We spent yesterday afternoon making a welcome home Matson and Mommy sign. We colored it and put all kinds of stickers on it. What fun!  Here is a picture of Tyler & Lily with their welcome home sigh.

My daughter-in-law, Stephanie, said the last few days in San Diego were pretty good. She got out and walked Matson as much possible to build up his strength. They walked on the beach, around WalMart, and on Easter Sunday she took him to Sea World to have breakfast with the dolphins. Matson loves the dolphins. He said they have bendy backs just like him. He got to be wheeled around in a wheel chair and enjoyed the Shamu the killer whale show. And, they had a 7.2 earthquake while they were there. Matson said the hotel was bumping. The quake was in Mexicali but they felt it really good. They even felt several strong aftershocks. What an experience to top off their stay in San Diego.

All in all Matson is recovering well from his scoliosis surgery. He still get his pain meds at night but Steph has cut them down during the day. We took him to Tyler’s little league game this evening and he did great until the last 20 minutes when he started saying his back was hurting. He has already figured out his limitations. He can’t bend to pick up anything. That is where Lily comes in. We heard him telling Lily to pick up his toy because he can’t bend over. He can get himself up on a chair and he has figured out how to get himself on the floor to play with Tyler. Pretty remarkable considering he had his surgery on the 24th of March. Kids are so resilient. It is amazing how they bounce back. The doctor said to let him be a kid. He will figure out what he can do and can’t do. The brace will protect his spine until the graphs heal. He has an appointment in July with the doctor to see if he can discontinue wearing the brace. Then in October he will have another little surgery to lengthen the rods. His journey is just beginning but the hardest part is behind him.

Here he is getting ready to go to the airport to fly home.

Playing with his brother, Tyler and his sister. Lily.

Welcome home Matson. You were missed.

Matson is doing really well today. Being out of the hospital has helped a lot. He was able to sit out by the pool in the sunshine  yesterday. It is amazing how much he has healed in 10 days. Mom walks him often so he can regain his strength. They still struggle with the bulky brace. In time it will seem like they have always dealt with it. He is having fun playing with his toys and watching his favorite movies. Here is a picture of him with his brace.

This was taken when he was still in the hospital.

This is what his X-ray looks like after his surgery with the rods in place.

It is just amazing that they were able to correct him this much.

Here is our happy Matson out of the hospital.

He still has a lot of healing to do. I know in the long run this will all be worth it. I just pray he doesn’t remember too much of all the pain he went through. We can’t wait to get him home. Tyler misses him so much. Matson has his post-op appointment next Wednesday. If all goes well he might get to come home early. I think the best thing for him is his normal day to day routine. In three months the brace will be history and he can get back  to just being a boy. The doctor said to let him do whatever he wants except contact sports. Matson, you are my little hero and I love you so much.

Matson had his surgery on the 24th. The surgery went well and the doctor was able to correct his spine from 60 degrees to 22, That was better than they had anticipated. Recovery was awful for him. He was in unimaginable pain and they could not stabilize his heart rate. Pretty scary five hours in recovery. They finally found a combination of drugs that helped with his pain. You would think such a little body would respond to any pain meds. Not the case with Matson.

On the 25th he is still in awful pain and the nasogastric tube in his nose has provided a lot of added pain, not suctioning, irritating his stomach wall and causing extreme stomach pain and bleeding. My heart aches for him.

On the 26th, my birthday, Matson was molded for his brace. He must wear a brace full time for at least 3 months post-op in order to protect and stablize his implants. It is a hard fiberglass brace. He hates it. He is still in a lot of pain and the nasogastric tube is still clogging and needs to be flushed out causing him pain.

Today is April 1st.  I haven’t had time to finish this post. My son came to take Tyler & Lily to Karate. I have some free childless time to write some more.

Back to Matson’s recovery. On March 27th that awful nasogastric tube was removed. Yeah, that tube was a nightmare for him. He is able to eat soft foods and he was able to keep jello and gaterade down. His fever is better and his heart rate is finally stabilized. That was worrisome. A normal heart rate is around 90 and his was hovering around 130 to 150 for the last couple of days. He woke up smiling and wanted balloons for his room. He also wanted to go swimming. There is a pool at the motel where he will be recovering when he is released. He won’t be going swimming for a while. He has a brace to wear for 3 months while the graphs heal.

