Jackinator

The Hip is Healed!

Hello Jackinator fans!  As I had hoped, I did not have any Perthes related info to post over the summer; Jack spent the last 6 months being a 'normal' kid.  A follow-up xray earlier this month showed that the ball of the hip has grown back and is contained in the socket, and the thigh bone is all filled in, where the plate & screws were.  The doctor said in a perfect world, it would be a more snug fit between ball & socket, but Jack has no pain and hardly limps at all.  And at this time, his leg length discrepancy is not an issue, so he's good to go!  He needs to stay active and can pretty much do what he wants, barring major contact sports.  Running is a great activity because it keeps the hip rotating and since Jack has a slight build, he's not putting undue strain on his hip.

Over the summer, Jack kept up his running and ran another 5K in September, again way faster than me, who has 2 normal hips.  He is able to ride a bike well now, and regularly bikes around the neighborhood with friends.  And after a 3 year wait, he finally got to play flag football, which he loved!  He was a receiver and scored several touchdowns, had some interceptions, one for a touchdown, and his team ended up winning the Super Bowl in their age group. 

Thanks to everyone for all of your support over the past 3 years; you certainly made a difficult situation much easier to get through.  We are all different because of this, but hopefully in a good way.

Here are some pictures from the summer and fall:

Climbing on the rocks in Jamestown with no (well, hardly any) worries.

 

Jack as King Richard in the summer play, Robin Hood.  He is still showing an interest in acting and is currently auditioning for his school play, Aladdin. 

 

Touring Gettysburg in 104 degree weather.

 

At the beach (with no crutches!!)

 

Jack can finally take the bus again!

 

Jack came home with about 140 pieces of candy; his hip didn't slow him down this year!

 

5K Follow-Up

Jack is front & center on our local on-line news group site, NK Patch.  When they posted his 5K story on their Facebook page, they prefaced it with 'We just love these types of stories.'  Me, too...

After stretching & icing his hip yesterday afternoon, Jack was back on his feet & running around in the yard after dinner.  He says he can't wait to run another 5K!  The Y is offering a training program over the summer, based on the program I just coordinated, and Jack wants to sign up. 

Well, I'm thinking (hoping) that I won't have much to post regarding Perthes this summer.  Perhaps it's time to start looking into archiving the Jackinator blog...

The Big Race!

After 8 weeks of training, Jack ran the Forest Park 5K today in just over 30 minutes!  And to think he was in a wheelchair this time last year, fresh out of a body cast.  He was all cooled down & waiting at the finish line with a water bottle for me by the time I clomped in at over 38 minutes.  Way to go Jack!  He says his hip is sore, so he's stretching & icing it this afternoon.  Hopefully there will be no long-term effects because he really seems to enjoy running.  

              

 

May Update

Not much to report on the Perthes front.  Jack is doing extremely well with his 5K training.  He just informed me today that he'd like to run the 3.2 miles in around 30 minutes.  In the beginning, I was just hoping he'd be able to cross the finish line, but now he's got a taste for running and is really picking up his speed.  Looks like he'll be leaving me in the dust!  The race is Sunday, May 22nd at 3 pm and we are Team Flash.

Jack's orthopedic doctor just asked for a fresh xray of Jack's hip.  She's doing a presentation on Perthes Disease, using Jack as an example.  When I asked why she chose Jack, she said because he's an interesting case and is coming through it successfully.  Jack thinks she chose him because he's pretty cool. 

Happy Mothers Day to all of you moms out there.  I'll be watching Amanda play some basketball and perhaps will be able to get to the beach if the weather cooperates.  A typical Mothers Day for me!

Oh, and Jack recently went to work with Dad and learned all about Metlife.  That's about it for now!

