No news is...

Good news. Right? Things have been going very well here. I realize how much I complain, I am much better about posting when I'm complaining or worrying - luckily there hasn't been much of either lately!

So here's a recap of the last three months (yes, three months, I am a slacker).

In March - X-Man's foot did heal. In only a week or two he was back to being himself, running and jumping. Now, because of daily stretching and weekly PT, he can even stand on his toes and squat for a few seconds (YAY!).

In April his flexibility continued to improve. He gained a few degrees of dorsiflexion on each foot. In April we also found out that my husband was offered a new job. Unfortunately, that meant that beginning on May 1, we no longer had health insurance for a month (unless we chose to have Cobra which cost more than our mortgage payment!). I talked to his therapist and she was kind enough to let us come every other week and shorten the sessions so that our self-pay bill (which, BTW costs $231/hour) would be greatly reduced.

In May we went to Iowa for a follow up appointment. Because of Ben's new job, he wasn't able to come; however, my sister S stepped up in a big way and traveled with the kids and I. Dr. Morcuende seemed very happy with X-Man's flexibility. Since our last visit, X-Man had gained about 5 degrees of flexibility in each foot. He said the main thing is to continue stretching and going to PT. Nurse Maria was on maternity leave (in February she didn't even look pregnant - lucky lady!), we missed her but still had a good visit.

Aunt S with Little Lou and X-Man

X-Man at THE Ponseti Clubfoot Clinic (we are so blessed!)


In June we took a much needed vacation. Little Lou and X-Man fell in love with the ocean. Our church also had VBS which was a lot of fun. On June 1, our new insurance benefits kicked in so we went back to weekly PT visits. His therapist also gave me some information on the local University's physical therapy department. Because of his clubfoot, the students would like to study him and learn more about how to treat other children with similar conditions. I'm thinking about going, I just have to figure out childcare for Little Lou.

We've been having a pretty great summer so far. Near our home is a pretty large reservoir with many steps and a ramp right next to the steps. About once a week we go and walk up the ramp two or three times to stretch his feet. By the way, in case you were curious, there are 123 steps - in the photo below, X-Man and Ben are about halfway down (or up).


I know this post was short and sweet, I'm hoping to post more throughout the summer, but no promises! At any rate, I continue to see how incredibly blessed we are and am so thankful to have the life that I do.

Lucky number seven

So last Monday (December 21) was week seven of our Iowa visits. Before we got to Iowa, we spent over thirteen hours in airports. Before I tell you about the good news we received, I'd like to tell you about our crazy travels.

So, Sunday morning, around 8:30 am, Ben dropped X-Man and I off at the airport, about two hours before our flight was to leave. As usual, TSA screenings went well - we had to sit in the clear box so they could test X-Man's casts, but it was no big deal. By the way, since we've done so much traveling (X has been on 21 flights in the past two months) we can now go through the expert traveler line! We did our Starbucks run so he could get his chocolate milk (he LOVES the organic chocolate milk and enjoys drinking it while watching the planes go by). We waited at our gate for a good hour and a half before the gate attendant announced that our plane would be delayed. The lady at the desk was very helpful and got us on a plane from Detroit to Cedar Rapids later in the day in case we missed our flight (due to our first flight being delayed).

Chocolate milk time!


Once our plane arrived, we had a smooth flight into Detroit. The flight attendant asked that everyone wait on the plane and let the people with short connections get off first (I thought this was wonderful - I've never had an attendant do this before). We got off the plane and walked very quickly to the gate for our next flight; unfortunately, we did miss our flight (it was 12:20 and our flight left at 12:10). Since we had seats on the next flight, X-Man and I walked around and had some lunch. We played and read books until about an hour before our next flight was scheduled to leave. Normally we don't go to the gate until right before the flight leaves, but for whatever reason, got there early this time. When we got there , the gate attendant announced that our flight (3:50) had been cancelled due to the weather. She was very helpful and got us onto a flight to Minneapolis (around 5:00) and then a flight to Cedar Rapids (we would arrive around 7 or 8).

