Less than 30 days......

In less than thirty days Jadon will be having surgery. So many things to do. So many emotions and thoughts running through my head. I am hoping to get in touch with the person who takes room reservations at the Ronald McDonald House today. She was on vacation last week. We need to map out our route to Philadelphia. I also need to purchase some summer clothing in the 18 month size range for after Jadon comes out of surgery. He will be immobilized for about 3 weeks so I will need at the very least a weeks worth of bigger, preferably button down outfits for him to wear. I am hoping I have not completely missed all the summer clothes. So many stores switch to their fall/winter clothing so early these days. Keeping busy with these things helps to keep me from thinking about the moment when they take him from us to go to surgery or the hours and hours we will have to sit and wait and wonder what is happening. I have been told by some parents who have been through this that they got updates frequently and I am hoping that is true. We are taking Shelby and Jake with us,and I am hoping that they will help us pass the time. It will be nice to have our whole family unit there since we are so far away from home. We are not going to have my Aunt close by this time. Their house has been for sale for some time. My uncle's new job is in Minnesota and they are going to move up north. The timing on the sale of their house could not have been worse for us. They close on their house the day of Jadon's surgery. Their house will be empty and they will be in the process of moving while we are in Philadelphia. I am thrilled they sold their house but a little sad that we will not be seeing them. We are so used to being surrounded by friends and family here at home I think it is going to seem very strange.

Then there is our therapy appointment last week. Carri observed that Jadon seems to be favoring the left side of his body more than the right. He tends to keep his right shoulder in an elevated position and this is causing his head to tip to the left. She said that his neck muscles on that side are getting stiff. She also observed that when he is doing this his spine is curving to the left. Not something we want to continue to happen. So on top of the daily range of motion exercises we already do we have some new stretches and exercises to do. These are a little more complicated than what we have been doing since it requires his attention to be focused on something straight ahead of him while I hold him in the air and tip him to the left so that he bends to the right. We have to do this several times in a row about twice a day. I am going to have good arm muscles after these ones!!

In the last week Jadon has pretty much mastered sitting up. He does not quite understand that if he kicks back he is going to bonk his head on the floor so we keep pillows around him to cushion his fall. He catches himself when he starts to tip to the left but of course can't do that when he tip the the right, so that is a problem. Overall he is a happy kids who is getting more and more active and playful. He loves to read books and his new favorite toy is a broken real remote we gave him. He kept wanted the working remote to the t.v. but was turning up the volume and changing the channels randomly so we hunted down a broken one we had saved just for this reason. The next cell phone that breaks will be given to Jadon too. Jadon smiles for everybody and his smile just lights up a room and I am praying I get the same happy child back after surgery. He is truly a joyful addition to our home. He can make his sister and brother just gush. I love watching them together.

Jadon sitting like a big boy!