Christine, this one's for you

Here is a video of Benjamin using his right hand. He had a pollicization surgery done on this hand seven months ago.

It's a crazy life!

Just when you think life can't get any crazier, guess what? IT DOES!!! So last Wednesday afternoon I was just getting ready to take a nice hot bath when I thought, "Wow, I haven't had to bring Benjamin to the doctor this week!" How nice is that!! 15 minutes later, while still in the bath, Benjamin came to me complaining that his thumb hurt (the hand that just had surgery). I looked in his cast and it appeared that there was a little white ball inside. My first thought, Ben shoved a ball down inside his cast. As I investigated I realized it was actually the pin they had put in his thumb to hold it in place. "Oh no!!!" The pin is coming out! This is not good. I jumped out of the bath and immediately called the doctor's office telling them the pin was coming out. They set up an appointment for the next morning. Oh yea, a trip to Grand Junction (1 hr each way) just what I had been wanting to do all week. So the next morning off we went, only to have the doctor tell me that the pin had been there all along I just couldn't see it before because it had been covered up with gauze. Wonderful, a trip for nothing. Then on Friday morning Benjamin woke up coughing terribly and refusing to get out of bed. He had caught the nasty cold virus the rest of my family had. At 2 am the next morning (Saturday) I woke up to him breathing rapidly, racing heart rate and a temp of 102. So off to the Emergency Room we went. Ends up he has Walking Pneumonia. Returned home that day and went back the next morning for a check-up. And I was so excited about not having any doctors appointments last week. I then ended up with three! Just when it seems like life can't get any crazier, IT DOES!!! Benjamin is finally doing better today. Ate his first meal and walked around for the first time in four days. Sometimes having a child with medical needs seems so overwhelming but in the end you look back, hear them laugh and play and it is all worth it!

Oral Therapy

Audrey, this one's for you!

I took some pictures and video of Benjamin in therapy the other day. Thought I'd share them. The picture is with his speech therapist Audrey, they were playing with bubbles. In the video he has peanut butter on his lips. We are working on getting him to use his tongue more to lick his lips.

Surgery is over

Benjamin's surgery went very well and we are already home. We showed up at the Surgery Center at 6:30 am and they had us out of there by 11:45am. We were shocked when they said we were free to leave when we felt comfortable. All I know is that what we dealt with today beats going to the hospital any day!!! Ben is now resting thanks to tylenol with codeine. The surgeon said the surgery was successful. It turned out that Benjamin had only a partial tendon out of four tendons in the thumb. They transfered a tendon from his index finger and one from his pinkie. It is possible they may need to transfer one from his ring finger in the future. Only time will tell. Glad the surgery is over and we'd be happy if this was the last surgery EVER!! We'll see what God has in store.

Reconstructive Surgery

So Benjamin is going in tomorrow for his reconstructive surgery on his left hand. I'm sure there is some fancy name for it, but I don't know it. His surgery will be at a surgery center so he doesn't have to stay overnight at the hospital. We are very excited for Benjamin and what this surgery will do for him. His right hand is doing so great!!! His recovery will be very similar to his right hand recovery. He will have a cast on his arm for six weeks and then he will wear a splint for up to a year.

So I finally got around to taking some new pictures of Ben's hand for you all to see. So here is the first. He is now 10 weeks post surgery.

I was so excited during physical therapy on Monday. He was playing with rhythm sticks and I saw him grasping it like this. It is so miraculous!!! Hope all of this helps some. Please email me if you have any questions. My email is rockma75@yahoo.com

Birthday pictures, fun pictures, and deep thoughts!

I cried tonight as I uploaded Benjamins birthday pictures. Just two years ago Benjamin was 6 days old and fighting for his life. It all still seems so raw. I feel like there is a permanent scar on my heart that has healed but the scar is there to remind me how precious life is. Are there any other parents who have gone through this who feel the same way? At times I feel like I'm just finally getting my life back to normal, but then again what is normal. Maybe we just have a new normal. Okay, so there are the deep thoughts! Now on to better things.

Benjamin isn't able to blow, but he tried so hard to blow out his candles. This is one of the things the speech therapist is currently working on. The day he is able to blow the feather across the table you may see me doing a victory dance kinda like the football players in the end zone. I'll post a video when it happens!

There's nothing like the joy in a child's eyes while opening up presents!

I found a bubble machine for his party. He absolutely loved it. Bubbles were blowing everywhere. He just stood there in amazement.


Benjamin sat at his little computer one day for the longest time. I call him my Little Einstein. He sat there so long that he actually fell asleep and almost fell of the couch.

This is the best photo I could find of what his hand looks like now. He's in bed sleeping like I should be or I would take a really good one. I will try in the next few days.


I liked this photo because it showed him using his hand at 2 1/2 weeks after getting his cast off.

Well that's it for tonight. I'm off to sleep:-)

Gettin' better every day!

How amazing Benjamin is. He is starting to use his right hand more. Before surgery he was right hand dominant. After surgery because of the cast he began using his left hand. Now that the cast is off he is left hand dominant but is beginning to use his right hand more. Three weeks ago he hardly used it at all. Then he began using it for assistance. Just in the last few days I see him using it by itself. I would say he is still left dominant though. He is beginning to get the pinch concept. Now when I instruct him to pinch he is able to do it a little. Only on command though. I think it is so funny that I'm telling him to pinch. If my other children were to pinch I would say, "No, no, ablsolutely NO!!!" All in the name of therapy I say regarding Benjamin. That includes drinking bath water!!! My other children may need counseling someday over this issue, ha ha! I will post new pics of his thumb sometime in the next few days. Thanks for all the comments and question. For those who have been down this road and have posted, thank you thank you thank you! It gives me hope.

God bless!