Can I just tell you that the Detroit airport is beautiful? It was built in 2002 and is absolutely gorgeous. There's this crazy-long hall that connects the two terminals - it looks like you're under water and they play calming music with lights that change colors in rhythm to the music - very impressive. They also had a bunch of people dancing and doing karaoke (some girls were dancing to a song about "dropping a booty" or something - X-Man felt the need to sing this song for the next ten minutes), and they also have a tram and a bunch of really nice stores, it was like going to a mall.

While waiting for our flight, lots of people stared at us and asked what happened to X-Man. I also met a girl named Sarah who was really nice. She was getting irritated that so many people kept asking about X-Man. I told her how it used to bother me too, but now I consider it an educational opportunity. Our flight to Minneapolis was short and sweet, everything went well.

We didn't have a lot of time to spend in Minneapolis, so we grabbed some dinner and walked very quickly to our gate, which, naturally was on the complete opposite end of the airport. If you've ever flown into Minneapolis, you were probably taken aback by how huge the place is. I was sweating and out of breath by the time we got to our gate (we must have walked a mile to get there - no joke). When we arrived, we were told that our flight would be delayed, so we decided to eat. X-Man was so restless. By this point, we had already been traveling for 11 hours. So, we decided to walk on the moving sidewalks. Hey, anything to make the screaming two-year old happy! Our flight kept getting pushed back farther and farther, about two hours later.

Finally, around 9:30 central (two and a half hours after our flight was to depart) they decided to delay our flight until 7:15 am. Luckily, they gave us a hotel voucher for a very nice hotel suite and meal vouchers. When we got to our hotel, everyone in the lobby (there were probably 10 people in line ahead of us) let us go ahead of them. I was so touched.

We grabbed a snack and settled in around 10:30 central time. I called Ben and told him about all the craziness - God was certainly working overtime on me because I didn't lose my cool at all. Our hotel was so beautiful, some place that we never would stay in, so really, it was kind of a blessing. X-Man and I fell asleep around 12 central time. Can I just say that I love my little guy, but it is no fun to share a bed with a kicking two-year old in casts?! I woke up around 2 am and couldn't get back to sleep. I had to wake X-Man around 4:15 so we could get dressed, check out, and catch the shuttle to be back at the airport by 5 am. Oh, did I mention that the hotel room had a view of the Mall of America?! Man, I wish we could have gone! Oh well, casting is much more important!

The gorgeous bathroom in our hotel


The view from our hotel


When we arrived at the airport, X was very fussy. Luckily, those vouchers covered our breakfast. Our plane got us to Cedar Rapids without any issues. And the shuttle company was kind enough to waive our fees (we normally aren't charged because we normally go straight to the RMH) and take us to the University of Iowa. Ben had emailed Maria and Dr. Morcuende and told them that we would miss our 8am appointment due to our traveling issues. They said not to worry as they would be there all day.

X did better than ever when he got his casts off. Al, from Russia (who we met the week before) was getting his casts off at the same time. Once X-Man realized that Al wasn't crying, he also stopped crying. I was very impressed! Once they took his casts off, we waited in the waiting room. WW (X-Man's friend at the RMH) was coming in for her appointment at the same time, it was great to see them!

We didn't have to wait long. X-Man started crying as soon as we put him on the bed. We sang songs and I told Maria and Dr. M about how well he did in the casting room. Dr. M said "X-Man, Al is here, do you hear him crying?" X-Man stopped crying when he realized Al wasn't crying. Man, I wish we would've thought of this weeks ago!

Dr. M showed me how to put on X-Man's new braces. They are really, really nice. They're much softer than his old braces, and seem like they would be much more comfortable. Like I said last week, his left foot is 100% corrected, but even this week, his right foot still isn't 100%. Both feet are now at 15 degrees when dorsiflexed (normal feet are 25 degrees), so we're getting there. Unfortunately, Dr. M said he may just have stiff feet. It could be from unnecessary surgery, or it could just be how his feet are. He did have to get re-casted this week. Before we went to the appointment, I prayed "God, I don't want him to have to be re-casted, but if his feet aren't corrected, please let the doctor see that," so, even though I was hoping he would be out of casts for Christmas, I know that it's an answered prayer that he was re-casted.

