Day 24 ~ Halfway done!!!

Hello!

Thanks for checking up on us!
We're all doing good. We had a small flu going on last week. Thankfully it didn't last long. The boys (including Rudi) all threw up once, and then they felt better within 24 hours. So I don't know if you can even call it the flu... But I do hope that was it for this year! Oh, and I didn't get it!

Tys is still doing good. He's happy most of the time and doesn't complain much! As the title of the blog says ~ we're over halfway done with this thing!
Did I say the cast started to smell last week? Well, now it STINKS!! It's pretty gross. Thankfully we have ways that we can keep it clean and we do the best we can. We're using moleskin now. So, when it starts to stink, we can just change out the moleskin. That seems to help somewhat.
His cousins come over on a regular basis, which he seems to enjoy!
Some days he watches more tv than others. And some days he enjoys playing by the table, and doing some crafty stuff, when he's in the mood.

So, of course we're looking forward to the day the cast comes off. But we're very curious to see what Tys is going to do! The Dr said he might need some Physical therapy... And I think he might be right, because Tys is a pretty careful boy. He's not much into climbing or doing daring things like that. (although he's the one that broke his leg...) So, we'll see! But not for another 3 weeks.

Day 16 ~ we're a third of the way done!!!

Hi all!

It's been 2 whole weeks!!! 4 more to go... Time has actually been going by pretty fast.
He's still doing good. I guess you could easily say, he's used to his cast... Amazing how fast he adjusted to this whole thing.
He's complaining a few times a day about itchiness.. So that's interesting. Maybe the healing of the bone causes the itchiness, or just being in the cast? I don't know. But he's easily distracted and if I scratch him somewhere else, like on his back or on the leg that's not itchy, it helps.
The cast is starting to get smelly now...! Yikes.. I guess that's just part of it! I do the best I can. We change his diapers frequently. His inner diaper is a number 1 diaper, around that a number 4, and on the outside, around the cast a number 5, to make sure he doesn't pull his diaper off. Most of the times when I change him, I dry the whole area with a blow dryer. That works pretty good. Sometimes we really take our time and blow-dry it for 10 minutes! At least he doesn't mind it too much!

he's hanging in there!

What Will You Do? Awesome drama, Rudi's in it!

Day 12.. Doctor's appointment

This morning we had Tys' Dr. appointment.
Right before we went we wanted to change his diaper, and for the first time, he had poop on his cast! I was a little disappointed since I was so happy that he/I had kept it so clean! But, oh well. The Dr. said it's going to happen anyways.
The X-ray looked good. The break is still noticeable, but it's healing and it's straight.
He will have to be in his cast for the full 6 weeks, which we already anticipated. We want his leg to heal well.
Other than that the Doctor said that we did an extremely good job of keeping it clean, which was such a compliment and an encouragement to hear! He also thinks that Tys is extremely brave!
So, it was a good visit.
We have to go back in 2 weeks.

It's almost been two weeks now, and to me it seems like the time is going pretty fast, thankfully!
We've been praying for patience, and God has definitely given me some! And Tys too, I believe.
He's in good spirits, and we're learning a lot about him. He's just talking a lot and learning new things every day. He has to make things clear to me a lot when he wants something, because he can't get it him self. So in a way it's teaching him to ask for things.

And Nieko...

is officialy...

WALKING!!!!!!

He's so cute, walking all around the room! It's so funny, because he's just such a little guy still! He's definitely very proud of himself.

Well, that's all for now!
Thanks a lot for keeping up with us and praying for us, we appreciate it!

day 7...

Well, it's been a week since Tys broke his leg.
We're doing good. The pain is gone, and he's just healing now.
There were a few days where he was complaining and crying out of frustration.
I had a nice break on Wednesday. Rudi was able to take care of Tys, so that I could go to bible study. And today I was able to go to town for a couple of hours.
I have to say that I'm thankful that we live on the farm. At least we can go outside and see the animals and the trucks and tractors.
I'm also thankful that we have family and friends around, I don't know what I would do without them.
Plus I'm thankful for the internet, where I can search other families who have been through this and learning helpful tips!

Tys is mostly sitting in the wheelchair, which he thankfully loves. He's been introduced to play-doh, which he's having a lot of fun with. He watched a little more tv than normal, but that's ok, plus it gives me a break.
Thankfully he sleeps good at night, he hasn't woken up at all. Some days he'll skip his nap, but that's understandable as he can't get rid of a lot of energy. He still rests in his bed though. It's also important for him to be in different positions throughout the day. Thankfully he can shift himself in a comfortable position at night.

So, we're doing good! one week down, 5 more to go!
On Thursday we have to take him to see the orthopedic Dr.

Tys is a real cuddlebug, and although it's alittle awkward, we can still cuddle with him.

we can still tickle him too!

in the meantime Nieko is busy in lots of ways. He gets to play with all the toys by himself! He's also learning how to walk, and since Tys can't push him over now, we think he'll ge there soon.

spica cast day 3

Tante Miriam came this morning to bake cookies with Tys! He had a good time. He really likes company. You know where to find him...!

He got company during nap time, he wasn't asleep yet, so he was very excited to open a present!

we attached an old high chair tray to our dining table, now he's got a nice place to play with his trucks, tractors, loaders and other toys.



He's doing well. He knows that he can't play outside. He loves his wheelchair. In the middle of the night I checked on him and changed him, he asked me if he could sit in his "stoel" (=wheelchair). And right away this morning he wanted to sit in it too. So we're very thankful for that!

pray for Tys

We were at a birthday party on Saturday. And Tys got hurt in a bounce house. He was in a lot of pain and couldn't stand on his leg at all.
So we went to the ER that night. We got there at 11 pm. (After the party we didn't know how serious it was and so we put him down to sleep and he slept until he woke up in a lot of pain, that's when we decided to go to the hospital)
Unfortunately we did not have a very good experience at the ER. It took about 2,5 hours for us to even get a "room" in the ER. After about 3 hours we finally saw a doctor for the first time. And then Tys finally got some morphine. We didn't get to the ped. floor until 5 am, where Tys finally could go to sleep. (He couldn't settle down in the ER, he wasn't crying but we could tell he was scared to even go to sleep even though he was so tired. Sometimes he would close his eyes for a second and then jump up again.) So he finally went to sleep, and so did we. The nurse there took very good care of us.
The orthopedic surgeon came Sunday morning at 8.30 and told us what his plan was.
Tys had to go under for surgery just so that they could put a cast on him. Tys was very hungry and thirsthy, so we were very thankful that he went to surgery at 9.15. It took them two hours to get the cast on.
He slept for a long time after surgery. When he woke up he was very happy to get something to drink and eat!

Last night we took him home, and he slept very good and long last night. The pain is much better this morning and we are so greatful for that! Seeing your child in pain is a very hard thing to go through.
He's coping very well with the cast. Rudi's parents have an awesome wheelchair that we're borrowing. Changing his diapers is going to be the biggest challenge.
We really appreciate all your prayers and thoughts. We need them. It's overwhelming to see how many people care and pray for us. Thank you.

At the party right after he got hurt.

Sunday morning after surgery (they only put him under to put the cast on, they didn't have to cut him open)

so tired

coloring on his new "cool" cast!

washing his hair this morning.

watching his favorite movie "cars" in the wheelchair.