BIG NEWS

Joe got his halo off yesterday!!!

Our morning started at 6:30 when we piled into our new car (more on that later) and fought our way through morning traffic to arrive at Children's Hospital at 9am. Who scheduled that, seriously?
On the way, 6:30am

Joe had appointments all day so the various departments and providers could "follow-up" on his amazing progress. I can't even guess how much the day will cost our insurance companies, but I bet it will be a whopper. What with the 3 sets of xrays and the 3-D Cat Scan, and the MRI that they almost took until I said "Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a tic! He has a shopping cart screwed into his head and you want to put him in a machine that contains a magnet the size of Rhode Island? Are you sure???" The response from the lowly tech was as follows, "Ooops, wrong patient, my bad." Duh.
Cat Scan
X-Rays

Anyway, the super cool (and I am quite sure, amazingly expensive) 3-D Cat Scan apparently told the story, because after a very long day of shuffling back and forth along the miles of hallways in that hospital, hours of waiting, endless consulting and viewing of expensive diagnostic imaging, the "team" all agreed that he was in tip-top shape and could indeed have the cage on his head removed.
Killing time Killing more time

He was so funny when they first disconnected the Halo, his head wobbled around like a bowling ball on a toothpick! They asked him to touch his chin to his chest and when he did he got this beaming smile and said "Awwwww, that feels sooooo gooood". I can't even imagine. They put him into a hard collar exactly like the one the paramedics put on him before strapping him to the backboard after his accident. I'll bet that's another $300 or more for the insurance company, which is really too bad, cuz we have the first collar still tossing around somewhere in the RV. I guess if finances get too much to handle I can start ebaying medical devices...
First freedom
Bobble head

To make a short story long, he's out of the halo and into the collar. He hates it. Its hot. It scritches and rubs and irritates all the wrong places. You have to remember, for the last three months he's had nothing touching his neck, not even clothes, and now its cuddled securely in a padded hard plastic shell. Its bugging the crap out of him. Its supposed to be on for two weeks. I give it two days.
I don't think the medical staff found humor in his T-shirt...

So, the nice part for me is that I no longer have to haul his skinny butt back and forth to school (they wouldn't let him ride the bus in his halo). Every stinkin' day leave the house at 8:45am, home at 9:20ish. Leave again at 1:55pm, home at 2:45 or so. If you're calculating, that gives me approximately 4.5 hours of productivity each day. So if you've been disappointed in the spotty-ness of my blogging, you should see an improvement soon :)

The best part though, is that Joe has made an absolutely miraculous recovery from what was a devastating injury. Really. We were reminded over and over yesterday how lucky he is.

Here's kind of a rundown: He was admitted to Harborview with a C8, ASIA C spinal cord injury (google it). Burst fractures to C6 & C7 from impact with multiple vertebral body fractures due to hyperflexion. Cervical displacement caused a 50% narrowing of his spinal cord, with edema (swelling) impinging the cord another 30%. Keep in mind that 100% cord impairment is total paralysis. He was at 80%. He also had two fractured sinuses, a liver laceration and a pneumothorax. Upon admission he was unable to move or feel his legs, and while he had feeling in his arms, he was not able to use them functionally. He suffered hypersensitivity in his arms and torso, such that any touch (especially the placement of necessary IV's, Oxygen monitors, and blood pressure cuffs) was excruciating. We could not hold his hand for weeks.

19 days later he had medical professionals shaking their heads in awe as he walked completely unassisted out of the rehab department at Children's with a halo on his head. 60 days after that, they cringed as he jumped, skipped and jogged away from his follow-up with a collar on.

He's not 100% perfect, mind you. He is losing hair by the handfuls (it is called telogen effluvium and we're assured it will grow back, but he could end up bald for a while if it doesn't quit soon), he has dulled sensation along his left leg (may never improve), and he cannot extend the fingers or oppose the thumb on his left hand (improving slightly, but could be as good as it gets). Even with the impairments to his hand, the Occupational Therapist was absolutely amazed that he scored average or above on all of the dexterity tests she gave him yesterday. He has found ways to work with what he's got and he's doing a damn fine job of it.
On the way home, 6:30pm

At the very end of our very long day, Joe sat down next to me on the couch. He leaned his head next to mine and snuggled close. It was so wonderful to put my arms around him and feel his little body without it's hard plastic shell and to rest my head against his without the cage in the way...as I kissed him goodnight I didn't let him see the tears in my eyes, but I think he was hiding his from me too.

My baby boy is a miracle and GOD IS GOOD!