tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7585181385515045222024-03-13T09:18:27.907-04:00Reaching for the StarsDiego Tonelli-Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165258153711020073noreply@blogger.comBlogger61125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-758518138551504522.post-46460067072657817782011-05-10T00:24:00.002-04:002011-05-10T00:24:57.960-04:00Happy Mother's Day!For all the moms who had to wait longer to hear a first word, who spent more time in doctors offices with their child than on play dates, who endure the countless 'bad days' and the stares from other people..For the moms whose child's first friend was their therapist..For the moms who face special needs everyday....Happy Mothers day to the greatest mothers of all!Diego Tonelli-Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165258153711020073noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-758518138551504522.post-59240349481124819802010-12-05T20:52:00.004-05:002010-12-05T22:43:46.608-05:00Catching UpIt's hard to believe so much time has passed since our last blog post! We'll blame it on the convenience of posting to Facebook on the fly. In doing so we have totally neglected the blog. We apologize and will try harder to stay on top of things :)<br /><br />Diego had a great summer! Every year we spend three weeks at our vacation home in Italy and this year was no different. We visited with family where Diego showed off his walking abilities to his Grandparents. Of course they were thrilled and spoiled him rotten. We all ate great food and spent many hours on the beach :) Diego enjoyed playing in the sand and visiting to his favorite gelato stand..daily! By the time we got back to Texas, Mom & Dad had put on a few extra pounds.<br /><br />We were only back a week before flying to Disney World for the Annual AMC Convention. The previous year we missed the convention so we were excited to see old friends and meet make new ones. We arrived on Wed, Aug 4th, and stayed 5 days. Group organizers, www.amcsupport.org, negotiated an excellent rate for all attending families at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort. Having never been we had no idea what to expect. When we arrived we were totally blown away by the shear size, beauty, and number of activities available. Best of all we got to enjoy this experiece with our friends from amcsupport.org!! Diego's older sister, Sasha, was on hand to join in the fun. Overall the trip was a blast! We definetely plan to go back! Please enjoy all the photos from our wonderful summer!<br /><br /><strong>Italy July 2010</strong><br /><embed height="267" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" width="400" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FDiego.Tonelli.Nova%2Falbumid%2F5547398562747590337%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US"></embed><br /><br /><strong>Disney World August 2010</strong><br /><embed height="267" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" width="400" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FDiego.Tonelli.Nova%2Falbumid%2F5547397187067014481%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US"></embed>Diego Tonelli-Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165258153711020073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-758518138551504522.post-7533485892729576702010-04-17T20:36:00.009-04:002010-04-17T21:46:55.827-04:00Fever Update and Spurs Sighting!On Friday Diego's temperature reached a high of 103.6 We were able to bring it down with regular doses of Motrin. When it appeared Diego was feeling better, we took him to the Dallas Zoo to brighten his spirits. He was excited to see the animals and had a great time. We stayed for several hours but left when his fever returned. The fever continued thru the night and finally broke on Saturday morning. Getting past the fever was a big relief. It was indication that he was healing without infection. By Saturday afternoon Diego was back to his old self. Playing, laughing and being demanding :) <br /><br />On Saturday afternoon we met up with our Friends Nico & David for lunch and visited the Dallas Arboretum. After lunch we went for a walk and ended up at the Crescent Hotel. While standing in the lobby deciding our next destination, the entire San Antonio basketball team walks in. Right up front was Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and George Hill!! Wow! Daddy was hoping to get a photo of Diego with the team but Deigo wasn't having it. He had started crying just before they walked in so a photo was out of the question. Still it was cool to see the guys just hanging out in the lobby like regular folk. Here are a few photos:<br /><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FDiego.Tonelli.Nova%2Falbumid%2F5461280318888872417%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Diego Tonelli-Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165258153711020073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-758518138551504522.post-34258419104620976252010-04-16T01:05:00.017-04:002010-04-16T02:04:28.095-04:00Surgery Update: April 14th, 2010On April 14th Diego checked into Scottish Rite Hospital for surgery. This time to remove the hardware added to his leg one year ago. The procedure went well. Dr. Birch was happy to report that although part of the bone grew around the hardware, he successfully completed the removal without complications. While under anesthesia Diego was fitted for KAFO braces. They will be ready in 4 weeks.