*sigh of relief*

We made it. It wasn't easy, but we got through it. And in all, it went pretty well.

Wednesday we spent most of the day going from room to room and floor to floor meeting a ton of people. It was long, but in a way, reassuring, that all these people were there to look out for him- and open for whatever was needed. Then a dinner with friends and without the boy really helped us relax.

Thursday it was a bunch of waiting, but at least the waiting during the surgery/recovery wasn't long at all. Of course, they called us pretty quick to recovery 'cause he woke up -furious.- I could hear him screaming as soon as the elevator doors opened- even through 3 closed doors. And once we got to the room, with 3 nurses, 4 grandparents, and 2 parents trying to calm him down probably just added to the problem at first. Finally I stuck his MP3 player in his ears on a favorite song, (Junior Asparagus singing 'Twinkle Twinkle') and that helped him focus better. Two hours later, he was having a ball shooting foam disks at the grandparents and eating pizza. After a while, he realized that even the horrible medicine really did help him feel better, so he was a bit more open to taking it.

When he felt better, he got to explore around the hospital in the wheelchair, and had a ball doing so.

More later...

aaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!

Just got the letter. Josiah's surgery is the 19th. Yes- just less than 2 weeks away.

Can I panic now?

peace

So I found a downy woodpecker today in the front yard with a broken wing. I took a couple pictures and found the number for the local wildlife rescue so I could take her in. She was alert enough that she was afraid of me and climbed up the catalpa tree. I watched her for a while, going outside to check on her in between cleaning and such. Then I couldn't find her anymore. I knew there was no way she could have flown, so I checked all over. I did find her again eventually, but it was too late.

After fretting a while, I thought of something one of my characters in a game was told once: "You shouldn't punish yourself; you cannot save everyone. That isn't to say everyone won't be saved - you simply won't always be the one to do it." There really was nothing I could have done for the poor thing. If I'd been able to catch her before she went up the tree, maybe. But I couldn't save her.

"So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows." Matthew 10:31

How much more does He weep when he sees our broken wings?

Waiting.

So now we wait.

Josiah's appointment went great. He loved all the colors and crayons and such around the hospital, and the people were really nice. The doctors there said almost exactly the same thing the ones here had said, so it was good to have the confirmation. And having the entire thing explained to Dad Welch helped alleiviate Mom and Dad's worries too.

We were in and out of there quickly, and made it back home in Austin with no incidents by 7pm. Josiah really didn't want to go to school the next day, but once he saw that his teacher was there after all, (she'd told me she wouldn't be) he felt better.

So now we wait. We know he is having the surgery, just not when yet. The problem with using a huge hospital run by a charity is that you wait for them to schedule you- you don't pick the schedule. I'm pretty sure we'll know soon, and I have a feeling it'll be before summer, but I just don't know.

I should throw myself into the cleaning to keep from worrying. If only I could keep from getting distracted so much.... I've gotten pants to alter so he can get 'em around the casts, but I need room to sew, so I need to clean stuff away. I'm so behind...

Oh- and did I mention Josiah's 4ft 10 now? Less than 4 inches to my height... But only 2 to pass my mom and her mom...

Holding my breath

So today's the day.

I'm taking Josiah to Scottish Rite Children's Hospital in Dallas (http://www.tsrhc.org/) for his evaluation. I know there's not much they can say or do that I haven't heard before, but still I'm nervous.

Matt's dad's going to go with us, so that will really help if they have to do any sort of testing.

And then there's the weather- it's icy almost all the way across the state. Even if we do finish there in time, should I risk the 4-5 hour drive back?

Josiah and I were talking about the plan last night before he went to bed. I told him I wasn't sure what we were going to do. He said, "Okay, I'm counting on you, Mom."

no pressure...

Sock Monkey

So I made the monkey on Saturday, and Josiah named him "Tommy." He was so proud, running around church yesterday showing him to everyone.

Yeah, Mama felt pretty good about that, too.

It's amazing how accomplishing something as small as making a monkey made me feel so much better about myself as a whole. Makes me realise that if I focused more on actually finishing things- getting things accomplished, I can do more.

So bring on that laundry, Tommy- we've got a lot to do.

No panic

Well, still not panicking.
Stuff just falls into place.

The distance on the towing? I overestimated quite a bit. It was just under 4 miles. I only had to pay $7. That's it. $7.

We ended up running really late for therapy, and Josiah was really upset, but he's doing much better today. (found out his favorite teacher was out yesterday- that always upsets him.)

Then I ran to HobbyLobby to pick up stuff to make a sock monkey. I'm going to try and have that done by Tuesday. Why a sock monkey? When my little brother was in Kindergarten, he fell off the playscape and broke his femur. (high on the leg- about mid-thigh) He ended up having to be basically in traction for a couple weeks, then a body cast. (waist down on one side- waist to knee on the other) My mom made him a sock monkey while he was in the hospital, and when they put the cast on Brett, they put a matching one on the monkey, too. (Mom still has it)

So I'm making a sock monkey for Josiah, hoping that when they put him in casts after his surgery, they can do the same for his monkey.

And not just 'cause we call him 'monkey' all the time... >.>

Oh? And my total at Hobby Lobby? I was a bit disappointed that the monkey stuff was going to cost about $15. But I figured if it works well, it's worth it.

It came out under $5. Still not certain how, but a bunch of stuff was on sale.

No panic. It all comes out alright.