It's been a few days

I'm so proud of Mason! He's adjusting so well to his spica cast. Tomorrow will be TWO WEEKS! It seems like just yesterday Mason broke his femur, however the two weeks have actually gone by really slowly for me! Let's hope we only have two weeks left of this, but I need to keep telling myself that there may be four more weeks of this new lifestyle. UGH!

Mason has had his moments of frustration. It makes me so sad. Every time we go for a walk, he asks to ride his bike :( Every time we pass a park, he asks to go play :( I keep telling him that his leg needs to get stronger. I'm not sure if he understands, but it won't be long until he can enjoy his favorite activities again!!!

Mason prefers laying on his tummy rather than his back... and every time we put him on his tummy, he tries to move around the house. His cast weighs a ton and I'm sure he wasn't comfy dragging his cast around. On Friday night I research scooter boards and found a store about 40 minutes from the house that sells them. On Saturday morning, I drove to the store to pick it up and when Mason woke from his nap, he was able to play with his new toy... BOY, was he in HEAVEN!!!!

Overall, we had a nice weekend... Tonight, being Sunday, it was hair wash night- not Mason's favorite even when he isn't in a cast, but it has to be done. As mentioned in a previous post, I would take a video. He seemed to hate tonight's hair wash more than last weeks. Please don't think i'm torturing my child when you watch this video. Once we finished, he was fine.

Flashback to my college years

I will never forget the revolting smell of the urine as I drunkenly stumbled into the mens room at a fraternity party, bar, club, etc., because I had to pee so badly that I couldn't for a second think about waiting in line for the girls room. Funny how the mens room NEVER has a line. I guess now we know why! Does the mens room ever get a good cleaning? I've never been in one that's smelled pleasant. Ewww, urinals are disgusting, and when men are drunk and miss, and piss on the floor, it's even worse! You're probably wondering where i'm going with this.... well, I hate to say it, but Mason's cast is starting to smell like the mens room. EWW- VOMIT! We are only one week and two days into this whole ordeal and my son smells like a urinal. HELP!

The diapering process in a spica cast is not an easy task. We change Mason's diaper every two-three hours during the day to avoid his pee seeping into his cast, but at night, we were told not to wake him to change his diaper if he sleeps through the night. Because Mason sleeps 13 hours at night from 7pm-8am, there is no need to interrupt his sleep, however, i'm beginning to feel differently because without fail, his pee leaks out of his diaper every night and seeps into his cast, which in turn has caused Mason's cast to stain and stink. I've called the hospital, the surgeon, read other blogs, other information people have published about spica casts, etc., and everyone reports that this will happen. People said to blowdry the cast, rub baking soda in it, and just to deal. Well, we are dealing but every day it just gets worse and worse. My biggest fear ever is to have the smelly kid, and now, I can't avoid it. I know we only have four weeks and five days left of this, but if this keeps getting worse, I don't know how we are going to deal.

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you! And please note, that I don't normally have a smelly child!

Start of week two!

Well, it's Tuesday night at 8:45pm and Mason is fast asleep... I just went to check on him and he looks so peaceful (thank goodness)!!!

I'm happy to report that I haven't cried yet this week. I, know, it's only Tuesday, but I do want to pat myself on the back :) I think i've finally come to grips with the whole situation and just have to deal and keep on trucking until these six weeks are finished.

Monday morning, Jessica came to help with Mason again. I finally caught up on all of our laundry and unpacking since the trip to The States. I was also able to run a few errands which was nice. I did feel a bit guilty leaving Mason though :( When I left the house, he and Jessica were playing with play dough. I told him I was just running out to do a few errands and he looked and me with a puppy dog face, with his bottom lip quivering and said 'mommy' in a very sad voice. I told him I would be right back and I left. I was very sad, but knew Jessica would keep him busy. While I was out, Jessica texted me a few pictures of him- he was so happy!!! When I returned, Jessica left, and Nat and Shyla came over for a play date! Mase was busy until naptime. He went down easily; I think he has finally become used to sleeping downstairs during the day. When Mase woke, Anna and Eitan came to visit with cupcakes! What a treat!!! We sponge bathed him and put him down by seven and he was out for the night!

I woke Mason around 7:45am this morning. It was going to be a big day... I have finally decided that it was time to get out and about! Mason and I were going to visit his friends and teachers at creche! I was both nervous and excited to take him in. I was excited for him to see his teachers and friends who he talks about all the time. It has been quite a while since we have seen them because we were away in The States for three weeks, but I was also nervous because I was concerned that when Mase saw all of his friends, playing and running around that he would want to join them. Thankfully we arrived and the kids were in a circle singing- we joined in right away and he was in Heaven!