<br /><br />Diego was released from the hospital late that afternoon :) We celebrated with ice cream later that evening :)<br /><br />As of Thursday night, Diego is running a fever. We hope it will go away by morning. If not, we will take him back to the hospital. <br /><br />Special Message to Diego's classmates at Emerson Academy:<br />Thank you for all the wonderful 'get well' cards! Diego is very anxious to see all his classmates and get back to playing trucks!<br /><br /><embed pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FDiego.Tonelli.Nova%2Falbumid%2F5460593597836297841%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US"></embed>Diego Tonelli-Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165258153711020073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-758518138551504522.post-38669542514573008812009-11-23T01:05:00.005-05:002009-11-23T01:44:14.944-05:00Diego Walking!<div>Diego is now walking regularly with his walker :) Here is a clip of his recent milestone! His is wearing HKFOs for support. <br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/r7Lx899blNs&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/r7Lx899blNs&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></div>Diego Tonelli-Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165258153711020073noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-758518138551504522.post-12473288497946298232009-10-01T01:30:00.005-04:002009-11-23T01:39:52.199-05:00Healing TimeIt has been a couple months since the surgery and Diego is doing just fine! His cast has slowed him down a little but has not stopped him :) <br /><br />Here is a photo of him at the Ft. Worth Stock Yards. <br /><table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/QZKkJhmbERZsQ2yGNw5QIg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_YvAvufbW31Y/Swoq7EGkOpI/AAAAAAAAC2I/kR2_e_qBoeQ/s400/DSCF6206.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/Diego.Tonelli.Nova/Recovery?feat=embedwebsite">Recovery</a></td></tr></table><br /><br />Another helping Daddy at home<br /><table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/9i1Clf1Co40ZPEPyPYFcXA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_YvAvufbW31Y/Swor3me6VCI/AAAAAAAAC2M/goLl9ojsvKU/s400/DSCF6236.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/Diego.Tonelli.Nova/Recovery?feat=embedwebsite">Recovery</a></td></tr></table><br /><br />And here just after having his cast removed and replaced with a splint. He insists on wearing the splint 24/7. Even in the bath tub he refuses to take it off. Luckily we have an older splint that doubles for bathtub duty :)<br /><table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/di3RmmHEpNhdl9_grhU-tA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_YvAvufbW31Y/Swor3wrIg1I/AAAAAAAAC2Q/NxXIqmPtMoc/s400/DSCF6555.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/Diego.Tonelli.Nova/Recovery?feat=embedwebsite">Recovery</a></td></tr></table>Diego Tonelli-Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165258153711020073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-758518138551504522.post-75107585751480676592009-09-03T23:09:00.008-04:002009-09-03T23:54:28.985-04:00Coming HomeAs expected Diego was discharged from the hospital this morning. We could tell he was happy to be leaving. <br /><table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/hYQvoHYLlDf0Bhl0Dr-i_Q?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_YvAvufbW31Y/SqCEpn60VcI/AAAAAAAACzM/0saOmN83ZMk/s400/DSCF6178.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/Diego.Tonelli.Nova/ComingHome932009?feat=embedwebsite">Coming Home 9/3/2009</a></td></tr></table><br />He didn't sleep well thru the night but that was to be expected. It's hard to sleep when attached to monitors. Especially when they throw alarms every 10 minutes. For pain control we were given a prescription of Tylenol w/codeine. Daddy has to administer the drug because it's a big fight every time. <br /><br />Diego spent most of the day napping and watching cartoons. He ate one good meal at lunch then lost his appetite. We even took him out for pizza and he was not interested. As of this writing he is up watching Madagascar 2 and it's way past his bedtime. Oh well, we are just happy to have him home safe.<br /><table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/fUW5ebzZl7fgtiqXRTJenw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_YvAvufbW31Y/SqCE6LbxQrI/AAAAAAAACz8/bENQmqyih_Y/s400/DSCF6190.