Tuesday, November 18, 2014

It's only 1.2cm

We have had many people tell us that Broc's legs difference is no big deal. So many people live with different size legs. All he needs is a lift in his shoe or a shoe that's made for him with a bigger heal.
Brocs issue is much bigger than that. As you read in my previous post about his upcoming vascular surgery he has 2 big occlusions or blockages in his right leg. His leg is not getting the proper blood supply needed to grow properly.

This in turn causes his hips to be out of alignment. His knees to be at different angles, his ankles to handle different weights and angles too. Before he had his first vascular surgery his leg sizes were so vastly different that his legs looked like they belonged to 2 different people.



This pic is from 2012 before he had his first surgery. You can see how much smaller everything on the right was and shorter too.

 So far this time round thankfully they are not that bad and we have caught this early enough for it to not come to that. His foot size is one size smaller than the other which makes buying shoes very difficult too.

Here are a few pics to show you what a leg difference looks like.


This picture is showing how his right leg is getting smaller and thinner than the left leg. His right ankle is also higher on the right than the left.


This is not a great pic but I wanted to show the difference in his legs when he is lying down.


This picture I think is self explanatory. It shows how much higher his left knee is than his right when he is lying on his back with his knees bent. In this picture too you can also see how much smaller his knee is than the left leg. His veins are also very prominent in the right leg cause the blood is working so much harder to get to where it needs to be.

We know the next couple of months are going to be very busy and we truly appreciate any help that you have to offer.
We thank you for all the love,prayers and support.
 

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Brocs First Treatment

Sunday night we packed Brocs bag with dvd's, Iggie his blue bear and his IV play kit. We also packed some snacks and drinks for mommy too.
Yesterday Broc and I started off the day with putting Emla cream on his arm so that we could be ready for the day. This cream helped numb his arm so that when the IV was started he wouldn't feel anything. It worked wonders.



Once we got to the hospital we checked in and went up to the floor. Some of the nurses recognized Broc from the previous times he was on the floor. Except this time he was looking very well and chatty.


Broc wanted to document this day with pics. Next time I don't think we will do as many pics. Once we got to his room he took out Iggie and all his kit.

Broc went to work putting on his gloves,getting all the supplies out that he needed. I should have videoed it. He was so cute in telling Iggie what he was going to do, just like the nurses do for him.





Once Iggie was done then it was Brocs turn. His nurse Yvonne did such a great job. The whole process went so smoothly. Once she left we got Broc and Iggie settled into bed.


I even had to hang Iggie's IV bag on Charlie which is the name of Brocs IV pole. Ever since he was in the hospital when he was 2 years he named his IV pole Charlie. Everytime we go to the hospital Charlie is there with us too, never mind that its never the same Charlie.

The day went pretty well. Some of the meds made Broc a little sleepy so it was a little difficult to do his homework but we managed. Thank you Reathel for coming to visit us so that I could run down stairs to get some lunch. The company was wonderful.

Around 2:30 I left to get Mark from school and then he settled into the room too to get his homework done too.



Once his homework was done he joined his Buddy on the bed to watch a movie. It really helps that Mark is so used to hospital life. It really makes it so much easier. Before when Broc hadn't been in the hospital so often Mark used to get such anxiety. Now that he knows Broc does come home after being in the hospital for a little while and that he goes there to get better he is much less anxious.

Once we were all done Broc got his IV taken out which is the worst cause the tape pulls so much on his little peach fuzz hairs on his arm. Iggie got his IV taken out too and Broc put a band aid on his arm too.



Next time we will come after school so that Broc will not have to miss school. Mark will come with us and we will just hang out. Maybe daddy will join us too for dinner. Wings or Pizza party sounds good to me. YUMMY!!!!

PS. In case you were wondering the blue bears name is IGI. He was sent to Broc in the mail to help with medical therapy play. Broc has named him Iggie. 

Thank you everyone for all your love,prayers and support.