Ben's getting botox injections on Friday. In his hamstrings and gastrox (calf) muscles. Under general anesthetic. In an operating room.
And I'm nervous.
But he so needs it. We just spent the last 3 weeks in casts trying to stretch out his calf muscles and have barely gotten anywhere. We've basically managed to be able to get him back into his AFO's more comfortably...but that's about it.
So yeah, he needs the botox in his calves. And his hamstrings need it too. So that means ALOT of needles...and his physiatrist is just not willing to poke him that much if he's awake. So that means general anesthetic. Yuck.
So keep us in your thoughts on Friday...although by the time you are all up and about, it'll likely all be over with since we need to be at the hospital at 7am Atlantic time (that's one hour ahead of EST). He should get the botox at around 8:30 and be all done by no later than 9:30.
I'm just hoping that we see some real progress after this. He'll do 2 more weeks of casting afterwards to really stretch those calf muscles once the botox is doing it's work. And then we're off for another week of Conductive Education.
He's been making some real progress with independent standing so I'm really hoping that once he can more easily get his feet flat that we'll see more and more improvement in this area....and then, well, we start working on an independent step or 2...won't that be exciting?!?!
So that's what I hold on to...the gains that I hope we'll be able to make afterwards. And I try to stop thinking about that operating room. I try.
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Hoping for a stress-free day on Friday and some good results to come!
ReplyDeletePraying for you and some good results.
ReplyDeleteSending prayers and positive thoughts your way. Both my kids have been under a general (both for dental work!!!! and an MRI) and they got through it just fine. I think I calmed myself by thinking of how experienced these kind of docs are with kids' needs. And maybe Xanax. Keep thinking of all those comments we've seen from adults with CP who've shared their experiences - a lot of folks found it made a huge difference. Keep us posted!
ReplyDeleteI know I always worry about general anesthetic too. I'll be thinking about your whole family on Friday ((HUGS))
ReplyDeletehe will be just fine. i say that now after drake having botox w/ anethesia and coming out of it perfect. i was in tears during of course. :) but the docs know what they are doing and it takes less than 15 mins of them being out. good luck!
ReplyDeleteGood Luck tomorrow. I'll be thinking about you. I too am not a fan of general anesthetic for the little ones but it so necessary sometimes.
ReplyDeleteHi Cary,
ReplyDeleteHoping you all have as good a morning as possible! I know procedures are difficult, for the kids and the whole family. We tend to be very honest with Elena (answering "yes" to "will it hurt?", etc) and so far that has worked out very well for us. I still get nervous, of course, with every (and any) (surgical) procedure. We're all thinking of Ben, and hoping that his smile and energy come back as quickly as possible. E and I send kisses to Ben (and Daniel!)!
Hope everything went smooth for you all.
ReplyDeletexo