Mason also sat down with his favorite teacher Diana and a little buddy of his and read 'The Very Hungry Catepillar'.

I was so thrilled to see him so happy! His class was also celebrating one of his classmates birthdays so we stayed for some cake! Mason had two pieces! We were at creche for about an hour and 15 minutes, when we had to head home because Elissa and Zahara were coming over for a play! We will head back to creche on Friday for Shabbat- Mason's favorite!!!

At 11am, Elissa and Zahara came over to visit. What a treat! They played for about and hour and then it was nap time for both of them.

When Mase woke up from his nap, Bec and Hugo came over to play. Mason has been in heaven with all of his visitors! It's been amazing!!!

Mike and I are so lucky to have such amazing friends here in Melbourne. I haven't cooked a meal since we have arrived back from our trip... People keep bringing meals over, offering to babysit so I can get out of the house, and are just here to keep us company and to offer support. We are truly blessed! THANK YOU!!!

Our first weekend

It's Sunday night and I'm feeling better than I've been feeling since Mason broke his leg. Was it because I had Mike home all weekend? Who knows. I just hope I continue to feel better each day.

We had a nice weekend... Low key of course! I think the upcoming weeks will continue to be low key. On Saturday morning Mason had the best surprise- Asher, Dave and Tahli came over for breakfast and even cooked it for us! How spoiled are we!!! Asher, Dave, Mason and Mike spend most Saturday mornings together at various cafes in the neighborhood. Asher and Mason enjoy sharing a stack of pancakes or french toast piled high with berries and syrup. We want to continue on with the Saturday morning ritual even though Mason can't get get to a cafe easily anymore so the Engel's spoiled us rotten this week! Asher even brought Mason a few Thomas books and was the first person to sign his cast!

When the Engel's left, Mason continued to relax on his beanbag until nap time. Aunt Simi, Uncle Maxx and Nellie came to visit for a bit as well!

Mason had some difficulty going down at his normal nap time and only slept for just over an hour and a half. We usually get a good three hours out of him. I think his naps are going to be like this until he's back on his feet again and able to burn more energy. I usually get stressed when he doesn't get at least two hours of sleep during nap time, but i'm just going to have to deal for a while! It's not the end of the world.

When Mason woke around 3:15, we had a houseful of guests come over to watch the footy. I really think Mason enjoyed the company and of course the attention as well! Cousin Ellie and Dean joined Mason for dinner as well, which was also a nice treat!

After dinner it was sponge bath and bed time. Mason was in bed by 7pm and asleep right away!

Now it was mommy and daddy time! Mike and I relaxed until Carli and Div arrived for thai take out- YUM! We had a very relaxing and low key evening with them... it was so nice!

Carli arrived with a goodie basket of things for Mason from my office. United Israel Appeal spoiled him ROTTEN! We were so excited to give the gifts to Mason when he woke up in the morning...

When we brought Mason downstairs this morning he was greeted by all the fun gifts from UIA. A huge Elmo stuffed animal, books galore, crayons, a tool work bench that made noises, etc. HEAVEN!!! Mason played with the thoughtful gifts until his friend Bradley came over to play. Bradley and Mason relaxed and watched a lot of shows on YouTube... They chilled next to each other for quite a long time- it was divine!

Bradley and Mason enjoyed quesadillas for lunch and then Mason went upstairs for his nap! When Mason woke we enjoyed a family walk down Glen Huntly Road. Of course Mike had to stop to get a coffee at Loco Cafe, but also surprised Mason with a Babychino as well! He downed it in seconds- Babychino's are Mason's favorite!

When we returned home, Mason wasn't really interested in dinner and told me he wanted yoghurt... So, that it was!

Mike and I decided that Sunday night would be the night we would wash Mason's hair. We used to wash his hair about 3-4 times a week, but with his hip spica on, there is no way we would be able to do that. So, we thought that once a week would be totally fine. After racking our brains about the easiest way to wash his hair, I finally came up with the following idea:

We would place Mason on his back on a skateboard so that he was elevated a bit. We would open the shower door, place Mason and the skateboard over the frame of the shower door so that he was stable (of course Mike would be holding him the whole time), so, if you could picture this: his head would be in the shower but his body would be out, then, I would get in the shower take the detachable shower head (thankfully we have one), crouch down to the ground and spray and wash Mason's hair- kind of like at the hair salon! Well, we tried it and it was a success! Mason was a bit fussy, but overall it worked, his hair was washed (yay) and that was that! After the hair wash, we placed him on our bed for his nightly sponge bath! Mason was in bed by 6:30 tonight and out like a light within minutes....