His casting went well (after we reminded him that Al wasn't crying) and we scheduled our next appointment (for mid FEBRUARY!!!). We then waited in the lobby (while watching the piano) for our ride to come. Our ride had to pick up a couple of people on the way to the airport (one of which was an, um, interesting guy who informed us of the role that El Nino plays and how the meterologists have no idea what they're talking about). X-Man serenaded us with Sunday school songs. Oh, to have faith like a child!

When we got to Cedar Rapids, we tried to get on an earlier flight home (since ours was to arrive home at 10:20 pm) to no avail. We were stuck in the airport for at least four hours, so X and I used some more of our meal vouchers and had a nice sit-down lunch at a diner in the airport. We also bought some entertainment materials to keep us busy. The TSA employees recognized us right away as "regulars", I told them we wouldn't see them for a few months, they seemed genuinely happy for us.

After playing for a while, WW and her mom came in. X and WW got to play together for an hour or so, it was really nice. They scooted around the airport together (they're not allowed to walk on their casts for the first 24 hours) and we read books, and colored in X-Man's new coloring book. I love that X has had the opportunity to meet other kids in casts. It's truly been a rich time in our lives.

X-Man and WW (please ignore that my child is trying to play with an electrical outlet) - check out their awesome casts!


Our flights (THANK GOD) left and arrived on time. We got home around 10:30 or so... I have never been so tired in my life.

The good news is that X-Man is on his last set of casts. He'll wear these for three weeks, and then will have the casts removed in our hometown. Once the casts are removed, he'll wear his new braces (with a bar between them) for 18 hours a day. Fourteen of these hours will be while he's asleep, we'll just have to figure out when to do the other four hours... Any ideas or advice on this would be great. I'm worried that he's going to absolutely hate them since they will restrict his walking (although, I thought this about his casts and we see that they haven't held him back!). My wonderful sister Sam said that she's willing to help me make a padded cover for the bar. Maybe if we let him pick out the fabric, he'll like it a little more.

I'm thinking we'll postpone his party until after he gets his casts off so that we don't have to worry about him injuring anyone during his party (I got a black eye last week from his casts).

Iowa - week 6

I have a feeling this is going to be a pretty long post - so, unless you have five or ten minutes to read my ramblings, you may want to come back later :)

This week, we were thinking about driving to Iowa. Special thanks to my sister Kris who was willing to drive out with me. Luckily, on Thursday, Ben found some tickets for a very low rate as long as we flew out on Saturday instead of our typical Sunday.

So, our flight was around 4pm which gave us time to spend with the family before leaving. This week, X-Man and I went to Iowa, and Little Lou and Ben stayed home. The flights went well - as usual, X-Man was very well behaved. From the Cedar Rapids airport, we took a shuttle, the driver was VERY nice. He took us to the RMH - it was strange to be there on a Saturday, almost everyone of the 30+ rooms were booked.

Our home away from home


Since we would be in Iowa all day on Sunday with nothing to do, we decided to head into Coralville and visit the Iowa Children's Museum (it's free for RMH residents). A couple volunteers from the house drove us over to the museum. The museum is located in Coralville mall - we were quite impressed as there is a HUGE ice rink when you walk in. The museum was very nice too - there were lots of pretend stations (a grocery store, doctor's office, ambulance, dentist office, pizza parlor, post office, bank, house, farm and barn), a motion exhibit (you can build cars and tracks and send golf balls down the tracks, there was also a rock climbing wall), a puppet kingdom, and a new flight exhibit (with an actual cesna, hot air balloon, HUGE 2+ story slide, air rockets, air guns, pretend planes, flight simulators, control tower, etc). We had a lot of fun there, and spent 2-3 hours there. We took a break and got some lunch at Panera (their new macaroni and cheese is quite impressive) and walked the mall.

