Another surgery...

I feel like I have lived at doctor's offices these past few weeks. We had to take J to see a foot doctor because on vacation we noticed his left foot was rolling to the outside. He had mentioned it hurt over the past several weeks, but nothing consistent and nothing that kept him from normal activity. We saw a great doctor, Jaime Coffey, who noted that Jacob has two different sized feet (like by 2 sizes!). That wasn't the problem - but intriguing. He has a high arch on his right foot and a super high arch on his left. Still not the problem. Dr. Coffey thought we needed to see some specialists the focus on a specific type of surgery that he thought Jacob might need (something to fix that arch on the left foot). So in to Dr. Cicchinelli we went. Then to the MRI to see what was going on. Back for the consult to see what the MRI showed. It showed that J has some tears on the ligaments in his left heel - that will need to be surgically repaired. Sigh...ok. Then came the rough news - after the surgery there's a cast for six weeks, then a boot for another couple of months, combined with intense physical therapy. We're looking at about a 3-4 month recovery process. That hit like a ton of bricks. Especially since J is in JROTC this year - and LOVES it. He came home today so excited because his armed/unarmed drill team got to practice with the rifles today. So the big question on our minds was: Will he still be able to participate in ROTC and the competitions? Can we delay the surgery or will that cause more damage? Thankfully, he can proceed with life as normal AND we can put the surgery off until the end of the school year. Thank you Lord. J was so relieved to hear that (and so was his mom!) We were assured that the injury wouldn't get any worse, but that his discomfort would remain and there was potential for some sprained ankles if he wasn't careful. Careful it is!

J was not too excited to hear about another surgery. The only surgery he remembers having is his 7-layer back fusion. A surgery that medically went fantastic (Dr. Greg White in Phoenix is incredible) - but the recovery process was long and hard. J also reacted to the anesthesia drugs that they kept him on after the surgery for recovery, and he remembers that well. Couple that with leaving a wonderful ICU staff after three days and being sent to general population overflow - eek. We couldn't wait to get out of that hospital. The ICU staff at PCH was fantastic; the nurses in overflow left a little something to be desired. Anyway - J was not jumping on the surgery bandwagon any too quick. At least now he has some time to digest and prepare.

We are off to the allergist today. J's allergies are so bad, so it's off to get tested and see what is affecting him the most and what can we do to help them. Massive nosebleeds sent him home from school on several occasions last year - so we're trying to avoid a repeat of that. Phew...one more visit (this will be my fifth doctor's office visit this week) and then it's time for a long weekend. Cannot wait!