We want to apologize for not updating the blog following Diego's surgery. Our time has been consumed with taking care of Diego and trying to work remotely from Dallas. We want everyone to know that his surgery went well and he is doing fine. The procedure took just over 4 hrs. He was on an epidural to manage pain for the first couple days. On Wed it was removed and he was placed on oral pain meds. As of today he is completely off electronic monitors and his IV has been removed. His apetite is slowly increasing but far from normal. If he continues to improve, he could be discharged on Friday morning. If that happens we'll most likely stay in Dallas another day before heading back home to Austin.
We want to thank everyone for keeping Diego in your prayers and for supporting us thru his recovery. Our family is truly blessed to have such good friends.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Weekend of Fun
Diego has been fully admitted and assigned room #309. His surgery isn't until monday morning so we were given the option of staying in the room or taking him out for the weekend. Of course we wanted to take him out and have some fun before the big day.
On Friday evening we met our friend Nicoletta for dinner at Chuys.
On Saturday we went to Slappy's Playhouse located in the Dallas Galleria. Diego enjoyed the show but got bored before it finished so we left early and walked around the mall. A short time later we met with the White Family, Brian and Cara along with their son Caden and his sister Cori. Caden is a few months older than Diego and is also receiving treatment for AMC. Together we had a nice dinner at Mi Cocina. After dinner we went to the top level of the Galleria to a large play area. There were dozens of kids running, jumping and Diego and Caden were right in the thick of it!
On Sunday we got up early and drove to the Ft. Worth Zoo. It was a little cold but the weather warmed up by mid afternoon. Diego enjoyed looking at all the animals. He especially had a lot to say to the flamingos. We also visited the petting zoo where he saw a pig up close and got a chance to pet a chicken. We stayed for 6 hrs to see as much as possible. Afterwards we drove back to Dallas to have dinner at Medieval Times. Unfortunately the show was sold out. Instead, we went back to the condo to relax and prepare for monday morning. Oh by the way, today was Romina's birthday. Happy birthday Mama!
On Friday evening we met our friend Nicoletta for dinner at Chuys.
On Saturday we went to Slappy's Playhouse located in the Dallas Galleria. Diego enjoyed the show but got bored before it finished so we left early and walked around the mall. A short time later we met with the White Family, Brian and Cara along with their son Caden and his sister Cori. Caden is a few months older than Diego and is also receiving treatment for AMC. Together we had a nice dinner at Mi Cocina. After dinner we went to the top level of the Galleria to a large play area. There were dozens of kids running, jumping and Diego and Caden were right in the thick of it!
On Sunday we got up early and drove to the Ft. Worth Zoo. It was a little cold but the weather warmed up by mid afternoon. Diego enjoyed looking at all the animals. He especially had a lot to say to the flamingos. We also visited the petting zoo where he saw a pig up close and got a chance to pet a chicken. We stayed for 6 hrs to see as much as possible. Afterwards we drove back to Dallas to have dinner at Medieval Times. Unfortunately the show was sold out. Instead, we went back to the condo to relax and prepare for monday morning. Oh by the way, today was Romina's birthday. Happy birthday Mama!
Friday, February 13, 2009
Hospital Admission Day
Many of you know that Diego was supposed to have surgery last October. It ended up getting postponed after he came down with a cold. It was then rescheduled for February 19th. Three weeks before the new date, we were notified his hand doctor had to reschedule to March 20th. Needless to say we were less than pleased. So we made a decision to put off hand surgery to stay on schedule. Doing so actually moved his surgery date up to February 16th. That brings us to Friday the 13th, his check-in date..
Friday the 13th: We were up early to make the drive to Dallas. It's a three hour drive and Diego had to be there by 10am. We hoped to leave by 7am but were running thirty minutes behind schedule. Not a big deal considering we had a big day ahead of us.
The hospital visit started with a trip to x-ray for photos of his left hip. Diego was uncooperative and cried for Mama the whole time. All his squirming resulted in the first set being bad. By this time we had already left the clinic and were called back to redo the x-rays. The second time around was no less dramatic but resulted in good photos. Diego also received a lot of toys. The toys are donated to the hospital for the children.