March 28th is an even better day. He is eating on his own and wants Mac and Cheese for lunch. He got his catheter out too. Now he can go potty on his own. Well, not quit on his own. I understand from his Mom that going potty is quit an ordeal because he can’t be upright without his brace. But, all in all it is a better day for him. He got to go outside to the garden in a wheel chair. Daddy made him laugh by shaking a tree and blossoms fell on Mommy’s head. Laughter is good. Matson also told his Mom that he was going to be doctor so if she got sick he could make her all better. He said ” you will have to have a tube in your nose though.”

March 29th is one step forward and one step back. His Mommy’s words. He has to walk more so he can get out of the hospital. His Mom walks him down to the playroom for some fun. Matson has quite a bit of pain today and is very frustrated. The process to go the bathroom is time consuming. His Mom has to log roll him to one side, put the back part of his brace on, log roll back and put the front on then Velcro it together. All this while he is needing to go to the bathroom. Poor little guy. This will be his life for 3 months of having to wear the brace. My son came home today. My daughter in law’s mother goes to San Diego to be with her and Matson for the duration of his recovery. Tyler and Lily are so happy to have daddy home. They have been so good for me. Lily is just the easiest child ever. She pretty much goes with the flow and is a happy little girl of three. Tyler is more serious and misses him Mom. He is so funny and intelligent. He make me smile all the time. Tyler is 7. I taught him how to play Uno and he beats me at it all the time.

It’s getting late so I’d better close for now. March 30th Matson was discharged from the hospital. More on his recovery next time.

Here is our little guy in the hospital.

Rest easy my sweet boy. You are loved so much.

I will update more later.

The last two weeks have been a whilwind of lunches and physical therapy appointments. Lunches with old school chums that I connected with on FaceBook and with the  Golden Girls. That is what Bev’s husband calls us. We three who retired from the County. A friendship that just keeps going on and on. I can’t imagine a month going by without us getting together.

Physical therapy on my foot. I haven’t a clue what I did to it. One day it is fine and the next it is painful. X-rays just showed some arthritis. But the pain is not where the arthritis is. Go figure. Hope it get better soon. Cortisone is a magic drug.

Need to sign off for now. More updates on Matson as I know.

http://www.news-medical.net/news/20091202/Ellipse-Technologies-presents-clinical-results-of-its-MAGEC-System-study.aspx

Matson is scheduled for this new procedure on the 24th of March. They will leave for San Diego on the 20th of March. I will fly to Las Vegas and take care of  Matson’s brother and sister while they are gone. He will have to stay in San Diego for at least three weeks to make sure there isn’t any infections. He will have to wear a protective brace for six months. The doctor said once he heals to let him play anything he wants except contact sports. He can play baseball, soccer and go swimming.  I think I would worry about both baseball and soccer. All the what ifs would drive me crazy. But, the doctor said he needs to be a kid through all of this. Of course, being his Grandma, my heart breaks that he has to go throught this at all. My Son has a good attitude about all of this. I know he worries but he said at least he can be fixed. He doesn’t have cancer or a life threatening disease. He’s right. My head knows that. It’s my heart that has a hard time.

Matson’s back

This is my sweet boy Matson

I know God will be watching over you. You are a very brave little boy and I love you so much.

This is going to be a ten year journey and I will post often about his progress. Please pray for our little guy.

Here is my Mom on the stretching machines after her workout.

Oh, and another thing I am going to do for myself starting today. Eating better and no skipping meals. Maybe this will be the year I lose those 25 pounds.

I spent last week in Las Vegas with my son, Matt, and his family. I went for Lily’s 3rd birthday. We also celebrated Matson’s 4th birthday since he will be in the hospital for his birthday on February 14th. Yes, he is a Valentine’s baby. Matson will undergo spine surgery to correct his Scoliosis on February 10th if  everything falls into place. The doctor called my daugher in law and told her about a new procedure that has only been done five times in England and once in Japan. It involves magnitized rods that can be adjusted with a remote control. The problem is the FDA hasn’t fully approved the procedure here in the States. The hospital in San Diego has to approve the procedure also. So, the waiting begins. If things don’t fall into place the old procedure will have to be done. That will be double growing rods that will have to be lengthened surgically every six months. I will write more about this when we know which procedure will be done.