After lunch, we came back to the museum and met Dr. Dobbs' sister-in-law (he's an excellent Ponseti doctor in St. Louis). One thing that I love about being in Iowa City, is that I don't get the dirty looks that I do here; people don't stare at X-Man. People recognize X-Man's casts as clubfoot-treatment. Almost everyone I've run into in Iowa has been very non-judgemental and kind. People seem genuinely interested in him and how treatment is going. It's a great place to be.

Here are a few photos from the museum:

Dr. X-Man, DDS

X-Man the pizza-maker


Buying groceries
He LOVED this walker, in fact, he tried to steal one from a child at the RMH
X-Man the medic

Huge Slide - yes, I did get to carry him up the steps too many times to count!

When we were done at the museum, we called the RMH and asked if someone would be able to pick us up. Unfortunately, there weren't enough volunteers to give us a ride, so they suggested that we call a taxi company (the free bus doesn't run on Sundays). When I called the taxi company, they said they couldn't pick us up because I didn't have a carseat for X-Man. So, I went to the information desk at the mall and explained our situation. The girl I talked to gave us a number to another taxi company. I called them and asked if they could give us a ride. Since we didn't have a carseat, the dispatcher said that it would be up to the driver. Luckily, the driver was willing to give us a ride. It was my first time ever riding in a taxi, so I didn't know what to expect. The driver was super nice - he told me that he spent a lot of time in the RMH as a child for a genetic disorder that he has. I told him all about X-Man. He took us to the RMH and said, I'm not going to charge you. I said "Please, let me at least give you a tip" - he said that he wouldn't accept any money from us. How amazing is that? He could have made at least $15 off of us, but instead did a good deed. There are still good people in this world. Please, if you ever go to Iowa City, use the Yellow Cab Company.

We got back to the house and played in the playroom and had some dinner. A local sorority made us some very yummy cheese tortellini, salad and garlic bread. The girls were so nice, we walked into the kitchen and they immediately started talking to my little guy. We also met a few other children with clubfoot (I counted four other children there!) - there was someone from Russia (this was the 4th country that she's taken her son to for treatment) and someone from Colorado. It was really neat, I met one of the ladies that belongs to the Yahoo nosurgery4clubfoot group and her daughter WW!

Playing at the RMH

The rest of the evening, we played and read books. I gave X-Man a bath and we prayed for a good appointment on Monday morning (I stayed up late reading The Shack - so far, it's really good!).

On Monday morning we ate breakfast (donated by Panera - YUM!) and walked to the hospital. Oh - did I mention, last week, they had the worst blizzard in 20+ years? There was snow all over the place, but the sidewalks were clean. The weather wasn't too bad.

X-Man did much better than normal. He still cried, but not nearly as much as usual. We sang songs and looked at books. Dr. Morcuende said his left foot is 100% corrected (take that ATTT surgery!) but his right foot is still a little stiff. He's hoping that the right foot will be corrected after this cast. They took impressions of his feet for new braces - which should be in by our next appointment on Monday. His braces will need some special inserts because of the stiffness of his feet (likely because of his second surgery).

After his new casts were applied, Maria told me that they will give us his braces free of cost (they are over $500). How amazing is that? They are so good to us. I gave her a big hug and cried a little. I really feel like God has favor on us and takes care of us. I feel so silly when I worry about these things and they're solved in ways that I never would have thought of.

We walked back to the house and ran into Susann and her daughter WW. They were on their way to get casts with Dr. M.

We cleaned our room and did our chores and had some lunch before checking out. Then our shuttle came to pick us up (BTW - if you're ever in Cedar Rapids or Iowa City, please contact the Airport Shuttle Service - they give free rides to residents of the RMH). Susann and WW rode with us to the airport - it was so nice for X to have a friend with casts, and I loved talking to Susann about her experiences.

Our driver from Saturday night is also a TSA agent, we saw him and he recognized us right away. A lot of the other agents recognized us as well (one said - "I see you came with Mommy this week!") It's such a small airport, that they remember you after being there a couple times.

