Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Botox, Serial Casting, and New Braces

Ben had his first Spasticity Management appointment today and the Stan Cassidy Centre for Rehabilitation in Fredericton, NB. We've been there once before. At that time, it was just a huge (3-day) evaluation and he was added to their Spasticity Management list.

It was a great appointment considering it was from 12:30 to 3pm (yep, you guessed it...naptime). Ben was awesome. Fredericton is a 90-minute drive away for us and although he didn't nap on the way up, he did rest and I think that made all the difference in the world.

We met with the PT, OT and the Physiatrist. They were all awesome and I have no doubt that Ben is in the best hands when he's there. These people know what they are doing. And they are nice too. Love them.

My goal for this appointment was to get Ben on the list for Botox injections. I wanted them for his ankles / calves...they are just way tighter than they used to be. I also wanted some advice on what we need for AFO's / braces now since the ones we have are getting too small and probably aren't sufficient for his needs anymore.

In the end, they were more concerned with his hamstrings then his ankles. Which surprised me. I need to talk with his regular PT's to understand it more. Their recommendation is botox for the hamstrings and serial casting for the ankles / calves. And then of course, new braces after the casting is done.

I'm not sure when the botox appointment will be. There is quite a wait for the OR (like January 2011) if we do it under general anesthetic...which is just way too long. So we're going to do with it with oral anesthetic in September (hopefully). Casting starts in September too.

I'm still digesting all this information. It's alot to take in at just one appointment.

2 comments:

  1. Hmmm. . . I'm wondering what part of the ankle worries you.

    Charlie was supposed to get botox, but insurance denied our claim and more boring details you don't care about. In the mean time, I'm stretching him like mad! Our doc seriously recommended not doing general, so I think you're making a good decision there. Can't wait to hear how this goes for him!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi my name is Jayne and our 6year old, Luca, just had botox and serial casting for three weeks at The Glenrose in Edmonton. His foot is now flat and i believe we had great results (we just used the cream - didn't want to put him under:)) He didn't take it so well but it was over quickly...he is struggling a bit walking on his foot - not sure if it's weak muscles? Or just getting used to a new position. Would appreciate any input.

    ReplyDelete