Landen's New Cast!

We were able to go to Delaware this week to have Landen's cast changed. We were concerned about the weather messing up the plans but God had worked all that out! Thankfully, we got a head start on Monday and left around 10am....after an oil change and lunch we headed to Delaware around 12pm. Our area was expecting snow, ice, and freezing rain but we were able to get out of town before it hit. However, two winter storms were expected to meet in the north and Delaware was expecting a lot of snow! So, we really didn't know what to expect. Thankfully, we didn't see any bad weather on the way there. We arrived in Wilmington just before 6pm. They still had snow on the ground but the roads were clear. We went to a pizza restaurant for supper and Brayden must have been really hungry! He ate almost three slices and never eats that much!
We had to be at A.I. duPont Hospital at 6:30am Tuesday. I'm glad they schedule him first because he can't eat anything and he doesn't understand why! We went through a series of questions from several nurses/doctors and then Landen received a thorough exam from them as well. He weighed 11 lbs 14.5 oz. with the cast on. After all of the Pre-Op they took him back just before 7:45am. Here he is ready to go!
The procedure took a little more than an hour but it seemed longer. Dr. MacKenzie came out and told us everything went great! The hip is healing perfectly and is in correct position! The cast also did not cause any skin problems! We were so relieved to hear this news, to God be the glory! We asked them to weigh Landen without the cast while they were changing it so we could have a weight at one year....he weighs 10.8 lbs. As expected he is very fussy and upset when he wakes up. The breathing tubes make him hoarse and gives him a sore throat, he's hooked up to different monitors, has an IV, is in an unfamiliar place with people he doesn't know and still hasn't had anything to eat, so I can understand why! It took me about 45 minutes to comfort him and get him settled then he went back to sleep and rested really well! He was monitored for almost two hours and was doing really well so he was cleared to go! Next we went to the cast room for his cast to be finished. He was a little more comfortable by then but still not very happy! He got really upset again when they had to wrap the cast and trim it in a few places. That was very hard to watch. Thankfully he won't remember any of this! We decided to go with a "Carolina Blue" cast this time but it's not exactly that color. It's a little lighter than his first cast but not quite as light as Carolina blue! It turned out really nice though! :)
We were able to leave the hospital and get back on the road around 12pm. The snow storm was expected that afternoon so we wanted to at least leave town before it hit! We just knew we would run in to it though! However we only saw about 20 minutes of snow falling around Washington, D.C. and it had just started so the roads were clear. Again, we didn't go through any bad weather! We weren't sure what to expect when we got home since the ice had shut down everything on Tuesday but all roads were clear! God has perfect timing! We are thanking the Lord for a great report and safe trip! We're waiting to hear the final word on a date for the cast to come off but according to what we've been told he has two more months to go. We are scheduled to go back to Delaware in March for other appointments.

The boys did so good considering two long car rides back to back! They couldn't have been any better! This was Brayden's first trip there and he did really well! I think he enjoyed the experience and we loved having him with us! It also helped distract us! ;) He enjoyed going through the Baltimore Harbor tunnel. After going through a couple of toll booths he asked "Why we have to pay another tale?" Haha....he gave us a good laugh! He liked seeing Ronald McDonald at "the McDonald House." Before we left he was able to go to the Treasure Chest at the Ronald McDonald House and pick out a toy....he got a tractor flashlight! I loved how everyone treated him....everyone included him in conversation and gave him lots of stickers and an icee! The hospital is truly the best we've ever been too! They are extremely friendly and treat you like family! They really care there! Their motto is treating children as if they were their own and they live up to it! We are so thankful for all of the doctors, nurses and staff at the Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children. They are a blessing!

Thank you to everyone who was praying and sent messages letting us know you were praying! You just don't know how encouraging it is! Thank you so much!