Just Another Day at the Hospital

We were at Scottish Rite again today.  Will had an alignment appointment & an appointment to get his new "Lion King Impressives" (what he refers to his bike gloves as.)  He was scheduled to be treated from 9am - 1:30pm!  That is a long day for a little boy.  I packed a lunch for him in his cool pirate lunch box (thanks, Susan R.!)  Ellie had her usual taping & splinting appointment.

Thankfully, my mom went with me.  I was so glad to have her drive (I was exhausted as the last two nights have yielded little sleep - thank you, tooth #6) & also with such a long day & appointments overlapping (Ellie's was at 11am,)  I would need another adult to help manage logistics.

More to come on being a big girl who needs her mama.

We were so excited to hear that Amputees Across America - a group of amputees who are biking across the USA would be at the hospital - especially since Will had his bike with him.  Unfortunately, they cancelled but hopefully one day he'll get to meet them.

We're getting close to Will's new zancos being ready.  Hopefully by the end of July!  (We started this process about 6 weeks ago.)  

Expect some changes this time - BIG changes...

but you're just going to have to wait for Will to show you himself. ;)

He's a very excited little boy!

Here he is with Mrs. W. while she works on the initial alignment

Checking out his hip alignment

Ellie was very keen on watching the process

Showing off his new height next to me

So TALL!

(We're actually going to lower him just a tad.)

This is what makes the adjustment typically difficult - imagine gaining 4-6 inches in a matter of minutes plus going up 3 shoe sizes instantly!  That's why we call them "zancos" - Spanish for stilts!

In this picture - you can see how much height is being added to him as he has one zanco on & one off 

Happily playing behind her big brother on the exam table

Practicing walking while Mrs. W makes adjustments

Here's a peek at one of the big changes:

Ellie tried the big girl chair but didn't care much for it in her appointment

We got to meet several new friends who also had appointments.

Kelly - a longtime friend from when we lived in Waco was there with her newborn, Luke.  I loved getting to meet & hold snuggly Luke (& catch up with my friend!)

And then I finally met Elizabeth in real life.  We connected a few months ago via an online support group for Ellie's AMC.  We began emailing & calling each other as she was going through so many of the same experiences and emotions during her pregnancy that I had gone through with Ellie's pregnancy just last year.  

I cried as I held sweet baby Luke - having prayed for him & not knowing whether he could live -

what a humbling experience to hold this precious 11 day old baby in my arms.

And a new friend for Ellie - someday they'll be at camp together & playing hard while there mamas share stories of the craziness they put us through while in the womb!

Sorry, blurry cell phone picture.  Just before leaving the hospital, we ran into "the girls" - the second floor admin women whom Will (and we) just adore.   Except when Will saw them, he said, "that's not all of them."  He noticed Becky was missing.  Thankfully, someone called her office & she came down for a quick visit.

Ellie loved playing with her & Will enjoyed showing off some tricks and flirting with "the girls."

We love the Scottish Rite administration!

Ellie missed out on her morning nap & crashed hard as I nursed her in the car prior to leaving Dallas.  

Will slept the whole way home & woke up pretty happy

Ellie playing with Mrs. Brenda during her taping & splinting

Will showing off his new zancos during the alignment

(turn music on pause on music playlist to hear videos.)

Can you figure out 2 BIG changes to Will's zancos?