Cast #3 is on!

It's been a while since I posted, so there is a bunch of info and pictures to share!  Before we get into Cast #3, let's talk about some fun things Savanna did in Cast #2...

Cast #2

Cast #2 Adventures:

We took a trip to Florida in March to visit family.

We had fun singing songs and FINALLY playing outside in the nicer weather.

We went to the children's museum in Hendersonville, NC, http://handsonwnc.org/ which was really fun.  They have all kinds of neat things for the kiddos: a pretend grocery store and ice cream shop (complete with working register!), a nursery with multiple baby dolls, a "fishing pond" with magnetic fish, a stage for the kids to put on plays, etc.  It's a great place! 

Savanna having a blast at the hand-washing station.  What can we say?  She's easy to please.

We went hiking in DuPont State Forest.

And, we went to a buddy's second birthday (among many other adventures!)...

Genetics Consult:

Based on the recommendations of a couple of doctors, we took Savanna for a genetic consultation.  It was a lengthy appointment with a super nice doctor who mainly observed and examined Savanna.  I am happy to report that she did not think there is any genetic syndrome that Savanna has which could have caused the scoliosis!  This is great news!

Cast Removal:

After all of these adventures, it was time to remove Savanna's cast.  Cast #1 was only on for about 5.5 weeks and took us about a half an hour to remove.  This cast was on for 8.5 weeks and took us around 1.5 hours to remove!  I'm not sure why this cast was so much more difficult to remove, but possibly because she grew so much more and we didn't have as much room to get the tin snips in and cut??

Cast #2 prior to removal

Cast #2 prior to removal.  Notice how it is pushed on the left side to push her curve straight.

"Dadin" (as Savanna calls him) cutting the cast off.

After removal.  It really wasn't that dirty inside thankfully.

Bathtime!!!

You can still see that darn rib hump on the left side a bit.

Her skin looked pretty good with only some heat rash, slight bruising, and majorly dry skin.

The cast was off for 3 days!!  It was so wonderful having squishy hugs for those days.  Also, she got THREE baths in that time period so she would be super clean!  Plus, she LOVES playing in the water, which she is not really allowed to do when in her plaster.

Casting Day #3:

In case anyone wants any additional information as to why we are doing the Mehta casting for Savanna, please read this interview:  http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_channelstory.cfm?storyid=30557

Packing List (it's a lot smaller than the list for our first casting appointment):

• 1 big bib
• Size 3 diapers
• Size 3T shirts and 2T pants * 2
• Her lovey Spunky
• Folder with questions for the doctor
• Food for lunch and snacks for all 3 of us
• Water in sippy for her and water bottle for us
• iPad with charger
• Phone
• Gas drops (essential to help with the gas she gets from the anesthesia)
• Brush and hair clips 

Casting day started with mom and dad up at 4:15am and Savanna up at 5:00 to make the trip to the hospital by 7:00.  Once there, we watched some early morning cartoons...

Savanna loved the balloon in her room.

Up in the pre-op room, we all got ready for surgery.

Of course there was goofing around while we waited for the docs...  Notice that Savanna stole the hat from the panda!

Ready for the operating room.  I get to go back with her to help keep her calm while they give her the anesthesia.  Many people have asked why it's called "surgery" if they do not actually cut into her, and I think it is because of the anesthesia primarily.  Plus, she's in the operating room with a surgeon working on her.  She fussed a little more this time when they put the mask on her, but overall, she was still the trooper we know her to be.  Thank goodness she has such a sweet disposition.  We are really blessed!

After surgery, the doctor said she did great.  She woke up really quickly and was HUNGRY!  She ate goldfish, a PB&J, and a container of berries within an hour of surgery!  Berries make appearances in the next several photos, you've been warned!  Savanna wasn't always happy during the process, and whenever she got upset berries were offered which immediately cheered her up!

Cast drying and eating goldfish.

Next we went to the cast trimming room where she got moleskin and coban applied, while eating berries of course!

Spunky helping out.

Our little strawberry is finished!

We got home by 3:00pm, which was nice.  It takes a village, as they say, and we are so happy that our village helps take care of us!  Not only did a good friend stop by to let out our dog while we were gone for the day, but another WONDERFUL friend provided us with a delicious meal so that we didn't have to cook!  Aren't we so lucky that this is our village?

Tonight's dinner, yum!

I keep going back and forth about how I feel about this whole scoliosis and casting journey.  I get really bummed when it's time for Savanna to get the cast back on, but I know we are doing what's right for our girl.  We will continue to be strong for her.  Please continue to keep us in your thoughts!  :-)  Her next casting day is June 12, 2014!  It's only 6 weeks away!

Cast #2 is on!

Before we get to Cast #2, I have to tell you about things we did in Cast #1, and how we got her out of Cast #1!

We had a big snow in Asheville in mid-February (~8 inches), so we had to go play outside...  (She really did not like the snow very much so we were only out there for about 20 minutes.)

We also had several playdates with our buddies...

Just a cute picture of her rockin'...

 And a cute video of her kissing on her little baby...

