Free Bird!

We saw the orthopedic surgeon yesterday...

Although the picture is poor quality...does the above scene look familiar?  How about this one?

No your eyes are not tricking you (if you noticed or picked up on my hints...)!  That is belly and back flesh you see.  Ethan is free from the cast again.  After x-rays yesterday, the surgeon said that there hasn't be a great improvement over last year's images.  The good news is that he isn't getting worse but the improvements are slight.  He is still happy that we're able to hold the curvature (the degree is still pretty severe), but has now prescribed a hard brace for him.  We go on Friday to have him casted for the mold to create the brace which he will have to wear all the time (but it can be removed for baths, etc).  It might free us up a bit more where we could feed Ethan on the road again and not have to worry about him sitting for even short periods of time (the cast would dig in sometimes and we always ran the risk of him pooping up it...but if that happens in the brace we should be able to clean it).  The downside to such braces is that they are not really meant to correct...especially at Ethan's curvature but if it could hold him where he is for at least the summer, that might be good.  It would reduce the sedations he requires.  The surgeon has agreed to follow him closely to make sure that the curvature doesn't get worse.  Meanwhile, Ethan gets to have his skin free.  It needs it too, he has another couple sores on his back.  Poor guy, when we brought him home yesterday he was all itchy and scratched off a bunch of old dry skin.  After a bath and cream he isn't really scratching anymore.  :)  Ethan was starting to outgrow the cast again and I think we caught it before it was too tight on him.

Clayton and Lorelei have cleared their Strep infections, but not before we found out that Clayton is now allergic to penicillin.  My cold is pretty much better and my back continues to heal.  Clayton went with me to yesterday's appointment to move Ethan and his wheelchair.  On Friday, I've recruited Uncle Jon to help out.  Hopefully I fully heal soon so I can care for him as I used to.