely on insurance for OT and PT --they only allow a limited amount of visits. Do we fight this decision, or do we let it go and fill in these gaps somehow on our own?! I don't think these guide lines were written for the Zac's in this world. Once again he is the exception to the rule.
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