Cast Change #1

This past Thursday we took Carter up to Children's South for a cast change with Dr. Conklin. We were in and out for this in an hour - which is AWESOME! Besides a bit of irritation on his right foot from being in a new position and rubbing a little, he said everything looked wonderful, and we could come back in 2 weeks for another check... it'll be more like 3, because he was so booked up with appointments. Here are some pictures from the event. WARNING: some of these are a tiny bit graphic... just a heads up if you're squeamish :)

C was NOT a fan of the saw and his nurse cutting his casts off

Dr C's inititals were still there

Left button

Button explanation: they moved his anterior tibial tendon (runs down the inside of the leg and connects on the inside of your ankle... this was pulled too tightly and pulled C's foot up) to the top of his foot to allow it more length. The way they do this: they drill a tiny hole through a bone in the middle of the foot (see previous post with x-ray image) and then anchor the tendon through there. They stuff the tendon through the hole with sutures, and the sutures are brought through the bottom of the foot. To ensure the tendon remains secure, the sutures are threaded through a shirt button and then tied off.

Trying to distract him by letting him play with the x-ray viewing board

Right button

His incisions were so much tinier than we expected... we were thinking they would travel up his leg... but they are all so short and precise! He has three on each foot (I think): top of foot, heel, and side of ankle... and then his buttons :)

His little sweet feet look so straight now!

Dr Conklin (far left) and our amazing ortho tech Will (middle) making new casts.

I'd never seen casting done (I've never had one!) so it was really interesting. C didn't think so.. he screamed most of the time.

Shiny, new, red casts!

Later that night this boy was WILD. He was pushing this conglomeration of toys down the hallway. He's getting sooo strong. I'm sure he's burning triple calories, too. Bye-bye weight... sheesh.

Crazy bucket head

We'll return to Children's the end of May for another cast change, and then hopefully a couple weeks after that he'll get them off! I can't wait to get this boy in the pool... and I'm sure he can't wait to play in the bathtub again.