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/Diego.Tonelli.Nova/ComingHome932009?feat=embedwebsite">Coming Home 9/3/2009</a></td></tr></table><br />We want to thank everyone back home for their kind words and support. Also want to thank the wonderful staff at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital. So far you have given our son feet to walk on, a hip to stand on and new hands for work and play. Thank you, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Never have we met such caring medical personnel.<br /><table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/yVsK7oVBNkTKIEPrLwEabA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_YvAvufbW31Y/SqCEwtVB4rI/AAAAAAAACzg/JuIlh6Zc0s4/s400/DSCF6183.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/Diego.Tonelli.Nova/ComingHome932009?feat=embedwebsite">Coming Home 9/3/2009</a></td></tr></table><br />We plan to stay in Dallas into the weekend and return to Austin on Sunday. It will feel good to finally be home.Diego Tonelli-Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165258153711020073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-758518138551504522.post-48179268312541554802009-09-03T08:59:00.018-04:002009-09-03T10:28:33.146-04:00Surgery UpdateThe day of surgery we arrived at the hospital at 7am. Our room was assigned to us the day before so all we just had to settle in. Diego was in good spirits.<br /><table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Zc_Qm0Mi0mbUhTcUQ9co8A?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_YvAvufbW31Y/Sp_LsqZgvFI/AAAAAAAACwA/xUfvasd3Hi8/s400/DSCF6157.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/Diego.Tonelli.Nova/Surgery922009?feat=embedwebsite">Surgery 9/2/2009</a></td></tr></table><br />At aproximately 9:30 we moved from our room down to the surgery holding area. Several of the OR nurses stopped by to say hi. They remembered him from his last surgery in Feb of this year. <br /><br />Diego was given an oral sedative shortly before his move into OR. They call it 'goofy juice'. Five minutes later he was visibily goofy :) He smiled a lot and kept kissing mommy and daddy. <br /><br />At 11am it was turnover time. Mom placed Diego into the nurse's arms and we watched her dissappear into OR. Always a tough moment for us. <br /><br />We were given a pager and told they would call us half-way thru the procedure for an update. The surgery was scheduled for three hrs. Two hours later they called to let us know he was doing fine. Then shortly after 3pm, we were called down to Recovery. As we approached his bed we could see he was half awake and quietly looking around. He immediately started crying when he saw mom. She worked her mom magic to keep him calm. We stayed in Recovery for about 20 minutes then moved to his room where he slepted for another 2 hrs. When he woke up he was pretty hungry. He had a good meal and didn't get sick which was a good sign.<br /><table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/kAMkjiol6qql-Q9IL37FUw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_YvAvufbW31Y/Sp_L5vr-pKI/AAAAAAAACws/OW-GH4X6ErQ/s400/DSCF6167.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/Diego.Tonelli.Nova/Surgery922009?feat=embedwebsite">Surgery 9/2/2009</a></td></tr></table><br />If all goes well, he should be out of the hospital tomorrow (Thursday). We'll post and update when we know for sure. Here are a few photos:<br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FDiego.Tonelli.Nova%2Falbumid%2F5377240103465606785%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Diego Tonelli-Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165258153711020073noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-758518138551504522.post-10391143270562318442009-08-31T12:25:00.013-04:002009-08-31T13:36:27.254-04:00Sugery Time..againOn 9/2 Diego will have surgery to his left hand. The procedure is called 'Carpal Wedge Osteotomy' and will be performed by <a href="http://www.tsrhc.org/staff-directory-orthopedic.htm#Ezaki">Dr. Ezaki</a>. In the past we have combined surgeries which makes recovery tough but lessens the number of times under general anestesia. This time we could not schedule a Urologist so Diego will have at least one more surgery in the next 6 months. The good news is, this should be his last major surgery in the foreseeable future.<br /><br />Last night we threw a send off party for Diego at our home in Manor. All the usual suspects showed up along with new friends we met at <a href="http://www.peaceablekingdomretreat.com/">Peacable Kingdom</a>. Brad, Amanda, their daughter Madison and son Eli. Eli is 5 months old and was born with Distal Arthrogryposis. We were very happy they could join us.<br /><br />Diego was in good spirits. He bounced around the house on his butt chasing and playing with the other kids. There were plenty of food and drink on hand so the adults were just as happy. Sorry we don't have any photos to post. We totally forgot to take pictures!<br /><br />Check back later for updates on the surgery.<br /><br />Here is a recent photo take at Dell Children's Museum in Austin.<br /><table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/M1kVuJ1_Hao95cb5SfePuA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_YvAvufbW31Y/SpwIZHVEXuI/AAAAAAAACvE/DKyrsf0XPSw/s400/DSCF6098.