Kadence's Casting

Ok, I am pretty positive I forgot to write anything about Kadence's last casting.....OOPS!

This casting was extremely stressful. We had to take her last cast off because she started smelling really bad. I didn't want her to be the stinky kid in class so we brought her in to have it removed on a Friday and they were going to reapply one on the following Tuesday. Unfortunately the reason she was smelly was because she had a nasty infected sore and we were smelling the infection. Luckily for her, and for my peace of mind, it didn't hurt her. We had to learn wound care and couldn't cast until the wound was completely healed. When we got the wound healed, about 12 days later, she broke out in a nasty rash. It looked so painful! She was bothered a little by it and would ask me to put lotion on it so it wouldn't itch. Since I wasn't sure if the rash was a reaction I didn't dare put lotion on it. (And Shriners doesn't like when you use ANYTHING on the skin) The rash finally cleared up and we had our casting date scheduled for February 17th. Since the 17th would mean she was out of a cast for over a month we were hoping for a cancellation. Her care coordinator put us on a 'short notice' list so that we could take the spot of anyone who cancelled. We received a call saying that we could take someones spot on the 10th....GREAT NEWS! We started getting mentally prepared for the day at the hospital and started preparing Kadence for her new cast. On the 8th she got a fever. REALLY?! We got in contact with one of the Dr's and they said that since she didn't have any other symptoms we wouldn't cancel quite yet but warned us that they have taken kids who didn't seem sick into the OR and had things go really bad. We definitely didn't want that, but the longer Kadence is out of a cast the worse her back gets. She regresses so quickly and it even amazes the Dr's how slumped she gets so quick. She woke up the 9th fever free and symptom free. The Dr felt it was ok to go ahead as planned and cast. We also found out that we would need to arrive at the hospital at 6am. Mornings are NOT my thing, and I was dreading getting up so early on such a long day. It's all put into perspective when I think of those who drive from California or fly in from the East Coast. I only have to drive an hour...I'm one of the lucky ones!

We arrived and Kadence was in a great mood! She was the first on the schedule which was nice because it meant we didn't have to try to entertain her for very long. When we got to the room she got on her red gown and then immediately ran to the window and said, "You can see the whole city from here mom!!" It's so amazing to me how positive she always is. I think I can take a lesson from her for sure. She went back to the OR without any hesitation. The DR told us that when she got back there she got so excited because there was a "BIG TV!" Everything went great while she was back. Since she had a pressure sore the last time they tried to be extra careful this time. They put extra padding in the cast and are pushing a little bit further up than usual.

We had mentioned to the Dr just as a joke that Kadence is lighter than her little sister and he asked what we meant. I told him that I think she's been 30 pounds for a year. He was concerned and referred us to the nutritionist. He said it is not normal to go a year without gaining any weight at all. He also said that it will help them if she has a little more meat to her. The nutritionist didn't seem as concerned and said that she sounds very active and is probably just burning all the calories she intakes. Anyone who has seen Kadence knows that she is rarely still. She is always running, jumping, spinning, etc. She gave us some tips to beef her up. We have to add fat to meals when we can. (For example: Add a Tbls of Olive Oil to her spaghetti.) We talked to the Dr later and he said that he is still very concerned because Kadence grew in height but not in weight which means that she actually lost weight. So we'll be working on getting her to gain. My family is tiny so part of it is genetics. My niece has had problems with gaining weight as well.

Kadence picked a red cast and was so excited to show her Teacher Jill and her friends at preschool. Although she loves the color, she is not loving having a cast this time. She hasn't really gone from nothing to a cast. She usually goes from cast to cast or brace to cast, but this time she had a month to wiggle and move 24/7 which she hasn't done for over 2 years. She has had a much harder time adjusting this time and will randomly breakdown crying. She told me one morning, "Mommy I just can't bend in this thing." Nearly broke my heart! Last night when she stood up she looked at me with teary eyes and said, "Mom it just hurts my hips." I am struggling seeing how hard it is for her. She tries so hard to be brave and she's always so happy. The other day (before her casting) she was sitting on the couch and randomly said, "Owies don't hurt mom." I told her that they do sometimes. (That's why they are called an owie after all) She said, "No mom they don't hurt me." She is such a strong girl and is by far stronger than I am in every way, spiritually, physically and mentally.

She was molded for her brace because she will be put in a brace in May. We went down to orthotics and picked out her brace design. She picked blue and purple stars with....RED straps. The orthotics guy tried to talk her into purple so it would match, but it was a no go. Red it is much to my delight...NOT! They are seriously fire engine red! Oh well, whatever makes it easier for her.

As we were signing the discharge papers, the recreational therapy lady came and took Kadence to go decorate cookies. Kadence sat down and put the knife in the frosting and then licked the knife. The therapist told her maybe we'll get a new knife. Kadence grabbed the new knife, dipped in in frosting and licked it again! Then she looked at the therapist and said, "I think I've had enough now. I don't want to get a tummy ache." She cracks me up and the therapist can't get enough of her!

We were a little disappointed to find out that her curve is at 53 degrees in cast. After looking at the xray it looks better than last time even though it was the same degree of curve, so that's a positive thing. The Dr wants to do an xray in traction next office visit to determine where she is at with her flexibility of her spine. It's just a fancy xray where they bend her to see where they can expect to get her down to. Originally we were hoping for low 40's but he thinks her spine has lost quite a bit of flexibility. She has been as low as 38 degrees in cast and the last 4 casts haven't gotten her lower than 46. It's discouraging, but I have to remind myself that 53 is much better than 78. I'll keep everyone posted (Or try to) as we get her new brace and take the new xrays.