"The good news is that I made it to the gym, but the bad news is that I only had one shoe in my bag."
After I stopped laughing, I unsympathetically told him to figure out plan B. After all, we have had LOTS of practice this week switching plans.
Most of you know that Claire's scoliosis has been worsening over time (which we expected). The curve is now at 57 degrees, and bracing isn't quite doing as much as we need to slow the progression, so casting is our next option. We casted her once before, and the results were great - hardly any issue. Lesson 101 of medical stuff: just because something worked once without complication, don't expect the same thing a second time.
The casting went great last Friday, and the doctor was thrilled with the curve correction he was able to get. However, it was the aftermath that we didn't expect. From the time she woke up until Sunday, she cried and cried. We realized that the cast had cut into her hip, so I texted the doctor for an early Monday appointment to fix.
Side note: Holding your hysterical four-year-old down on a table with three other adults while a cast is peeled off your kid's skin is not fun.
After lots of tears from both of us, we had high hopes that the spot on her hip was the source of her tears and lack of sleep. We were wrong.
Monday was the highlight of our week because we slept for four consecutive hours. That was the best sleep of the week. Finally, on Thursday morning, I texted the doctor at 7:00 am to tell him we had a big problem on our hands. It wasn't just her hip, and it wasn't just "adjusting to the cast" at this point. He immediately called me, and we were at the hospital by 8:15 to cut her out of the cast. You know how a block of Parmesan cheese gets all rough after it has been grated? That's a good visual. It turns out that the lining on this cast was just tearing up her skin. The doctor did absolutely nothing wrong - it was simply that the lining on this cast wasn't good for her sensitive skin. The cast was so tight that you couldn't see what was happening, and she couldn't tell us. We'll let her heal for about a week, and then it is back to the hospital for a new cast....this one with a different lining.
The parallel story going on here is that some of you know Claire was in the ER on Columbus Day because we couldn't get her to stop throwing up for a week. She lost two pounds, and after several doctor visits, we were convinced it wasn't "just a virus". Rebalancing her meds finally did the trick, and her belly is back under control.
So, whether it is a missing shoe in a gym bag, a new plan for her back, or new meds for her belly, sometimes you just gotta go to plan B.
Claire slept 14 hours yesterday, and Patrick made it to the gym with both shoes.
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