Our flight to Chicago went well. We had a two hour layover, so we did some Christmas shopping and ate dinner (we of course had to buy some more of their delicious popcorn!). The flight home went well, X-Man actually fell asleep.

Flight to Chicago


After our plane "taxied in", X-Man woke up and started coughing. Right as I asked him to please cover his mouth, he got sick. All over the place. He continued to get sick for the next five minutes. I think everything that was in his stomach came out. Everyone was so nice, people were grabbing bags, and giving us paper towels, someone even gave us all her baby wipes. After all the passengers left, I changed his clothes. The attendants (United Airlines) were so nice, they asked if we needed anything and patiently waited for us to get off the plane. The pilot walked us off and asked if we needed a ride. He also wished us luck in X-Man's treatment.

All in all, it was a great trip, minus the puke.

BTW - side note, if you need to get odors out of casts, make a paste of water and baking soda and apply it to the stinky parts. The baking soda will harden, but it won't smell bad!

Iowa - Week 5

Week 5 = festive casts!
This morning, X-Man got his 5th set of casts. As usual, he cried when they removed his casts, and when the doctors came in to apply his new ones. Ben was told that X-Man's left foot is progressing as expected (YAY!), but his right foot isn't as loose as they thought it would be. It sounds like he may need another cast on his left foot, but probably two or three more on his right. He may also need a tenotomy on his right foot (he had a tenotomy on both feet at seven or eight weeks of age).

I'm kind of bummed, but I know things will be alright. We were hoping to only go out one or two more times, but now it sounds like it may be closer to four times. His next appointment is on Monday, so we're hoping to get airline tickets for Sunday/Monday. Also, Nurse Joyce (she was Dr. Ponseti's nurse for years) gave us some information on Angel Flights. It's a charity that gives free private flights to children (and their families) for medical treatment. I think we may look into this option.

At any rate, please keep praying for us. Everyone has been so generous and kind, and we are forever thankful for that.

Iowa week four recap

Week 4 = yellow casts
So, last Sunday and Monday, X-Man and I were in Iowa. I've been meaning to update you all but have been so busy. Here's a recap:

Sunday morning Ben and Little Lou dropped X-Man and I off at the airport. We got there about two hours before our flight took off. When we arrived, TSA had us wait in a glass box so that they could test X-Man's casts for explosives, drugs, whatever. They wanted him to sit in a seat by himself, but he completely lost it. One of the TSA agents said I could hold him in my lap - so I chose to listen to him. They were very nice, I'm glad that they do all that testing even if it is a little inconvenient. After all the security stuff we had about an hour and a half to wait for our plane. We treated ourselves to some Starbucks and watched planes.
Our first plane

X-Man loved looking at books during our flights

Our first flight was to Chicago O'Hare. I cannot believe how big that place is, seriously, I think it's bigger than my hometown. HUGE. We had a three hour layover. We got some popcorn and ate lunch (Ben packed our lunches for us). Then, we spent about an hour watching planes and reading books (one of the families at our church gave us boxes of books last week, so those were life-savers!). Unfortunately, the layover was during his normal naptime so he was very restless. We walked up and down our terminal for a half hour or so to burn energy. People stared - it still bothers me. Some people asked "what happened?!", that used to bother me a lot, but now I see it as an educational opportunity.
Watching planes in Chicago

Our second flight was to Cedar Rapids; when we arrived, we took a shuttle to the Ronald McDonald House. Our driver was nice.

We played for a while at the RMH and then ordered dinner. I didn't meet anyone new this week, there didn't seem to be a lot of people in the house. We spent a lot of time in their extensive library reading books, so maybe we were to sequestered to meet new people.

On Monday morning, we walked to the hospital. It was pretty cold, but the hospital is only maybe a half mile away so it wasn't too bad. Once we arrived, we played for a few minutes in the waiting room (it will be a miracle if we don't end up with H1N1 by the time we're done with all his visits!) and then went back to the cast room. He immediately started crying and saying that he wanted to keep his purple casts. We sang to him and talked to him - he still cried. Once they were done taking off his casts, he was fine. The skin under his casts was so dry - he scratched his legs and they began bleeding. Poor guy, we need to remember to bring his eczema cream next time.