Next week, we will video tape his hair wash so everyone can see!

I'm in bed now- 9:20pm and about to pass out! Even though we aren't doing much during the day anymore, I've been so exhausted by everything! I look forward to a good nights sleep! Tomorrow morning we have Jessica coming over again to keep Mason busy. I have a few errands to run and then we have a few play dates! Looking forward!

Night Night!

Week 1- Thursday and Friday

I woke up Thursday morning at 4:48 am, my heart was racing. I was having a panic attack and I just started crying hysterically. I just kept thinking about Mason, my poor, little, innocent monkey-man restricted and not being able to do anything. This was killing me! I was freaking out! Again, a million things were running through my head- what if the break hit a growth plate and he doesn't grow correctly, what if he has a limp, what if he can't play sports or run, how long will it take him to walk again, does he have weak bones and this could potentially be a long term issue???? How am I to cope with all of these 'what ifs?'. Why am I the one crying and he's the one smiling.... Shouldn't I be smiling too? Mason was so strong and didn't seem to care what he had just been through, but for me it seemed like the end of the world? HELP! I never fell back to sleep and woke Mason around 8am.

Jessica, our nanny for a few days arrived at 8:30am on Friday morning. She has years of childcare experience, but hasn't had any experience with a child in a hip spica cast. She walked through the door with stuffed animals for Mason to play with and homemade play dough! She helped me feed Mase breakfast, entertained him on his beanbag and just kept him company while I attempted to unpack, do laundry, the dishes and other household chores. She was a lifesaver, not only was she keeping Mason company, but me too... I found it so difficult to be alone with him and not talk to anyone. Jessica helped me lift and flip Mason as he's not allowed to stay in one position too long. By 10:30 or so, we flipped Mason on his tummy to his little Thomas the Train couch and Jessica and Mason started playing with play dough. He loved rolling the pieces into little balls and counting them. They were having a ball! I was feeling so good at this point! I fed Mason lunch around 11:30am as normal and then Jessica left for the day- I was so thankful that she would be back in the morning. By 12:00 I wanted to start to get Mase organized for his nap... I changed his diaper, and finally Mason had pooped. He hadn't pooped since Monday (most likely from the morphine), so I was over the moon (sad that these things excite me)! Not only did he poop, but it was solid, so there wasn't a huge mess. I'm dreading the day when he has a messy poop and it leaks out of the diaper into the cast... OY- G-D help me! After the diaper change, we continued with our normal bed time routine and finally he put his head down to sleep. It took a while for him to actually fall asleep. Mason usually naps in his crib, but I can't carry him upstairs, so the living room is where nap time will be until his cast comes off.

I woke Mason around 4ish and a few friends came over to keep us company! Mike also arrived home early, which was a huge treat!!!

Dinner, sponge bath and bed... Mason was asleep by 7! I'm so happy that we are able to stick to the routine! I was in bed early as well... I wanted to write in the blog, but by 9:45 my eyes were slowly turning into heavy weights!

I woke up Friday morning in better spirits.... No panic attack thank GOODNESS!!! Our day was very similar to Thursday, except that we actually left the house on Friday!!! A friend of mine let us borrow her big Mountain Buggy Stroller that was wide enough for Mason to sit in comfortably! Jessica and I took Mason and PJ for an hour long walk around the neighborhood! It was such a treat for all of us! When we returned home, Jessica and Mason played with play dough and I continued to do more chores. The rest of the day was the same as the day before...

Wed July 20- Leaving the Hospital

I woke up Wednesday morning to Mr Mason smiling at me through his hospital crib bars saying 'Hello'! It brought a smile to my face, but then I became upset thinking wow, he's doing amazing, and look at me, I can't pull myself together! How is that my 23 month old son is 'happy as Larry' after all he's been through and I'm still a miserable wreck. Shouldn't I be happy that he's happy?

The Doctor came to say hello to Mason and told us that we could leave this morning and begin our road to recovery at home. I was both very excited to get out of our shared hospital room, yet was also freaking out about how I was going to cope by myself at home, without help while Mike was at work! Thankfully Lisa, my cousin, arranged for a nanny to come to the house on Thurs and Friday of this week to help with Mason.

