I took it out to read to J this morning and we read it *FOUR* times one after another!!
He followed the story intently and was v v v v v interested by the last page where there's a photo of the real Cole (the little boy whose father wrote the book) wearing a pink Mehta cast covered in skulls! J pointed to that photo a lot. I don't think he's seen a picture of someone else in cast. I'll have to try and get some more from the web. There are also two x-rays - one of Cole at 57 degrees and one at 2 degrees before and after treatment.
I gave a copy to the Nursery this morning and they were delighted - they have been wanting to help prepare J but, like me, they have hesitated about the 'preparing for hospital' books as that's only part of the story. With such a long-term condition it's great to have a book with a happy end: the doctors are helping your spine to grow straight by using casts just as the doctor in the book helped Cole's flower (and his back!) to grow straight again.
As we were leaving the house I said to J "come on my little flower". This is not a term of endearment I usually use for him and he definitely didn't like it. He scowled and said "no". So I said "come on my big strong tree" and he smiled and came :-)
Dear J, my big strong tree, I really hope the doctors *will* make your back straight(er?). Love Mummy
That's wonderful that you were able to find books to help J get a better understanding of what the casting is doing.
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