Last Thursday

I've been meaning to write up a blog about our trip to the hospital last Thursday but things have been rather busy.

It has given me the time to digest the results though and allow myself to feel happy - it *is* good news :-)

What I wrote was slightly misleading about the timescale and next steps though. The consultant said that the average age for resolution of cases like this is 18-24 months. He wasn't making a prediction about J specifically. In terms of next steps, we are still looking at casting for a while and then bracing (according to the previous consultant Mr Marks).

Back to last Thursday.

It was a long day and we had to wait a long time for each appointment (eg we waited for 50 minutes for the x-ray) and so J missed having a proper nap and eating a proper lunch. By the time we headed home he was exhausted - so much so that he fell asleep during the casting!!

Starting with Wednesday evening and the unwrapping and bath:

J now claps when he's happy and likes things - he was delighted when I produced the scissors for his cast!

You might not be able to tell, but J is smiling and happy in these photos

Again, his skin was red and needed TLC (ie E45)

The cast seems to be making his belly button stick out (it didn't used to) and he has developed an interest in poking it in, then watching it pop out. He also tries to do this to mine!

Any improvement? Certainly not visible to the naked eye.

Is this what you call a cast off?!

Up bright and early for the hospital

The waiting area for x-rays had duplo and a few books which kept J interested for a little while, but we had to wait 50 minutes. Raisins and cheese helped too.

Exploring wheel chairs was also entertaining

In the x-ray room. J was very well behaved, but found it hard to lie on his side and stay still (he loves stroking my hair, so I knelt alongside and that helped).

Up to the ward to see the consultant and we found our old friend the vacuum cleaner :-)

What these photos do not show of course is the rest of the ward where the other children are. Some are obviously very sick (they treat bone cancer and other truly horrific conditions there). Seeing them, and their parents, is very sobering. Although scoliosis can be fatal (the most aggressive forms can compromise lung and heart function), J's condition is relatively mild. To say 'it's all relative' is extremely weak - being there certainly puts everything into perspective.