The Man Himself

The Man Himself
Contemplating the Universe with the help of a cotton candy beard.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

How is Nick doing?

"How is Nick doing?" You may have asked yourself (and me) this question in the last month. I honestly can not believe my last posting was a month ago!

The great news is that Nick is doing incredibly well. Really. When last I posted, we were headed home. Truly, no sooner did he walk in the door than he wanted to have a friend over to play on the iPad. And he did. Seriously. This kid was ready to take on life again in every way he was allowed.

What do I mean by that? Well, obviously there were and still are post-op restrictions. Basically, the heart and all incision areas (main incision and where the chest tubes were) plus the breast bone all had to heal and each one had a different restriction. For his breastbone there are restrictions such as no playing games where projectile objects could come his way (basketball, frisbee, volleyball, soccer, tennis, you get the idea), and the "nothing you can fall off of" rule which includes his bike, scooter, etc. For his incision areas he could not get them immersed in water because of potential infection so that cut out swimming. Thank God (truly) he could still play board games, video games, walk the block, watch tv and read!!!  I swear he went through the entire Percy Jackson and Heros of Olympus collections AGAIN in the last month (we're talking 7 books over 250 pages each there, folks.) No doubt he took on what he could with gusto and without complaint. He was even off of pain meds by day 7 of being home.

All that being said, he still led a rather normal life these past four weeks. To see him walking down the street no one would know he had been through such a major ordeal. He is such a trouper he made lemonade, lemon bars, lemon cake, and lemon icees out of his lemons! :)

Truth be told, he's had some pretty great highlights these last four weeks. The first one was getting to tour SpaceX headquarters. Space X is the private company that has taken over where NASA left off: getting USA rockets and astronauts back into space, plus they're working to do it from a more sustainable perspective. It was 90 minutes that sparked the imaginations of Nick and all of us on the tour - and started conversations of what will the future bring? Another highlight was celebrating his 11th birthday this past weekend. He began on Friday night by getting back in the pool for the first time and (using his legs only since he is restricted on arm movement b/c of the resistance the water creates) he was like a fish. It was beautiful to watch. Then Saturday and Sunday were fun gatherings with family and 2 friends. When he is given complete physical clearance in mid-October we'll celebrate with more fun activities.

Yesterday was his first day at school even though the school year began 2-1/2 weeks ago. I'd worked with the teachers to keep him up to speed so when he arrived yesterday he was pretty well set. He also already has two good friends at his new school and as I watched him play before the bell rang there was no doubting that he would fit in and do just fine.

We are so proud of Nick and Sabrina getting through this time the way that they did. How are we doing, you ask? We're doing well, too. Sabrina is taking to the new school well, also and has made some good friends plus she's playing AYSO soccer this Fall. Mike is programming more and learning and creating partnerships with what he's creating. I have launched a business in skin care promoting an anti-aging night cream that was discovered by a biotechnology firm that was working on curing skin cancer. It's an amazing product and company and I'm proud to be affiliated with them. I'm also about to launch an inspirational blog for women, so I'll keep you posted on that launch as well.  Plus I stepped up to be PTA Treasurer, so I've got my hands full - again. :) As for our move, the house we were "set" to move into fell through since the current tenants changed their minds and decided to stay for another year. This was a huge bummer for all of us as we adore this neighborhood and being so close to such good friends. The house hunt is on again and truly, we know there is a perfect home out there for us -- it's just a matter of finding it!

I pray this blog finds you well and in a good space. Your thoughts, prayers, energy and love have continued to make a difference for Nick and in all of our lives. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.