Mike arrived around 9am to collect us from the hospital. We were given a thorough tutorial on how to change, bath, position, etc Mason while we were home. All of these new ways of life were very overwhelming. We also bought a special attachment for Mason's carseat so he could get out and about. In addition, we learned how to position him in the stroller so he could get some fresh air.

By 10am we had left Cabrini and headed home. Mike got us situated and then headed to work... Mason and I, both exhausted were plopped in front of the TV, he positioned comfortably in a bean bag chair, and me on the carpet next to him. He asked for snacks and juice, we read a few books, played with his Thomas train, and just sat and chatted with each other. He wasn't complaining too much and I was contend just chilling with my little man. I fed him lunch, and soon after, configured his Thomas sofa into a bed and organized his nap time routine for downstairs. Since Mason weighs double his weight because of the cast, there is no way I can carry him up and down the stairs to his room for nap time, so we came up with this alternative downstairs. Around 1ish, Mase finally fell asleep and so did I! I woke Mason at 3:30 because his friends were coming over to visit. Eitan, Nadav and Shyla popped in to say hello and shower mason with gifts! What an amazing surprise. At first I thought that Mason may get annoyed because all of his friends would be walking around, and he would be bean bag chair bound, but this didn't seem to phase him at all. He enjoyed the gifts they brought and their company. It was truly amazing!

After Mason's friends left, Mike and I chilled with him for a bit, took him upstairs for a sponge bath and put him to sleep! We tried to make each event very exciting... As Mike brought Mason up the stairs he called Mason 'Super Mason', and now every time we lift him, Mason screams 'Super Mason'. Sponge bath time consists of 'this little piggy' on his toes, which he always gets a kick out of, and of course we will continue with our nightly ritual of reading several books before bed time! By 7pm, Mason was in bed and sleeping! Mike and I have both agreed how important it is to continue with his daily sleep schedule so that he doesn't get off track. Soon after, I got in bed as well... I probably fell asleep by 9:30pm.

Tues, July 19- The first full day

Today was the first full day with the hip spica. Mason woke up around 7:30am and was greeted by his pediatric surgeon. He said Mason looked great and that he should heal fine. He mentioned that we would have to flip him quite often because the plaster was still wet.

At 8am Uncle Maxx and Aunt Simi arrived. Mason was thrilled to see them. What a treat! Maxx fed him breakfast as he always does a great job trying to get him to eat when he's not in the mood. They stayed for a bit, and then Mike arrived to see his little buddy! We then had a suprise visit from Anna, a friend of mine and the mother of Mason's friend Eitan. She brought Mason a teddy bear. Rochelle came, Lisa and Baby Eden, etc. It was so nice to have visitors. By the time everyone left, it was Mason's Nap time. He slept from about 1-4pm, and I woke him up... I'm really trying to get him to stay on his schedule. We had more visitors in the afternoon, Uncle Maxx, Aunt Simi and Mike came for dinner, and then my 7ish he went to bed for the night... and so did I!!! We both slept for 12 hours that night! It was bliss!

I was still quite emotional at this point, but I think the sleep really helped. I needed it as we were heading home in the morning and we had a long road to recovery. I needed to feel 100%

The first night in the Hospital

Well, the first night in the hospital, I was a mental, emotional wreck! I think I slept a total of two hours (MAYBE)! A million and one thoughts were running through my head. Did the break injure Mason's growth plate, will he have a limp, how will he adjust to not being able to move for 4-6 weeks, how will I adjust to trying to lift him, position him, keep him busy, etc. He's going to miss his friends and creche, i'm going to miss work, how will I keep him busy if he can't walk. The list went on... I laid there with the image of Mason in his spica cast... this poor little boy, who hours ago was running, laughing, playing and enjoying himself and now was restricted to a chair or his crib. I was devastated! I cried and cried and just couldn't believe what had just happened. I wanted someone to pinch me so I would wake up from this awful nightmare, but unfortunately it was reality and life adjusting to a spica cast for the next 4-6 was in our cards.