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/Diego.Tonelli.Nova/RandomPhotos?feat=embedwebsite">Random Photos</a></td></tr></table>Diego Tonelli-Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165258153711020073noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-758518138551504522.post-74428696866450984442009-08-09T23:01:00.004-04:002009-08-31T13:39:41.923-04:00Diego in Italia July 2009Woohoo! Back to Italy for 3 weeks! Now that's a vacation! <br /><br />We all had a wonderful time. Including Diego's Grandparents who were so excited to see him. The pictures tell the story. <br /><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FDiego.Tonelli.Nova%2Falbumid%2F5368160150026312209%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Diego Tonelli-Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165258153711020073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-758518138551504522.post-62039689226682595632009-06-21T01:07:00.003-04:002009-06-30T01:18:02.037-04:00Diego goes to Washington D.C.Here are a few pics from our recent trip to Washington D.C. taken on the weekend of 6/20/2009<br /><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FDiego.Tonelli.Nova%2Falbumid%2F5352443363347084657%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Diego Tonelli-Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165258153711020073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-758518138551504522.post-60921653526249738742009-04-21T23:48:00.000-04:002009-06-30T01:09:20.457-04:00The big day finally arrives! Out of the Spica!After months of healing the big deal finally arrived. It was time to remove the spica cast and get our little boy back! Mom and Dad were in high spirits. Diego's mood was subdued. He stayed that way until it was time to remove the cast. It took about 15 minutes to make the necesarry cuts to remove the cast. Once he was out, an amazing thing happened. Diego's mood immediately changed from subdued to elated! With a huge smile on his faced he started kicking his little feet. This went on the whole day. He was also more vocal. It was amazing! He was a totally different child! A much happier little boy! We were all very happy. <br /><br />Next we visited Orthodics to get Diego's leg braces. Over the past two weeks the orthodics team made braces to fit Diego's new hip. Once fitted Diego was able to support his own weight while standing (holding moms hand). It was hard to believe that after 3 months in a body cast Diego was able to stand so soon!<br /><br />That evening we spent it holding our baby boy. For months all we ever felt was a hard bulky cast. Now that we could actually feel his little body it was all we wanted to do! Yes, we were very happy to have our baby back :)Diego Tonelli-Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165258153711020073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-758518138551504522.post-85571993451329831152009-04-09T21:42:00.009-04:002009-04-09T22:50:45.029-04:002 Months Later..almostApril 16th will mark two months that Diego has been in a spica cast. We'll just say it's been a long two months. Before the cast he was very mobile; easily getting around the house by bouncing on his butt. Now he wants Mom and Dad to carry him everywhere, fetch his toys, hold him while he watches tv, ect. It can be exhausting! As the weeks went by we learned his favorite positions for sleeping, playing and eating. On March 23rd that all changed. That day Diego went in for day surgery for a planned replacement of the spica cast. The new cast didn't provide any more freedom than the first; however, several annoying changes were introduced. For example, the rear cutout for the Diaper is much lower making it harder to change diapers. The new cast is much tighter to his body making it harder to clean. The most significant difference is in the height of the cross bar. The new one is much lower; we can no longer prop him up on his toy car as shown below:<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_YvAvufbW31Y/Sd6v9UMUejI/AAAAAAAABt8/fDNwUUSJ7oo/s1600-h/DSCF4165.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_YvAvufbW31Y/Sd6v9UMUejI/AAAAAAAABt8/fDNwUUSJ7oo/s320/DSCF4165.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322885277525768754" /></a><br />You can see in the photo that we used his walker as a table. This worked out great because it gave him a little play area. We had nothing else to replace this setup so our laps became the next best thing. That gets old quick.