Surgery

Wednesday Josh had a gastroc soleal fascia release. Essentially, there is a tough membrane (fascia) around all of your muscles, the surgeon goes in and cuts the fascia around his calf muscles. The idea is that will release some of the tension on his muscles and he will be able to flex his foot (toes to the ceiling), which he has been unable to do for some time now.

We went to the hospital with plenty of time. All was going well. The waiting rooms are filled with fun toys so waiting is never a big concern.

The nurse wanted to know if Josh has a problem with anxiety or if he has a problem being taken into surgery without me. Uh, yes, he will probably kick and scream if past experiences can predict future ones. So they recommended Versed, an anti anxiety medication that will help him relax. "About 5 minutes after we give it to him he will become clumsy, he will have trouble walking or doing any coordinated movement (sounds like the usual) so you will have to hold him." No big deal, sure!

They give it to him. 5 minutes later, a very different child appears. He becomes restless, no more than restless, he becomes manic. He is flinging his arms around and trying to JUMP off my lap. It is everything I can do to just hold onto the kid. A very different boy than they told me to expect. Oh and this is fabulous, I just googled it to make sure I spelled it right and under side effects it says:

Some side effects can be serious. If your child experiences any of these symptoms, call his or her doctor immediately:

agitation

restlessness

uncontrollable shaking of a part of the body

stiffening and jerking of the arms and legs

aggression

slow or irregular heartbeat

Great. Well, I suppose it is a good thing the doctor was right there. Maybe that is why they took him away so fast....

Anyway, Josh did really well. He woke up and was kind of upset but alright after some pain meds, mom cuddles, and some cartoons. We got to come home on Wednesday.

He is doing awesome! He is happy for the most part and is good about taking his medicine even though he tells me it smells and tastes bad. He is a lucky little boy. My mom has brought fun projects for him to do every day. She has brought stamps, paints and ornaments to decorate, cookies along with frosting, sprinkles, and chocolate chips, and other great things. He has been loving it (which is great because with finals coming up, I try to study a lot of the day and I am not so fun).

The doctor said to wait a few days before putting weight on it but let him move at his own pace and he will walk when he wants to. Right now he is crawling around the room playing with toys and coloring in his new coloring books. I am slightly worried that he may try to pull a "I don't need to walk, I will just crawl until I get this thing off" (that is just the kind of kid he is, if it hurts and seems like trouble, I can make do doing something else type) but I will hold out hope and try to encourage some weight bearing this weekend.