Just back from another round of physio with Jon in the school pool. As of last week, our surgeon had encouraged us to help him to start bearing some weight on his healing leg—but only a fraction of his real weight at this point. So standing or stepping in the pool is ideal.

I expected that pain would limit his time in the pool. Not so, but Jon was quite careful with his left leg the first time in. By today he was eagerly taking slow strides as he held my hands. He may have spent a little less time on the left side, a kind of slow-motion limp, but it’s hard to say. Still, much farther along than last week.

He looked so happy, freed up by the water. Last week he gave me a long, tight, spontaneous hug, the first real hug we’ve been able to share in weeks because of The Wedge.

By the way, we never did properly say thanks to everyone for their kind blog comments and other interesting real-life visits, distractions, donut holes, cards, and baskets. Each and every one of them was very kind, and all took us out of the inevitable rut that you get into when one of you is recuperating in something invented by the Spanish Inquisition. Particularly brave were the ones who girded plenty of loins to visit us at the hospital: Andy, Christine, Richard, Luisa, Grandpa S. and Tami. Thank you all.

Today is four weeks post operation, and we apologize for the blog gap there. We must have been having a little snooze.

Jon gets better by the day. Physio is going well, and it’s still hard for me to imagine that I’ve been bending his leg back and forth since five days post-surgery. As of just over a week ago, Jon was off the morphine at nights. By late last week he was off Tylenol for most of the day and night. He was also getting really bored. Even of The Weather Network.

Ba-chan visited a number of times last week so Jon had a lot of good social time with her and we got some work in during the day. Staying up late has generally been how we’ve kept work going here while Jon’s been home, and combined with the fact that he wakes up anywhere from 3 to 8 times a night to be flipped—often tired and in serious discomfort—well, we’re pretty durn sleepy. We still have decent reaction time, but our attention spans are a tad short. 🙂

During the past couple of weeks, Jon has had a hard time sleeping, and awoken not just with physical pain, but also a lot of frustration about the wedge. Lots of emotion, all of it understandable. When this happens, Photon take it upon herself to go into the sturm und drang and join him, sleeping either on his bed, or on the comfy chair next to it. One time Jon was in serious pain but feel asleep within thirty seconds when Photon cuddled next to him. Their relationship builds and builds. She can’t start the night with him, because he lovingly prods, squeezes and pokes her too much, but she will join him later in the wee hours, sometimes all night.

So anyway, for some reason being strapped in a torture wedge in the same room day after day was getting a little dull to Jon. So we took him out for a short walk on Saturday, to see if the bumpy ride would be noticeable to his newly rebuilt joint. (The weather was also a factor: it was pretty much the first day well past zero since surgery). Jon laughed for much of the ride, the feeling of wind on his face was so delightful. Clearly, it was time.

As of Monday, Jon’s been back at school. I went with him the first day, just to be of some kind assurance that no pieces were going to drop off or anything. But Cathy his physiotherapist, and Kathleen his EA were way past me in what knowing what needed doing. I ended up for most of the day in a little room trying to catch up on a project that requires some serious focused thought.

Two impediments to that:
1) The sleep deprivation combined with the heady feeling that for the first time in six weeks, Jon didn’t need my immediate attention. (Jon had been sick before March Break, so aside from two days just presurgery, we had been with him all that time.)

2) I was put in the lamination room, the machine for which I thought accounted for a bit of a smell in the room as I got settled. Actually, they were painting the large indoor courtyard in the room next door, and there was an open transom between it and my little room. Even that courtyard has some ventillation, but the fumes built up nicely in my little sealed room.

Long story short, I had a couple of doze offs. I packed up and sought shelter elsewhere. The kind ladies of Room 128 gave this poor refugee a cup of tea and an I Spy video with the rest of the class. Thanks, ladies.

Jon is very happy now. We’re a big step closer to life being somewhat back to normal.

PS Thanks for the blog tip about tearaway pants Catherine!!

All in all, we are groggy.

Jon is convalescing well, and that is the main thing. Pain is decreasing, slowly.

The big issue, basically, is sleep. Jon wakes constantly during the night, either in pain, or by being woken as we administer meds. On top of a regular Tylenol dosage, he’s on a morphine-on-demand schedule, and he generally still needs it at night. Some nights he wakes as often as once an hour. As the healing continues, Jon is twisting and turning more in his sleep, and there’s no doubt that is causing more pain. But on the other hand, he’s pushing himself farther and helping the healing process.

There are some amazing differences from last time. With the removable wedge-‘n’-zimmers instead of a cast, Jon is already able — and obliged — to do physiotherapy two or three times a day. With the therapy, it didn’t take many days before he was able to bend the newly rebuilt leg all the way into his chest. Amazing. Clearly, he’s healing well. It’s a far cry from five years ago, when they opened the cast up after six weeks and Jon had two extremely itchy toothpicks that he could do nothing with.

The zimmers also mean that Jon is able to have a shower, which is kind of important for a 10-year-old boy (at least from our perspective). The actual event is a lot of work, but it’s worth it. 😉

The other difference from last time is approximately 15 or so kilograms, and I am feeling it. I’ve hurt muscles in both my back and my abdomen. I know, I know, be careful, don’t get a hernia, etc. etc., I’m doing my best. I’m dealing with a 70 lb. young man who wants to roll over 2 or 3 times in the middle of the night, but at the hint of pain — which there will be, we’re rotating 180° fer cryin’ out loud — will try to fight the motion.

Every morning I’ve got to carry him downstairs in full regalia. He barely fits through doorways, and I have to approach them and the stairwell at interesting angles and pitches. Gradually these lifts are getting less painful for him, which makes it somewhat easier on me.

Days are pretty easy, but we’ll get him working hard in the coming days. Jon’s already back to his spelling practice, and he’ll begin reading again soon. I was hoping tomorrow, but he’s woken four times in the first 3 and a half hours of tonight, so maybe not.

Time for bed.