HOME TOUR

It has been 6 months since Cade’s bilateral Symes Amputation at Boston Children’s Hospital and he’s doing great. I wouldn’t choose to go back to those before surgery moments, in spite of how cute he was at that age, because the anxiety leading up to handing your baby over to surgeons is not fun. I WAY prefer to be on this side of the surgery, after the healing and appointments, but am thankful for all these 6 months has taught us.

Each morning, we put on his liners and prosthetics shortly after breakfast and he wears them until bath time after dinner, with the exception of taking off just the hard prostethics while he naps. Cade has tolerated the liners well, he’s never had skin irritation or a rash, thank goodness. NextStep Prosthetics has made minor adjustments to improve his balance along the way but he is still in that cute, initial pair and has grown into them nicely.

Although still not freely walking, Cade cruises the furniture, the kitchen cabinets, the walls. He’s on his feet all day long and getting stronger. Boy does that boy like to climb stairs…and then fly head first down them (much to his momma’s horror). Two weeks ago Cade pushed his wooden radio flyer push toy across the bedroom and we about screamed for joy. What that showed us was that he was able to balance himself and only push far enough forward until he could take another step. For us that was a big break through. As eager as I am for my little super hero to take off, I also realize he is only 14 months old and has far more obstacles to overcome than the “normal” walking toddler, with the “normal” walking range being 9-18 months. So my sweet kiddo, you can take all the time you need.

With this new found balance and furniture cruising, Cade’s favorite activities involve getting into things. Trying to wrangle the baby gates so he can take on the stairs while momma is not looking. Trying to get into the cupboards so he can assist momma / trip her while she is trying to prepare meals. This also means we have a new found love for playgrounds and slides (which he prefers to go down head first). All boy? I sure think so. He’s added to his vocabulary “bubbles”, “poo poo” and “purple” and “ba” (sheep) to his animal sounds. He loves his “da da” and has all but forgotten how to say “ma ma”…unless he wants something really badly, then it sounds like “maaaa maaaa maaaa” in the whinest, most annoying voice ever.

We are thankful for each step along Cade’s journey–for what it is teaching us about overcoming the obstacles we each have in our lives and how we view people on our daily encounter. We see Cade thriving and love every day. We are of course, always thankful for those people in our lives who have been our encouragement and sources of light through this FH journey.

“Praise the Lord; praise God our savior! For each day He carries us in His arms.” -Psalm 68:19