Hand surgery is SET!!

Well after much anticipation about that dreaded hand surgery date, we have finally been given a date of JUNE 6th!! Although we would have liked his first hand surgery to take place in May, we are also at the mercy of the Dr's schedule and just the fact that we finally have a date is a blessing. The surgery will take place in Boston. When I was pregnant with Cam and we were researching Dr's that we would want to be in charge of Cam's care, we heard about a Dr. in Boston named Joseph Upton. Another family whose little boy has Apert recommended him, and had used him years ago when their son needed the surgery.

So we did some research and decided that we would definitely like to meet this so called miracle hand man. After Cam was born, we called their office and set up a consultation for December. So on December 14th we flew up to Boston and met Dr. Upton. He was fantastic, in all honesty not a real conversationalist, but definitely knew his stuff, and was amazing with Cameron. He said that he would be able to give Cam 5 fingers on each hand, and that they would look great. He said that he has all of his joints in the fingers so that he will probably have full range of motion when his hands finally heal.

This was great news to us, but not for our wallets. Even though we have insurance for Cameron, we are still going to have alot of expenses with this trip, but we are dedicated to giving Cameron the best, and this Dr. is just that. I hate that money has to be a concern for these things. I wish that some famous basketball or sports star would just bump into me one day at the grocery store, and donate a ton of money towards Cameron's medical bills.....no harm in wishful thinking right? So if any of you readers out there are famous millionaires then we would like to invite you to dinner!!!! heheh... On a more serious note, we are just grateful that Dr. Upton is going to be able to do Cameron's surgery and that we now have a definite date, so Boston, HERE WE COME!!

Flashback Monday!

Here it is 9 pm and I'm just now getting to this....I was hoping I would be better at blogging, but I guess I'm going to have to put more effort out :) Today, we had an appointment with Cam's CDSA(child developmental agency)worker. She came out to evaluate his progress, something she does every month. She was asking me all of these questions about what he is and isn't doing right now, and as I'm telling her about the things he is doing, I started thinking about the first time she came, which was right before we left for Cam's shunt surgery.

After we left the hospital the second time, we were home for about 8 days before we headed back to Winston for Cam to have a shunt placed. The shunt was going to ensure that his ventricles didn't over expand once he had his cranial advancement surgery. Because Cameron already had a ventricle that was a tiny bit larger than normal, they thought that once the surgery to correct his fused sutures was done that because they were cramped they may over expand and that could in turn cause his bones to grow incorrectly, so the decision was made to place a VP shunt.

Before this shunt was placed he had an assessment to determine where he was developmentally. At that time his chronological age was 10 weeks, but because he was early they considered him to be 5 weeks. The assessment determined that he was developing like a typical 5 week old, and in alot of areas like that of a 10 week old. So they decided that the only services he really qualified for would be physical therapy because of his upcoming surgeries and the assumed delays he would suffer because of them. So we then began receiving physical therapy once a week.

After his shunt surgery I remember the Dr's telling me his development should really take off, and it did. Before the surgery he really wouldn't interact or smile, then a few weeks after his shunt he was a smiling machine. When he was 3 months old I remember thinking how his personality had really started to come out, and the developmental assessment people thought so as well. However, now that we are getting closer and closer to Cam's first birthday his development will be observed alot more closely. So today she determined that he is still developing within normal ranges for his age, and even though I can see that he isn't able to be compared to a typical 7 month old, I'm blessed that he is making progress, and that the shunt continues to do it's job!!

Rainy Saturday

So today was nothing out of the ordinary for us, yet I love these days. I love it when my husband is home, and we have no place to go, and it's raining outside. Cam loves it too, because he has both mommy and daddy to pay attention to him, and he is all about some attention these days.

With the recent events with my grandmother we have been gone alot. We were down in Winston Salem alot last week, and when she came home we were out and about trying to get her settled. So this week has been pretty non routine for Cam, and he likes his routine. But throughout it all he kept his cheerful little attitude, and was super pleasant and sweet!

So today, on our lazy family day at home, we made sure to get in some good cuddle time and play time with Cam. But when I left daddy and Cam alone downstairs so daddy could put together a book case and watch Cam, I then returned to find our bedroom t.v in the downstairs den and Cam about 2 inches from the screen. When I asked why in the world would he put Cam so close to the t.v, Paul informed me that he had rolled himself over that close....He was really wanting to watch some basketball..:)

Today was a good day! I love good days! So here's to more awesome Saturdays with my two favorite boys. Hope everyone else has a wonderful rest of the weekend.