got her 1st cast today!

[Guest guest]

Wow! What a whirlwind 24 hours! We got the call yesterday at 4:00 from

the doc's nurse/coordinator that he could either cast her this morning

at 7:30 or wait a month (or longer, I suppose). So! Needless to say, we

had a ton to decide late yesterday.

First and foremost, I had to find out if this doc casts with the Mehta

method. I already knew he uses a modified table, so I assumed he did not

use the Mehta method of casting. But the doc himself called me back

around 5 yesterday and I asked him lots of questions:

He said yes, it is the Mehta method of casting with the cutouts in front

and back...plaster with fiberglass over it. He has been doing the Mehta

method of casting for about 4 years now, after lots of research about it

as well as meeting and talking with numerous " Mehta " docs and watching

training videos on the procedure.

He answered my " shoulder straps " question with explaining that he has

done both, and at this time he considers it unnecessary in most cases

(of course each case is unique, so some might warrent the straps, some

might not).

The table issue: he did confirm that the modified one he uses DOES offer

the derotation needed to do a EDF cast (I think he was impressed with my

knowledge of a lot of this...much thanks to you guys!).

All of this surprised me, to be honest. I really didn't think he was

doing Mehta casting, but I felt confident going with him after our

conversation.

OK! So! Since we're expecting a baby in a month and is already

" older " for starting casting, we chose to do it this morning. That meant

getting everything ready...we had to leave at 5:00 this morning to get

to the hospital at 6:30. We still hadn't talked to or our other

kids about the procedure, so we did that, let take a LONG bath,

got some larger clothes out for her, packed a " toy " bag, and got the

other kids ready/packed to go to grandma/grandpa's house. (Oh boy, sorry

about all the details!)

Well! The drive was good (even though our car isn't the most reliable),

the nurses were very nice (I even got to put on a " bunny suit " and go

with her into the OR until she fell asleep!!!! SO COOL!). The procedure

took almost 2 hours and the doc said her curve was 17 degrees and almost

0 rotation in cast (laying down though). He wants to see her in a week

to check everything and get standing x-rays.

It took her about an hour to stop crying/whining, but we got her a

helium balloon at the gift shop and I gave her a sucker in the car, so

she smiled a little and was sort of happy. At home, she took a nap,

watched movies, ate dinner, played a little, sat in her new bean bag

chair, and now is sleeping (ALL of which was done while holding her

balloon! Can't let any of her brothers get their dirty paws on it!).

When she gets whiny and says " I want to take this white thing off " , we

remind her that it's going to make her " REALLY STRRRRRONG " and that

she'll get to put some stickers on it...then she smiles and perks up

again. : )

Well, I guess we've made it through the first day, so I'm happy about

that. Of course my biggest concern is that the cast is effective, but I

guess only time will tell with that.

Another concern is the " rubbing " factor, as they put no moleskin petals

on her cast. They did give us a square sheet of moleskin to cut and

stick where needed, which we already used in one area where the front

window had been trimmed and the fiberglass was right next to her skin.

Do we need to put the moleskin around all the edges, like I've seen in

lots of pictures here??? The rest of the cast has cloth around the edges

about 1/2-1 inch and seems to be soft and not bothering her.

Also, we mentioned to the doc that we'd like to put some stickers on the

cast, but he said don't put too many as the cast needs to breathe. What

are your thoughts about this? I don't want to go against what the doc

says, but would some modge-podge/fabric swatches be a better choice than

the stickers (I'm sure it would, but maybe the stickers could be easily

taken off and replaced every couple days or something???). But if he's

concerned about it " breathing " , I don't want to freak him out and come

back with a bunch of modge-podge stuff stuck to it, you know?

I guess that's about it! The hospital we went to is Providence Park

Hospital in Novi, MI. Thanks for reading this LONG post and for any

advice you may have. And most of all, thanks for caring for us, even

though you don't know us! What a great place this is...

Good-bye 2009 (don't let the door hit you on the way out!)...I have MUCH

hope for a better 2010!!!

~ : )

Mommy to ~ ~ ~ Simon ~ Baby Boy due 2/4/10 ~ AND

(b. 8/18/06) ~ diagnosed at 9m with Cobb 45/RVAD 21

Currently at Cobb 21/RVAD 22 before 12/30/09 cast & Cobb 17 w/almost 0

rotation in cast

Oh my goodness, this is the longest post ever!!! Sorry!!!