How it all went down

On Sunday 17 July our family had just returned back to Australia after three weeks of visiting family and friends in America. It was such an amazing trip, but now it was back to reality. After a grueling flight (making four stops, including an unplanned fuel recharge in Noumea) we arrived home around lunch time on Sunday. We put Mason down for his lunch time nap, which he was asking for since the second we walked through the door, showered, unpacked a bit, and relaxed until we attended our cousin Ellie's third birthday party at 3:30pm that afternoon. The rest of the evening was pretty low key- Mason ate his dinner, we played until his 6:15 bath time, and then he practically dove into bed after a few short stories. He had a great night sleep, and didn't wake at all... we were happy the jetlag didn't seem to be an issue for him. After Mason went to sleep, I got into bed and relaxed as well, leaving all my packing for the following few days.

Monday morning rolled around, and Mason and I went for a morning playdate at Shyla's house, came home, had lunch, and again was more than happy to go straight to sleep at 12:30 on the dot! He slept until 3:30pm, when I woke him, because I wanted him to stay on schedule. On Monday afternoon's we get together with my 'mothers group', a group the local council sets you up with when you have your first child in Australia. It's a group of other mothers who live in close proximity to you and have a baby within a few weeks of you having a baby. It's great and have become very friendly with several of the girls. I cherish our Monday afternoon playdates! Mothers Group was supposed to be at our place, but Nicky actually offered because, our place was covered in suitcases from our trip- things were all over the place. At around 3:45, we arrived to Nicky's house and were greeted by Nicky and Maddie, and Cathy and Gemma. The kids began to play, eat snacks and interact... Mason was being a bit fussy and I think it was still from the jetlag. At around 4:30, Mason was just walking around, tripped on the rug, and fell. When I looked at him on the ground, his leg was twisted in a weird position, and he was crying hysterically, which is very unlike him, he's usually such a tough guy! I thought it was weird the position he fell in, but really didn't think anything of it... He cried for about five minutes or so and wouldn't let go of me. I found this quite odd, but thought he was just being very clingy because of the jetlag, being tired, etc. I tried to put him down to see if he would walk and he just cried and held his right leg in the air. At this point I knew something was up... thought it was a bad sprain, bruise etc. A broken bone never came to mind. I left Nicky's house and headed to the Dr.'s clinic across the street from my house. They took me right away and suggested I go to have it x-rayed down the street or go to the emergency room. As I started to call Mike to tell him the situation and ask him where he would meet me, my phone died- I had no way to reach him. I walked back across the street to our house, popped Mase in front of the TV on the couch, where he seemed content, went to my computer and saw that my sister in law simone was online. I called her through google chat and told her to call mike right away and find out where he was. Thankfully he was on his way home and he arrived within five minutes. When he saw that mason wouldn't walk and was very clingy, he thought it would be best to go to the emergency room. At 6:00pm ish we headed to Cabrini and were admitted right away. We waited about 30 minutes or so for the x-ray to be taken. Mike went in with Mason because i'm pregnant and couldn't, he said Mase was a trooper. They came out and Mason wanted me to hold him- he fell asleep on me. We waited a little longer for the results and by 7:00pm, the emergency room Dr told us that Mason had a spiral fracture in his right femur. Thankfully a Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon was already working on someone and was available to take care of Mason in the next few hours.

Mike and I took turns holding him as he slept. When I was holding him, a million thoughts were running through my head. I just looked down and my little man, praying that he would have a quick and easy recovery. I didn't want him to be in ANY pain or suffer at all.

By 9:00pm on Monday night, the Surgeon called us up to the operating theater to create a hip spica cast around Mason. Mike was able to go in with Mason as the Anesthesiologist put him under general anesthesia. There was NO WAY I was going in with Mase... I would have been a mess. So Mike went in and held Mason's had and he was put to sleep. When Mike came back to the waiting room he was very emotional... tears rolled down his face. It's tough seeing your little guy going through this, every as a father, who is the rock of the family and is supposed to hold things together and show no signs of weakness. About an hour later, the surgeon came out and told us that the break looked good and that the cast should do its thing within 4-6 weeks. We were then taken to the recovery room where Mason was slowly waking up. He was crying on and off, which we were told was normal. The nurses were fabulous and told us how well Mason was doing. They gave him some morphine and said that it would ease his pain.

Around 10:30pm, we headed to the pediatric ward where I would be staying with Mason for the next two nights. We shared a room with three other people, which was a bit annoying, but not a big deal. The private rooms were for the very sick children, so I guess I had to look on the bright side and be thankful that we were sharing a room and that my child would recover soon.

Mike stuck around at the hospital for a little while longer to make sure that Mase was comfy and sleeping... He left around 1:30am to go home and sleep as he had to work in the morning.