It's been a minute

And WOW.  Blogspot's interface looks entirely different.  I guess a lot can change in, err, nine months.

Most people I know are on my facebook and keep up with Asher through that means, so it's easy to just post it all there and not write out anything more lengthy in this little corner of the web.  Then I'll realize it's been ages since I posted anything, feel guilty, and write a new update.  Tada!

Well, since the last post, Asher has undergone major orthopedic surgery on his hip.  Turns out it wasn't just a loose tendon and he was dislocating like a circus performer.  He had surgery to correct his malformed bone structure at Vanderbilt Children's in June, and after a long summer, the cast will come off next week!  Unfortunately, he isn't finished.  His surgeon only operated on one leg after determining that bilateral surgery was just too risky with all of the work Asher needed done, so we still have the other leg to go.  Thankfully, he'll get a little break between the two surgeries and get to enjoy a couple of months of cast-free time before he goes back for operation (and cast) #2.

Therapies continue as usual (though his therapists and time slots have changed around a couple of times), and last week he started his second year of preschool, his last before entering into the big bad world of kindergarten.  He loves his teacher and classmates, and after being stuck in a stationary position and staying mostly at home all summer, I think he's glad for the change of scenery!

My goal is to update this page on a semi-regular basis, so I hope to be back soon.  ;)

Care Notebook

Next May, Chad and I will be going on a weekend trip alone for the first time since Asher was born.  We're attending the Weekend To Remember marriage getaway in Franklin, TN, and I'm SO looking forward to it. 

My parents will be staying at our place and watching Asher while we're gone, so I need to have lots of information written out since he's not your typical kid and this will be the first time they've watched him overnight.  I came across this care notebook from Seattle Children's that I think will make that process much easier for me.  There is an editable PDF for pretty much everything you can think of (and then some) regarding special care.

We should have had something like this filled out long ago, but better late than never.  It's worth taking a gander if you have kiddos with special considerations. 

x-ray

Scheduled for tomorrow at 1:40.  Asher has the best doctor in town.

His button was looking a little more funkified than normal this morning, so I'm going to have her take a look at that, too.  It's always a little red around the perimeter and has granulation tissue, but I think it might be infected (noticed a little bit of white today).  Poor goose.  We have some Bacitracin that we can put on it, but he would probably benefit from oral antibiotics.

Let the good times roll.

Three months later...

Alright, so I lied.  I wasn't right back to blogging.

To be fair, I had other writing projects, but this one has been woefully neglected.

Now those are being neglected and I'm writing here.  Ha!

Anyway, hitting the ground running.  The other day Chad picked Asher up and said that he felt his hips "pop."  This, of course, didn't sound good at all, so I mentioned it in physical therapy today.  Asher's PT (who rocks, by the way; having three awesome physical therapists in a row has just been a huge blessing) checked him out today, and while she doesn't think it's a big issue, she did recommend we schedule an x-ray just to be certain.  It doesn't appear to be dislocating and is more likely a stretched ligament "popping" when he moves a certain way, but better safe than sorry.

Thankfully, another huge blessing we have in our lives is great insurance for Asher, so I'll be calling tomorrow to see about setting up the x-ray.  I honestly don't even know how that works, so I guess I'll just call his PCP and see what she says.

I leave you (hopefully not for another three months this time) with a picture of Asher on Halloween:

Cutest mailman EVER

Limbo

If you're wondering where on earth this blog went, it's a long story.

The short version is that I didn't have the domain set up for auto-renewal, so it expired.  GoDaddy then wanted to charge me nearly $100 to "retrieve" it (for an $11.99 domain!). As soon as the "retrieval" period was up, they bought the domain so that I couldn't buy it back at the regular rate.

Anyway, I'm bitter about that.  So I stopped blogging here for a bit.

I'm getting over it, though, so hopefully I'll be back to blogging once Asher returns to school next week, even if it's not at my .com address.  :)

Last day of preschool

Today Asher wraps up his first year as a preschooler.  Well, his first partial year, anyway.  I still can't believe how much he loves it.  Most kids look forward to the wondrous break that is summer, but Asher will probably be bummed.  Silly guy.  We're celebrating the end of the year with a snack at his school.  Granted, he can't actually eat the snack, but celebrating with friends is always fun nonethless.  :)

p.s. if you've stopped by from Hip2Save, hi!

Things are changing... again.

Yet another long while since I've posted an update.  Too long.  One of these days I'll figure out a system.

Asher is still doing wonderfully in preschool.  He loves it.  He comes home with a good report every day, and he's always in a happy mood.

On the negative front, his physical therapist has left her position here in Clarksville and is going back to work at Vandy.  That pretty much sucks since there is no one else in town to take him to, not to mention that she was wonderful.  For now we will just be working on a home regimen until another PT comes to the area.  I know who I want to come, but even if she does decide to come here it will be a few months before that happens, so "Mom, PT" it is.

(and for the record, I'm not fooling myself into thinking I can actually do a PT's job, but I do think I can do at least some things considering my son is my only client, lol)

So that's that.

If you know of any good books or websites re: working with children who have movement disorders, let me know.  I have this one, but that's it.