Next they took us back to the examination room. We read books and he continued to scratch his legs. As soon as Dr. Morcuende and his team entered the room, he began crying again, so they left for a few minutes. When it was time to get new casts, X-Man was very upset. We tried toys, books, bubbles, etc. Finally, we discovered that the alphabet song kept him from crying so we sang that twenty times. One of Dr. M's med students/residents is from China and one is from Japan, nurse Maria jokes that the residents could learn their ABC's in English from X-Man.

Dr. M said that he thinks only one more round of casting should be necessary, maybe two on his right foot (YAY!). It's so nice to have an end in sight. I'm so glad that we were able to avoid surgery.

After our appointment, we watched the self-playing piano in the lobby and then headed back to the RMH to play and get our daily chores done.

The shuttle service took us to the airport and we headed home. X-Man did very well on all four flights (two each day). He loved singing and looking at books.
Waiting for the shuttle at the RMH

All in all, we had a great visit - better news than I imagined. I feel so blessed; just all that is going on makes me so thankful.

Iowa - Week 3

Yesterday Little Lou and I dropped X-Man and Ben off at the airport for week three. I was a little worried for Ben because when I got X out of the car and into the stroller, he (X) informed me that he would like to ride a school bus (there was a church bus in the parking area) before he rode the plane. I told him that he needed to ride the plane first.

According to Ben, X-Man did not like security. They let him stay in his stroller, but patted him down (I'm glad to hear that he didn't like some strange man patting him down!). They found out they went to the wrong terminal, so they had to go back through security. This time Ben had to carry him through, but luckily, X-Man wasn't patted down this time. He did well waiting to get on the plane. Ben said they watched planes and talked about which plane they were going to ride.

Their first plane flew them into Chicago, O'Hare. At first, X-Man was whining, most-likely due to his ears popping, Ben gave him some lollipops and that seemed to solve the issue. He apparently was singing Sunday school songs at the top of his (how cute is that?!) and looking at his books.

Ben and X-Man

Looking at books and eating snacks - what a life!



When they arrived in O'Hare, they had a two hour layover, so they had PB&J sandwiches that Ben had packed. The flight attendant gave him some free trail mix, which kept him busy during the whole flight on the way to Cedar Rapids.

X-Man enjoying snacks - doesn't he look like such a big boy?

They arrived in Cedar Rapids around 3:30 CT and were taken to the RMH by a shuttle service.

As usual, X-Man had tons of fun at the house. Since the weather was nice, they got to spend some time outside in the "red car" (cozy coupe). Because of his casts, he couldn't move on his own, but he enjoyed being pushed around by Ben. Some students from University of Iowa prepared dinner for the whole house. After dinner, they spent some time in the playroom.

After a long night (X-Man protested bedtime) Ben and X-Man walked over to the hospital for an 8:00 appointment. X-Man enjoyed playing in the waiting room but started crying as soon as they took him to the casting room. He cried when they cut his casts off. Then, when they went into the examination room, he cried as soon as they put him on the exam table. And, he cried the whole time. He decided that he wanted purple casts this time (yesterday, when I dropped them off at the airport, he wanted blue and yellow - I wonder if Ben talked him out of the Michigan colors). Dr. Morcuende said that he could see some improvement this week, but that X-Man would likely need 3-4 more casts. I am just so thankful that we're going to avoid a major surgery - I don't care how many more times we have to go, as long as we're doing everything we can for him.

University of Iowa Medical Center

After his appointment, they headed back to the RMH for lunch and met another family of a child with clubfoot; they traveled from Colorado to see Dr. M.

Another shuttle took them back to the airport. X-Man did very well on both flights today (hopefully this means there won't be any issues when I travel with him in two weeks!). I was so excited to see the two of them (so was Little Lou). Unfortunately, X-Man was disappointed that we were going home - he wanted to go back to the Ronald McDonald House!

Twins?