Jackinator

Days to Remember

A 'troika' (we learned that word in the spelling bee) of anniversaries today!

1 year ago was Jack's femoral osteotomy

13 years ago we moved into our house in RI

Oh, and I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that today is also Amanda's half-birthday.  Amanda was surprised that she had to remind us to wish her a happy half-birthday.  She just assumes that the last 13 and a half years have been the best of our lives and should naturally be cause for celebration :)

Jack did a lot of walking yesterday so his leg was bothering him last night.  It seems to be the outside thigh muscle, rather than the actual hip.  Hopefully it's just because he hasn't used that muscle much in a few weeks.  We will be monitoring him closely, though, as we just removed the bandage from his incision 2 days ago.

Feeling Good

Jack is feeling good today - his fever is gone.  He's been up & about this morning, playing on the floor and skyping with Matt.  Later this morning, we'll be heading out to the library.

Last night, the DMS girls basketball team played tough but ended up losing 49-35, after being tied at 22 at half-time.  The other team had a lot of depth, which wore out Amanda's team.  They also had a big girl that Amanda said was like a brick wall.  Rumors were that she was 6'2 but Dad said she was probably 5'11.  That's still about 5 inches taller than anyone on Amanda's team!  Jack nick-named her 'the beast woman.'  Well, DMS had a good run and still comes away with the Southern Division Champion title!

Doing OK

I don't think this fever has anything to do with the surgery.  Jack took a shower and then I changed the bandage on his incision.  Everything looked fine and he insists that his hip does not hurt.  I gave him some Advil and he's in good spirits.  He just asked me what the 'lunch special' was today :)  He's also itching to get out of the house.  Yesterday he asked if he could go to school today!  I said No so then he said he would settle for going to the grocery store with me this weekend.  I think we'll plan a trip to the library over the weekend, then.  That would get us all used to the wheelchair routine again, too.

I had a friend all lined up to watch Jack tonight so I could see Amanda's game, but now I'm going to stay home with him.  So, DMS will just have to win so I can see them in the finals next week!  Dad is able to go to the game so he'll be able to give us frequent updates.  I also emailed our local on-line news group to see if they could broadcast the game live on-line.  That would be really cool!

Fever

Jack woke up with a slight fever & headache this morning.  He says his hip feels fine, better than yesterday.  So, hopefully this is just a virus he picked up in the hospital and not an infection in his hip.  He'll be getting in the shower this morning and then I'll be changing the bandage.

Hip Notes

Jack continues to do well.  He's been up & about a bit on his crutches, but mainly hangs out downstairs in the office on the guest bed.  No pain in his hip, he says, unless he moves his leg too fast.  Yesterday afternoon, he got some schoolwork done (without too much complaining), skyped with Isaac and then Grace & Ethan stopped by with dinner (thanks, Diane!)  Today will be much of the same. 

On another good note, congratulations to Amanda and the DMS girls basketball team - they won their second playoff game on Tuesday, with authority (Amanda had 29 points!)  They now advance to the semi-finals, which will be played Friday evening. 

Overnight

Jack slept all night!  I slept with one ear open expecting him to wake up.  I was dreading a middle-of-the-night pain med administration but it was not needed.  He actually did pretty well with his dose last evening.  I only had to stand in front of the TV for 5 minutes before he took it.  This morning he said his pain level, on a scale of 1 to 10, was a 0.5, and he claims he's not just saying that to get out of more medicine.  I think I believe him - he's been chomping at the bit to get up & crutch around the house.  So, since he's feeling pretty good, he'll be doing some school work today, much to his dismay, and then should be up to some Skyping with friends this afternoon.  So far, so good!

Home

We are home.  Jack is resting comfortably, watching TV and having a snack.  His hip is still numbed up but Dad is out filling a prescription for a pain med.  Let's hope I can get him to take it this year.  I had such a hard time last year.  Well, as a last resort, I could always take the med instead and knock myself out!