The birthday party for the little ones was fun. Lots of activities were planned through out the week. My favorite was visiting the Build a Bear Workshop. You pick out which animal you want, select a sound, and stuff it. What fun for the kids. The man who works there was so good with the kids. He said he had been working there for four years and he really enjoyed it. You could tell he did. Lily picked out a pink bear and dressed her in a fancy dress. She named her Lullaby. I was amazed that she came up with that name on her own. She is only three. Matson picked out Alvin the Chipmunk and named him Matson-Alvin. Tyler picked out a cat and had him dressed as a fireman cat. He named him Whiskers. What a fun afternoon.

Lily and her Lullaby

Tyler and his Whiskers

I didn’t get a good picture of Matson and his chipmunk as he wasn’t very cooperative that day. He is pretty head strong and difiant when he doesn’t want his picture taken. I did get some good pictures of him on other days.

Here is his pensive look while watching TV.

With his birthday cake.

I raised three boys so I didn’t get to dress up little girls. Our Lily is going to be a flower girl in her Aunt’s wedding in June. We went to a bridal salon so Lily could try on her flower girl dress. The dress is exactly like her Aunt’s wedding dress. We had such fun taking pictures of her. She is a little angel and loved every minute of playing dress up. Here are pictures of our day at the salon.

I left stormy California for Las Vegas on the 20th. It was storming in Vegas also. Very cold and windy. It snowed in the surrounding foothills near my Son’s home.

I took this picture from the car.

I had a couple of good days there but by the time I was to leave and come home another storm came. I was stranded in the airport for a few hours before being able to board the plane for the trip home. The ride was pretty smooth by the time we got out of the Vegas valley.

I heard there was an awful wind storm here while I was away. My neighbor told me there were 70 mile an hour winds. My Dad’s fence blew over as did several in our neighborhood. Two big Cypress trees blew down in my neighbor’s yard. No damage, thank goodness. The last two days here have been blue skies and sunshine. The kind of days I like because the heater doesn’t come on. All natural sunshine through the windows.

The sourdough rolls are done. Time to munch.

I had lunch with my friends on Friday. We are called the Golden Girls by Bev’s husband. I guess it fits. We are retired with gray hair. Well, not me, I dye mine. It’s no secret. We get together for lunch once a month for our gab fests. We have been known to sit in the restaurant for 4 hours at a time. We have a lot of world problems to solve and our own. Don’t suppose the world would listen to us?  This Friday we were joined by a fellow retiree of the County. She is a funny lady and had so many funny stories to tell. We enjoyed our lunch with her.

Here is our picture.

The Golden Girls plus One.

The plus one is on the left.

Jury Duty on the 12th was a bust. We sat in the jury room for three hours  then the judge came out and dismissed all of us. I almost read a whole book while sitting in there. I don’t usually like mysteries but this book was small enough to fit in my purse so that is the reason I choose it. It was a book by Mary Higgins Clark called On The Street Where You Live. It wasn’t too scary and it kept my interest while wiling away the afternoon in the jury room. Time served. I don’t have to go back until my names comes up again in two years. Let’s hope it doesn’t!

I stuck my head outside and it is still coming down. I took some pictures of that stuff falling from the sky. We don’t see it very often.

I sure hope the dentist is working tomorrow. I have had an aching tooth since Thursday night. He doesn’t work on Fridays and Monday is a holiday but not for him, I hope.  This tooth has had two root canals in it. The last one only a few months ago. How can a tooth without a nerve hurt???  I am leaving on Wednesday for Las Vegas to visit my Son and his family so I have to get this tooth out of pain. If he isn’t working on Monday then Tuesday is my only day. That’s cutting it close.  Wish me luck.

One of my favorite shows is back on tonight. I love the suspense of 24 and you gotta love that Jack Bower. Two hours tonight and two hours tomorrow night. Can’t wait.

 My daughter in law called to tell me they were taking him in. An hour later she called and said he was out and screeming. That must be awful with your throat feeling like someone sliced it open. She said he finally went to sleep in recovery. Around noon she called to tell me they were home and he was not wanting anything to drink or eat. I can’t blame him. I called this evening and he had been vomiting off and on all afternoon. He is either having a reaction to the anesthetic or he swollowed some blood. Poor little guy. I hope he is doing better tomorrow.  He is such a character when he feels good. Hopefully with his tonsils out he will have less sick days and more days like an almost four year old should have. Full of happy fun and mischief.

Not much else to report today. It is an overcast gloomy day here. Exercising at Curves was pretty much the highlight of my day.  Jury duty tomorrow, Uggg!!!