Next stop was the lab to draw blood. This was a finger prick followed by a lot of squeezing and crying. Then it was back to admissions, then lunch and finally assigned a room, #309. A couple hours later we were visited by Diego's surgeon, Dr. Birch. He explained the procedure, an 'open hip reduction with femoral shortening'. Generally it involves the lengthening of Diego's leg muscles and ligaments along with removing a section of the femur. This will allow the head of his hip bone to move into the pelvis. When he gets out of surgery he will be in a Spica cast. It starts at the chest and goes down the left leg to the ankle and right leg to the knee. He will not be able to situp and will be on his back for 8 weeks. He will need a special car seat and a wagon for transport.
It's going to be a tough 8 weeks for our family. For now we have a weekend of freedom and we plan to make the best of it. We will visit friends, go to the Ft. Worth Zoo and play as much as possible. We have until 6am monday morning to have Diego back in his room. Check back for photos of our fun planned weekend :)
Friday the 13th: We were up early to make the drive to Dallas. It's a three hour drive and Diego had to be there by 10am. We hoped to leave by 7am but were running thirty minutes behind schedule. Not a big deal considering we had a big day ahead of us.
The hospital visit started with a trip to x-ray for photos of his left hip. Diego was uncooperative and cried for Mama the whole time. All his squirming resulted in the first set being bad. By this time we had already left the clinic and were called back to redo the x-rays. The second time around was no less dramatic but resulted in good photos. Diego also received a lot of toys. The toys are donated to the hospital for the children.
Next stop was the lab to draw blood. This was a finger prick followed by a lot of squeezing and crying. Then it was back to admissions, then lunch and finally assigned a room, #309. A couple hours later we were visited by Diego's surgeon, Dr. Birch. He explained the procedure, an 'open hip reduction with femoral shortening'. Generally it involves the lengthening of Diego's leg muscles and ligaments along with removing a section of the femur. This will allow the head of his hip bone to move into the pelvis. When he gets out of surgery he will be in a Spica cast. It starts at the chest and goes down the left leg to the ankle and right leg to the knee. He will not be able to situp and will be on his back for 8 weeks. He will need a special car seat and a wagon for transport.
It's going to be a tough 8 weeks for our family. For now we have a weekend of freedom and we plan to make the best of it. We will visit friends, go to the Ft. Worth Zoo and play as much as possible. We have until 6am monday morning to have Diego back in his room. Check back for photos of our fun planned weekend :)
Friday, February 6, 2009
Informazioni sull'intervento
Come sapete Diego e' nato con l'anca sinistra dislocata. Benche' non procuri dolore al momento, gli causa un dislivello in lunghezza rispetto alla gamba destra di circa 3 centimetri causando ulteriori difficolta' nel stare eretto e nel sviluppare sufficienti funzioni motorie. Finalmente e' arrivato il momento di operare l'anca e migliorare la condizione ortopedica della gamba sinistra. L'intervento averra' a Dallas all'Ospedale Scottish Rite per bambini, il 16 Febbraio 2009; sara' eseguito dal primario dottor John Birch specialista rinomato nel trattare rare condizioni ortopediche per bambini un po' meno fortunati come il nostro Diego. Il dottor Birch segue Diego da quando aveva 6 settimane di vita; l'anno scorso ha eseguito il doppio intervento ad entrambi i piedi e grazie a lui oggi Diego puo' indossare i tutori e finalmente dopo circa 12 mesi di duro lavoro e tanta ma tanta terapia fisica sta iniziando a fare i primi passi..da solo!!! Ecco un video che abbiamo fatto 2 sere fa ..come potete vedere Diego sta facendo grandi progressi. Speriamo che dopo questa operazione all'anca e la riabilitazione fisica Diego sia in grado di migliorare la stabilita' dal bacino in giu'. Terremo il sito aggiornato con gli eventi relativi ai preparativi e post intervento. Tornate a visitarci intorno al 13 Febbraio...la data di ammissione in ospedale. Abbracci a tutti da mamma Romina, papa Joseph e Diego!
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