<br /><br />On April 20th the cast gets removed. Woohoo! That week we will live in the hospital while Diego goes through intense physical therapy. As much as we love this hospital and all they have done for Diego; it is not a comfortable place to live. We'll make do as always :) <br /><br />Check back here to see how things are going!Diego Tonelli-Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165258153711020073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-758518138551504522.post-6945037689311677592009-03-02T20:51:00.007-05:002009-03-02T22:17:56.432-05:00Recovery at HomeDiego was discharged from the hospital on 2/20 and is now recovering at home. He is completely off pain meds and is adjusting to life in a spica cast. Overall he is doing very well. Much better than we expected. As long as we keep him comfortable and entertained, life is good. That means regularly changing his position and watching a lot of animated movies. The biggest problem is with positioning. He hates being on his stomach and doesn't like riding in his wagon. Rocky, our dog, loved the wagon ride. Most of the time Diego is on his back, side or prop'd up on his toy car. The toy car idea came from Dad. Adding his walker and tray it gives him a surface to eat on and play with toys. <br /><br />On March 6th we go back to Dallas to see how the hip is healing. We hope for the best. Check back here for results!<br /><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FDiego.Tonelli.Nova%2Falbumid%2F5308792787053981937%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Diego Tonelli-Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165258153711020073noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-758518138551504522.post-79265108981433312072009-02-16T14:10:00.009-05:002009-02-19T16:08:49.302-05:00Surgery Day 4We 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. <br /><br />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.<br /><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FDiego.Tonelli.Nova%2Falbumid%2F5304614527604017041%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Diego Tonelli-Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165258153711020073noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-758518138551504522.post-28234136159853348792009-02-15T10:53:00.016-05:002009-08-31T13:46:32.031-04:00Weekend of FunDiego 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. <br /><br />On Friday evening we met our friend Nicoletta for dinner at Chuys. <br /><br />On Saturday we went to <a href="http://www.slappysplayhouse.com">Slappy's Playhouse</a> 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 <a href="http://www.amcsupport.org/">AMC</a>. 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! <br /><br />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 <a href="http://www.medievaltimes.com/">Medieval Times</a>. 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!<br /><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FDiego.Tonelli.Nova%2Falbumid%2F5303882166802095441%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Diego Tonelli-Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165258153711020073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-758518138551504522.post-27801879657234345802009-02-13T22:38:00.005-05:002009-02-17T10:53:22.319-05:00Hospital Admission DayMany 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..<br /><br />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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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.<br /><br />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 :)Diego Tonelli-Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165258153711020073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-758518138551504522.post-59780442812377248232009-02-06T00:08:00.008-05:002009-02-06T01:29:44.549-05:00Informazioni sull'intervento<DIV>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! </DIV><br /><OBJECT class=BLOG_video_class id=BLOG_video-95b56c362829425f height=266 width=320 contentId="95b56c362829425f"></OBJECT>Diego Tonelli-Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165258153711020073noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-758518138551504522.post-68218109211235703262009-01-08T23:02:00.001-05:002009-01-14T23:10:22.282-05:00Gennaio 2009Buon Anno a tutti gli amici e parenti che seguono il blog del piccolo Diego. Speriamo di gran cuore che il 2008 vi abbia lasciato meravigliosi ricordi e che il 2009 sia iniziato a gonfie vele per tutti.<br /><br />Come potete vedere dalle foto Diego ha apprezzato i doni natalizi. Grazie! Ultimamente sta facendo terapia fisica 2 volte alla settimana e terapia occupazionale una volta a settimana e il duro lavoro inizia a dare frutti. <br /><br />Un paio di giorni fa abbiamo finalizzato i piani con il Dottor Birch and Dottor Isaki per Diego doppio intervento in Febbraio. Il piano e' pronto per operare la mano sinistra e per riparare l'anca sinistra che e' dislocata dalla nascita. Scrivero' ulteriori dettagli riguardo ai piani sulle operazioni e vi faro' sapere date e periodo previsto per il ricovero. Per ora vi saluto e spero di vedervi presto di nuovo sul sito per aggiornamenti, progressi e altre foto. Abbracci a tutti! <br /><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FDiego.Tonelli.Nova%2Falbumid%2F5289138991751978385%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Diego Tonelli-Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165258153711020073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-758518138551504522.post-39015381314006148822008-12-27T13:35:00.003-05:002008-12-27T14:05:11.559-05:00Buon Natale e Felice Anno NuovoCiao a TUTTI! Speriamo che abbiate passato un Buon Natale e che il Nuovo Anno porti a tutti salute e fortuna. Noi abbiamo passato il Natale con i parenti di papa' Joseph (nonna Katie, zia Annette, e cugini Nikki, Junior e Jay); si sono fermati solo per un paio di giorni ma ci siamo fatti una bella scorpacciata di dolci, film e risate. Adesso siamo a Dallas per festeggiare il fine d'Anno; torneremo a casa ad Austin il primo di Gennaio. Sasha e Diego hanno ricevuto un sacco di bei regali e noi non sappiamo piu' dove mettere tutti i giochi! Cogliamo l'occasione per ringraziare tutti amici e parenti che hanno chiamato, scritto e inviato pacchi! Ecco alcune foto...altre saranno pubblicate presto (sono ad Austin)...tornate a trovarci sul sito in alcuni giorni. Di nuovo i nostri piu' calorosi Auguri di Buone Feste e Felice 2009!