After 5.5 weeks of having Cast #1 on (1/16/2014-2/23/2014), it was time to take it off to give her a couple of days' break before Cast #2 (2/27/2014).  My husband and I had heard that taking off the cast was not too hard, but it still was pretty stressful.  Thankfully, it only took us about a half an hour.  As usual, she was a trooper.  Here is Brent removing the cast while Savanna plays with the iPad...

Here are the tools we used, and the cast after being removed...

Her skin looked great with only some slight bruising and rash.

She looks so straight!  We know that we still have a while to go in the casts, but seeing pictures like this makes us know that we are doing the right thing.

First real bath in 5.5 weeks!  

We haven't yet found a sponge bath scenario that Savanna likes very much, but we are still working at it.  Our latest venture included having two bowls of warm water (one soapy and one clean) and washing her on her changing pad.  All went pretty well until it came time to wash her hair.  That did not go over well.  Maybe we will have to look into the rinseless shampoos...

It felt great to hold her without her cast on for a few days, and we soaked it all up!  We got in all the "squishy hugs" we could.  Alas, it was time for the second cast.  The pre-op appointment (yesterday) for this cast was kind of a non-event.  We just met with the nurse and the doctor, chatted for a few minutes, and we were on our way.

We got up at 4:15am this morning to make it to the hospital for her appointment at 7:00am.  What a long day!  Thankfully, things went well.  The surgery and cast trimming went more quickly, but Savanna was much more upset and fussy, and lots of tears were shed  :'-(.  It was likely due to the lack of food, water, and sleep she had endured, plus the major gas she has had from the anesthesia, and then the fact that she probably remembered her last time at the hospital.  Therefore, I have some photos before she went to surgery, but not too many after.  Mama was needed to be giving out hugs instead of taking too many pictures this time.

Before surgery...

 

We picked pink for her second cast.  I remember when I didn't want too much pink around saying, "We will dress her in purple, no pink!"  Well, now I just embrace the pink! 

We also got a visit from the Chick-Fil-A cow, which Savanna loved!  She even gave him a kiss.  I wish I had a picture of that!

The folks at Shriners really take great care of us!  Look at the loot she got... a new outfit for Bluebeary, a handmade quilt, and a tea set (plus a handmade hat that isn't pictured).

Before we left the hospital, she was already walking around a bunch.  She constantly amazes us!!  (By the way she also has several new words this week! Abo for iPad, wewe for Louella, Elmo, and nanna for... banana!)  We are scheduled for her next surgery on May 2, which is 9 weeks away.  Cast #1 was only on for 6 weeks.  I am worried about leaving this next cast on for 9 weeks because she will grow so much, plus her skin will have even more time in the cast.  However, we trust our doctor, and honestly, we are okay with limiting the number of times we have to go through all of this!

I am sure that many people are wondering how much all this casting/surgery/etc. stuff costs.  Well, our insurance is thankfully really helping us out.  Check this out...

(She will likely need at LEAST 6 more casts, and wow, they cost quite a bit.)  However, if we didn't have insurance and had no way to pay, Shriners would find a way to help.  They do not limit their care to only those who can afford it.  Please, please, please consider making a donation to them if you can!  They are helping so many children every year!  Here's a link to their website... http://www.shrinershospitalsforchildren.org/

Thanks for reading and for keeping our special little girl in your thoughts!!  Also, thanks to all of our friends that have reached out to help us!  I will try to post some other pictures of Savanna's new cast when I can.


In case you want more information about Savanna's casts, please read on...

Here's the basic anatomy of her cast:

Front - The cast has a hole in the front to allow for her belly and lungs to expand as she breathes and eats (and this girl LOVES to eat!).  The last cast had a circle in the front, but I asked for more of a mushroom shape in the front this time to give her more lungs more room to expand.  This picture is her first cast...

Back - The cast has a D-shaped hole, called... the "D-hole" (insert bad joke here) :-).  Savanna's is on the right side.  Her primary curve is a left curve and bends in the same shape as a C.  Due to the shape and the curve's rotation it causes her ribs to stick out a bit on the left side (her rib hump).  Therefore, the D-hole is on the right side to allow the ribs to have a place to move towards.  There is no hole on the left side by the rib hump.  Here's an example D-hole.  (Savanna's is not visible because it is hidden under the coban (the stretchy colorful material).)

Photo from http://jackotaco.blogspot.com/2013/05/jackson-1-scoliosis-0.html

Straps - The straps on her first cast were there to simply help the cast stay on, should it begin to slide down.  The doctor said she is slightly "barrel-shaped" so the cast didn't have a good place to hang on to like her hips.  Her second cast does not have straps.  I guess the doc thought this cast would stay in place just fine.

Materials - The cast is made of Plaster of Paris (POP) and is wrapped in moleskin and coban.  The moleskin helps to keep the rough edges away from her skin, and the coban covers the rough exterior of the cast.  She also wears a shirt under the cast that is CoolMax fabric.  She's so hip!

This picture is the moleskin on her first cast.

 Here's the package from her shirt.

Thanks for reading!  I'll post more pictures soon...