Week 2 - Cast

We got the first full week of casting under our belt, and Elliott rocked it from beginning to end! Moving into week two, he got to change up the color of the cast, and guess what he chose???

In the words of Elliott,

"OOOOOO!"

This week, he sprang for orange. I was a little more sure he was going to stick to this cast choice because he picked out an orange shirt when we were getting dressed in the morning, so it would match his cast.

As with the previous casting appointment, I wasn't quite sure what to expect from the removal process. When we arrived at the office, there was a large sign detailing what to expect. I read it aloud to Elliott, and it described a vibrating machine that cut through the material. Just about that time, we heard a VERY loud noise in the room next door. This must be the big vibrating machine they refer to.

Elliott looked at me and covered his ears, and I got a little panicky. How in the heck was he going to respond to this machine, up against his leg, even if it wasn't going to be painful? This thing sounded intimidating!

All I could do was reassure him and tell him how much I wished that I could get something cut off my body. Ha! Parents really will say anything, won't they?

Pretty soon, the removal tech came into the room and wheeled in what looked like a huge vacuum with a saw attached to the end of a hose. He was great with Elliott, let him touch it, and explained in great detail what was going to happen. He told us the saw just vibrated, not actually rotated. Elliott would feel heat, and it would probably tickle, but there would be no pain.

He showed him exactly where he would cut the cast, turned on the machine, and got to work. Wouldn't you know, when he started to saw off the cast, Elliott started to LAUGH.

No joke, he was giggling the whole time. This kid slays me. Once again, I stressed for absolutely no reason.

The removal took about three minutes, and shortly after the tech left, the doctor came to check his range of motion.

He was very happy with his progress.

The current plan was to recast this week, return next week to get fitted for the AFO brace at the Hangar Clinic, and then have two additional weeks to wear the third and final cast while the brace is made.

After stretching his foot, the doctor looked at me, took out his phone, and called the Hangar Clinic to ask for a favor...

Hangar made time for Elliott to get fit for his brace right then and there, and just like that, the doctor shaved off a week of casting...

The new plan now is for the orange cast to stay on for two weeks while the AFO brace gets made. When we go back in two weeks, we will have the cast officially removed and put the AFO brace on — worn full time.

The total appointment time was a little over an hour, including removal, fitting of the AFO brace, and recasting — plus he got to pick out his brace's design! Surprises await for what he picked :)

Similar to the last time, when Elliott was all done, he marched his way right out of the office, showing off his cool orange cast to anyone who looked his way.

I decided we'd have a mom-and-son date, so I took him to Mueller Park, right by the doctor's office. We had a brownie bigger than his face, followed by some park time, followed by chasing and counting ducks on the pond, from my shoulders.

Quality time is one of Elliott's love languages, and it was just what both of us needed.

Today, I ended the day feeling very grateful. Grateful that we only need the cast for 3 weeks in total. Grateful for how well he is continuing to adapt to the cast. Grateful for his team of doctors and physical therapists, and most grateful for our little family unit.