Super Nash: Movin up and out...and back home!!!

It was Saturday morning and we had packed all of our stuff and moved to a condo about 30 miles south of West Palm Beach in Boca Raton, FL. Our friends Tim and Kori Shane let us use their time share for our trip. We could not be more thankful because it was a beautiful place right by the ocean! Plus it was HUGE!! It was 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms and very spacious. It was perfect for us for the rest of our stay. The hotel was nice and close to the hospital but it was pretty small for all of us. This place was much better!

Grandpa Stew and Grandma Laura were only there for one more night so we wanted to have some fun before they left. We walked across the street and went to the beach. It was nice. We didn't stay long though. It was hot and with Nash in a cast....he was very uncomfortable. When we got back to the condo, Chris's parents told us to go to dinner. They wanted us to have at least one meal together :) It was nice. We went to a place called The Whale's Rib. It was featured on Drive-ins, Diners and Dives. It was sooooo good! Fresh seafood...YUM!

We got back and both the kids were sleeping...yay! Unfortunately, it didn't last long. Nash was up and down all night and Hattie woke up every time he cried. (Otherwise she sleeps through the night) Nash isn't a very good sleeper anyway but he was in pain so it was so hard for him to be comfortable...day and night. The next morning we had to take Stew and Laura to the airport. They had been with us for a whole week and I don't know how we could have done it without them. It was evident how much they helped after they left because we were SO BUSY! Chris and I tried to take shifts with Nash. We alternated nights with him and Hattie in separate bedrooms. Just when we thought we had it figured out...something would change. Nash's medicine was hard to time out for his pain and bedtime. Our whole schedule was off. We do better with a routine but we just had to face it that we were going to be exhausted for now...period. Some days were better than others and we made it through :)

On our way to the condo!

The beautiful beach

Dippin his toes in

learning to army crawl

Tummy time with Hattie

Monday was our first appointment with the Physical therapist and the doctor. When we got to PT, they removed the cast so we got to see Nash's incision for the first time. I wasn't expecting to see such a big incision...It was about 12inches long. I keep trying to tell myself that scars are cool for boys....but the mom in me just sees that her baby's skin isn't perfect anymore :( It was hard to look at but it was good to see that it was healing nicely. The scar will be minimal I think. After she removed the cast she did some stretches with his hip and knee. We tried to distract him so he wouldn't notice the pain but it was pretty intense.  When she was done with that we went to the casting room where they removed all the old padding (that was stinky and gross) and put new padding on with velcro straps so we could remove the cast ourselves.  It was pretty nice! We could even put a diaper on under the cast so we wouldn't have to deal with leaks anymore. PHEW!!

Our appointment with the doctor was at 5pm that day. However, when we got to the waiting room, it was even more packed than the day we were there for pre-op! We checked in and got comfortable in the hallway. We met some new friends and their son Jordan. He is a year older than Nash and was there for his first lengthening. They were pretty close to being done and ready to go home. Florida is nice, but a couple months away from home is hard on a family. We got to talk to them a lot that day and asked them lots of questions. It made our wait go by much faster. We waited for 2 1/2 hours!  Dr. Paley had a patient in Canada who broke his femur. He was on a live web-cam with the surgeon there, guiding him through the surgery....what a guy! How can you be mad at that!?

When they finally called us back, we saw a PA instead of Dr. Paley. He checked Nash's incision, answered a few of our questions and gave us the green light to go home! We had 2 more PT appointments the next 2 days. They taught us to do the stretches with Nash so we were able to do them at home ourselves. We were excited to be able to go home as planned.  This whole surgery went very smooth. Hopefully the healing process will be just as good!

The incision

By the time Thursday morning came and we were packed up and ready to go...We were READY TO GO! We made it to the airport on time and both flights were smooth and the kids were great. We timed out Nash's meds perfectly and he did so good on the airplane! Hattie slept through both flights and Nash slept with her the second one.... From airport to airport!! When we landed in Cedar Rapids, IA I don't think I have ever been so relieved, happy, excited, and exhausted in my entire life!! We made it!! We did it!! Nash is one step closer to the goal!!!! All of our planning and worrying and traveling was done!!!! Hooray!!!!!!

Sweet angels

So the plan is...Nash has to go back in 3 months for a check-up. Then Dr Paley wants to see him every 6 months until the next surgery, which will most likely be his first lengthening. I say 'most likely' because his hip has to heal properly before he will start the lengthening process. Please pray that it does!! (Our friend Madi in Des Moines just had her 3rd hip surgery. She is such a trooper!)

Since we've been home, Nash has been doing great. Grandma Donna and Grandpa Hank (my parents) came to stay with us for a couple days to help out. Nash loves having the extra attention and is being spoiled rotten!! We even made a little contraption for him to sit upright so he can play and not have to be laying down. It's not fancy but he seems to like it :) He's such a strong little guy and continues to amaze us every day. There is nothing I love more than to see my kids happy, so every smile is a success in my book!!!

Thanks to everyone who continues to keep us in their thoughts and prayers. We still have a long road ahead and your support means the world to us and our little super hero :)