<br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FDiego.Tonelli.Nova%2Falbumid%2F5284543518844831409%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Diego Tonelli-Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165258153711020073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-758518138551504522.post-10643683526016027672008-11-02T09:54:00.013-05:002008-11-02T10:38:37.786-05:00Nonna torna a casaNon molti forse sapevano che nonna Elda e' venuta in visita in Texas. Era originariamente venuta per essere qui durante l'operazione alla mano sinistra che avevamo in programma per Diego l'8 Ottobre. Sfortunatamente abbiamo dovuto cancellare l'intervento in quanto Diego si e' preso il raffreddore. La nuova data e' tutt'ora da stabilire ma speriamo di poterla fissare nei prossimi 1-2 mesi. In compenso, nonna Elda e' stata assolutamente indispensabile in quanto papa' Joseph si e' dovuto operare alla schiena. Andiamo un po' indietro...dunque...Joseph ha sofferto di male alla schiena da alcuni anni ma niente di assolutamente intollerabile. Circa un mesetto fa' ha partecipato alla MS 150 che e' una corsa in bicicletta di circa 250 Km fatta in 2 giorni. E' stato un evento bellissimo anche perche' ha dato la possibilita' a me, Diego e nonna di spendere il fine settimana sulla costa (Corpus). Abbiamo visitato l'aquario marino, visto lo spettacolo coi delfini e mangiato pesce fresco ai ristoranti tipici del golfo. Ad ogni modo, la corsa in bicicletta ha causato un drastico acceleramento della condizione al disco cervicale di papa'...tanto che il medico ha suggerito di rimuovere il disco (ernia) e sostituirlo con una protesi sintetica. Il tutto e' successo in fretta, operazione e' andata bene e Joseph si sta gia' riprendendo. <br />Purtroppo nonna e' dovuta ripartire per l'Italia. Ieri l'abbiamo accompagnata in areoporto..qualche lacrimuccia...e' difficile dire ciao specialmente adesso che Diego e' piu' grande e inizia ad affezzionarsi. Nonna ha appena chiamato per farci sapere che e' arrivata a Milano; il viaggio e' andato bene. Non so cosa faremo senza nonna!!! Ci ha viziati un po' tutti qui, pensate che io non ho cucinato neanche una volta nelle ultime 6 settimane! E non ho neanche fatto il bucato...non ricordo neanche dova va il detersivo! Ha pensato a tutto nonna Elda! Benedette tutte le nonne!!! Ecco alcune foto che abbiamo fatto... <br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FDiego.Tonelli.Nova%2Falbumid%2F5264079734498932433%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Diego Tonelli-Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165258153711020073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-758518138551504522.post-39993813206998674272008-07-07T14:33:00.005-04:002008-07-16T15:45:44.188-04:00Diego goes back to Italy!On June 6th the family flew to Italy for a 2 week vacation. This was Diego's second visit to Italy. His first was spent entirely in Milan visiting family. For his second trip we planned to stay at our home in Brugnetto which is 4 hrs from Milan on the eastern coast. Diego spent a lot of time with his grandparents and we got a chance to relax. We hit the beach, ate, toured the area, ate, visted friends, ate, and ate, and ate. So much eating! We couldn't help ourselves! The food was so good!<br /><br />Overall it was a wonderful trip. We especially enjoyed seeing Diego intereact with his grand parents. They love him very much and are always eager to show him off to their friends. When it was time to leave there were plenty of tears. It is always hard to go but it was good to be home again. Here are a few of the 695 photos we shot.<br /><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FDiego.Tonelli.Nova%2Falbumid%2F5223698332743089441%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Diego Tonelli-Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165258153711020073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-758518138551504522.post-55994008041726096252008-04-19T15:37:00.006-04:002008-04-21T09:33:26.708-04:00A long time coming..<a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_YvAvufbW31Y/SApcXfls9lI/AAAAAAAAAvU/zZGG3c_cI9g/s1600-h/DSCF1404.