Socks and Stomping

We met my college friend Amy and her 3 little ones, Hal, Julia & Robert at Patriot Place today.  But don't worry, Jack made sure to stomp on the Patriot's logo and he even pulled his favorite Steelers shirt out of the hamper to wear today.  After he OK'd the shirt with me, he then informed me that he occasionally does the same thing with his favorite socks.  Hmmmm...and here I thought his feet were starting to smell more because of his increased activity level.  Well, he certainly has increased his activity level - Jack can now walk/jog for 2 miles without really getting tired, and he just biked 5 miles the other day!  This time last year, he was stuck in a body cast, so he's definitely come a long way...

Mr. & Mrs. Mayor

Here's a small video clip of Mr. & Mrs. Mayor, their daughter Jo-Jo and the Whos of Whoville, courtesy of our local on-line newsgroup, NK Patch.  Amanda & her friends thought it was cute that Jack was the smallest member of his 'family'...

    

 After the show:

    

The Big Show!

The performances of Jack's play, Seussical Jr., have been a success so far!  Only a couple of minor mishaps which the cast covered for nicely.  On the way home last night, Jack asked me if I heard a toilet flush during the show.  He thinks someone may have gone to the bathroom with their mic on.  I didn't hear anything but it reminded me of a very funny scene from a movie from my college days.  I showed Jack the clip after we got home; it's still funny!

Jack is exhausted but happy.  For the past 2 weeks, he's had rehearsals every day after school until 6 pm, 5K training (he's up to 1.5 miles walking/jogging!) and 5 performances in 3 days.  He's been asked for his autograph (OK, that was from Pop-Pop :) and has been given notes & hugs from pretty girls (Amanda's friends think he's just adorable; he pretends not to like this).  Tonight is the closing performance and cast party at a local restaurant. 

I'll post more pics soon!

Spica Cast Survival Guide

 

Now available!  The Spica Cast Survival Guide: 
Real-Life Information about a Body Cast 
from someone who's Been There.

 

It's hard enough dealing with the prospect of caring for a child in a body cast without having to worry about clothing.  This useful guide gives step-by-step instructions on how to make easy (really) no-sew clothes:  Towel Trunks and Spica Shorts.  Also included are How to Stay Sane and Things we found Invaluable during this difficult time.

 

Enter coupon code JACKINATOR and receive a 20% discount!  Proceeds of this sale benefit the recovery of a Perthes Disease victim.

Are you kiddin' me

We had to gather up items for Jack's costume for Seussical Jr. this week.  He's wearing soccer shorts, colorful knee-high socks (he chose mismatched ones from Amanda's bountiful supply) and black, red & white sneakers.  After he put those things on, he looked down at himself and said, 'Are you kiddin' me.'  Hehehe - can't wait to see the play!  The performances are next week - Wednesday, Thursday & Friday the 6th, 7th & 8th at 6:30pm.  For you locals, I have 4 tickets left for Thursday and 1 ticket left for Friday.  If you'd like to go, let me know!

Sub-Zero Running

Jack & I started training for the Forest Park 5K this first week of 'spring' amid sub-zero temps.  OK, it wasn't really that cold, but on our first training day, it was miserably sleeting out; the kids were 'forced' to run inside the school, around the halls.  On our second training day, we got to run outside amid snow flurries, which luckily only amounted to about an inch.  For our 'homework' this weekend, we needed to run/walk for 15 minutes straight, so I took Jack & Matthew to a local park this morning.  We did a warm-up lap, stretched and then walked, jogged & skipped (their idea) for our 15 minutes.  It was a balmy 36 degrees.  They did great, though!  I also felt much lighter on my feet.  This is the first time I've run on land in probably 20 years.  Earlier this week, I was so clunky and was thinking 3 miles may as well be 300!  But I was much encouraged today, and it also looks like Jack & Matt will be compatible runners. 

Oh, and here's something Pop-Pop Tony will find especially amusing:  At the park where we ran, there are some unusual trees that I was using as landmarks.  I would say, 'OK, now we're going to run to that creepy tree.'  Well, Jack & Matt named one of the creepy tress 'spider tree' and every time we came near that tree, they would start singing the Spider Pig song from the Simpsons Movie!