Super Nash: July 2014

Well, the month of May went fast and so did June... Holy smokes its already July!! We've had lots of visitors, lots of physical therapy, a few doctor appointments and x-rays, and lots of good days (with a few hard ones in between).

After Chris's parents left, my sister Annie and brother-in-law Brad and their family came to visit. We were so happy to see them!! Nash and Hattie had so much fun with her cousins, Alexis and Wyatt. We went swimming, went to the beach and watched a turtle get released back into the ocean, went to Lion Country Safari, ate some great seafood and spent lots of time enjoying each other. They all came to see Nash at therapy the first day they were here. After that they just stayed with Hattie while Nash and I went alone.   It was a great visit and we all cried when they left. I keep trying to talk them into coming back! :)

A week went by and we got to have other visitors. Uncle Steve and Aidan came to visit!! The kids were so excited to see their big brother. They hugged him for a long time. It was Aidan's first time flying so it was nice that he came with Uncle Steve. It was so good to have them here! Uncle Steve was a great helper with the house and kids and Aidan helped entertain them. We had a great visit. We went swimming...a lot. We also took them to Lion Country Safari and to see the turtles. (Our favorite places) Uncle Steve took care of Hattie most days so I could take Nash to therapy alone. Aidan came with Nash and me the day we had a doctor appointment so he actually got to meet Dr. Paley! Someday he will realize how cool that was :)   Steve came to therapy one day too. We like to have people see what he goes through in therapy. Some days are better than others but it's our reality and its nice to share this experience with our loved ones.

Another week went by and Nash was doing really well! We had some time to explore and just be together as a family. We went to a Jupiter Hammerheads minor league baseball game with our friends, the Petraske's. (Charles and Shawna have 3 boys and our kids have a great time together) Thanks to our friend Cody Oakes who is an umpire here in Florida, who got us tickets right behind home plate! It was great! We also went to a nice area in West Palm Beach called City Place. Its full of restaurants, shops and live entertainment. We even took a horse and carriage ride. The kids loved it!!  We took the kids to the Museum of Science and Discovery in Ft. Lauderdale one day (with the Petraske's). There were lots of fun things for the kids to do and to look at there. Nash loved the sharks and Hattie loved the baby alligators. They both loved the dinosaur exhibit. It was great!

My friends Katy and Amber visited us next. The stayed for almost a week and it was soooooo nice to have them here! I had been having a hard time lately because, as a hair stylist, I was so used to talking to people all day long.  Since I've been here, I only talk to Chris and the kids. I get to talk at therapy to Nash's therapists and other parents, but I just really needed some "friend time". The girls took me out to dinner the first night to a Mexican restaurant and it was WONDERFUL!! We had a great time together and the rest of their visit went by really fast! They got to see Nash at therapy and helped with Hattie, too. They helped me with the housework and get ready to pack up our stuff because the day after they left, we moved to another condo for the week.

The move was stressful. We packed the entire condo and cleaned it so the family who owns it could come stay for the week. (They already had this vacation planned when they offered us their place this summer) We just made it into a fun little "vacation". However, we realized that we have A LOT of stuff. We moved to a nice place a few minutes away. It was in Palm Beach Gardens right by the PGA Golf course. The kids loved the huge playground there and Chris and I loved the trails we could walk and run on. Chris even saw an alligator on one of his runs! He was pretty excited about that. After a few days there, My parents arrived! They drove here from Iowa and arrived at about 12:30am on July 1st. It was so nice to have them here!! We moved back into the original condo the following day so they got to help us :) They have been here for a little over a week and leave tomorrow. We had fun with them here. Fortunately, they were here to help and help they DID! My mom has been non-stop cleaning, doing laundry and cooking. They both help with the kids and even let Chris and I SLEEEEEEEEP!!!! We didn't realize how tired we were! We got to spend the 4th of July with them and watch the fireworks by the ocean. We took them to the Lion Country Safari (do you see a trend here)? and My mom and I got Mani/Pedis together :) It was a great visit!

A few weeks ago we got the news that we could get Nash's shoe lift cut down 3cm! He was so excited to get his shoe back with just a small lift on it. Last week we got the ok to ditch the shoe lift all together!!! Nash was so excited to go shoe shopping and get ANY shoes he wanted. He picked a pair of Spiderman sandals and some cool high tops from Target. He's so proud that he doesn't have a "big shoe" that he likes to tell anyone that will listen :) He says "Hey, look at me! I have both feet flat on the ground"! He's so proud. He should be....He's worked hard to get here. The first x-ray we had said we gained 12mm of new bone, the second was 25mm, the third was 38mm and the very latest was 47mm of beautiful, healthy new bone. That is almost 2 inches!! Our goal is 80mm (8cm) or a little over 3 inches. So that means we are OVER HALFWAY DONE!!!

Nash is doing great with his stretches. The "belly bends" that I was dreading are not very difficult for him. He does them with little effort and minimal pain. The issue we have now is the extension (straightening) of his leg. As the bone grows, the muscles get tighter and the stretches get harder. There is and important part of keeping his leg straight and it is the 'Knee bar". It keeps the leg straight during the night while he sleeps. Nash HATES it. And as I ask around, it seems to be the issue with most kids. We have to put it on multiple times a day and night just to get him to do it. He cries the whole time its on. At the appointment yesterday, they suggested that we reduce the amount of turns to 3 times a day instead of 4 times. So instead of 1mm/day we will get .75mm/day. It's not much in the long run but it means we will most likely be here a little longer. We were hoping to be done at the beginning of August but it looks like it will be closer to the mid-end of August. If it means less pain for Nash, we are definitely ok with it!

Today is Day 56 of lengthening. We have been here for 9 1/2 weeks. We probably have at least 6 weeks left. Please keep praying for us because the hard part is at the end. Nash is going to need all the encouragement he can get. We have received some absolutely wonderful care packages from lots of friends and family. The highlight of his day is checking the mail and getting his very own mail. If you would like to send him a card of encouragement or something else, he would absolutely love it!! Our address is:

Nash Gehrls
2186 Oakmont Dr
Riviera Beach, FL 33404

Hope everyone is having a great summer!!!!