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5191063079184299602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_YvAvufbW31Y/SApcXfls9lI/AAAAAAAAAvU/zZGG3c_cI9g/s320/DSCF1404.JPG" border="0" /></a> It has taken over 13 months of therapy, casting and many road trips to Dallas to prepare Diego for his next medical milestone. One that was realized on April 17<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">th</span> when he was fitted with a Hip, Knee, Ankle, Foot <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Orthosis</span> or <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">HKAFO</span> brace. It started at 10 am when we met with Art, the cast removal guy. Diego never really liked Art thanks to the loud electric saw he uses to remove casts. So once Diego saw him enter the room, he started crying. Within 15 minutes Diego was cast free. It was so good to finally see his little legs again! Next we had to visit Mr. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Kwan</span> in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Orthotics</span>. We met with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Kwan</span> during an earlier <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">visit</span> to measure Diego for the braces. When <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Kwan</span> entered the room he was carrying Diego's brace which was fitted with little tennis shoes. They were so cute! <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Kwan </span>showed us how to put on the brace and work the joint locks. He also made a few adjustments to make it more comfortable which is very important since Diego is expected to wear the brace 23 hrs a day. Seeing Diego standing in his new brace and shoes was a real treat for us. <br /><div></div><br /><div>Now that Diego has graduated to wearing a brace, we can start making real progress towards learning to walk. There is still a lot of hard work and hours of therapy ahead. If everything goes well, we hope <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">lil</span> Diego will be able to walk by his next birthday. We want to thank all the wonderful people at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. Special thanks to Diego's orthopedic surgeon Dr. Birch, his nurse Amy and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Kwan</span>. </div><br /><embed pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FDiego.Tonelli.Nova%2Falbumid%2F5191064002602268257%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss"></embed>Diego Tonelli-Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165258153711020073noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-758518138551504522.post-61723981988974614762008-03-14T15:01:00.007-05:002008-03-14T15:30:48.400-05:00Buon Compleanno Diego!Non ci sembra ancora vero che il nostro piccolo Diego ha gia' compiuto un anno! E pensare che sembra ieri quando abbiamo iniziato i nostri viaggi a Dallas per i trattamenti ortopedici. Abbiamo festeggiato entrambi i compleanni di papa' Joseph e Diego insieme visto che sono cosi' vicini (Diego 5 Marzo e papa' 14 Marzo...lo stesso giorno di nonna Zulema..AUGURI NONNA!!!).<br /><br />Grazie a tutti i cugini, zii ed amici che ci hanno inviato Auguri di Buon Compleanno. Speriamo possiate vedere le foto...e per tutti coloro che hanno chiesto...no, non abbiamo ancora intenzione di tagliare i capelli a Diego :)<br /><br />Ieri siamo andati a Scottish Rite per togliere il gesso alla mano ed estrarre la vite dal polso. La procedura e' andata bene e Diego ha pianto di piu' a togliere il gesso che tutto il resto. Adesso indossa un bel "splint" che sembra quasi un guanto come quelli che indossano i ciclisti per non farsi male alle mani e ai polsi. Faremo una foto e la publicheremo a giorni cosi' potete vedere il nuovo "look" !<br /><br />I gessi alle gambe sono rossi! Li abbiamo cambiati anche loro. Adesso sono dritti cosi' Diego puo' iniziare a praticare a stare eretto. Publicheremo una foto..visto che sono all'ultima moda!<br /><br />Abbiamo anche preso le misure per costruire i primi tutori che saranno fatti su misura da ingenieri specializzati direttamente all'ospedale. Saranno di alluminio e una plastica dura speciale con viti alle giunture cosi' Diego si potra' sedere senza problemi. Non saranno pronti per un altro mesetto, cio' vuol dire che dovremo vivere coi gessi per un altro po' di tempo. E va beh non e' poi cosi' male :)<br /><br />Saluti a tutti e un abbraccio forte da Diego!!!Diego Tonelli-Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165258153711020073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-758518138551504522.post-38996484784189019422008-03-12T07:11:00.004-05:002008-03-12T07:51:19.667-05:00Happy Birthday Diego and Daddy!!It's hard to believe our little Diego is 1yr old and Daddy is 34 again! To celebrate Mom organized a great party that turned out to be a suprize for Daddy too! We want to thank everyone that attended for making this a very special 1st and 43rd birthday party. <br /><br /><embed pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FDiego.Tonelli.Nova%2Falbumid%2F5176824536028978817%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss"></embed>Diego Tonelli-Novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165258153711020073noreply@blogger.com2