I again want to thank everyone for your love and support over the past three weeks.  Merry Christmas to all my friends who celebrate.  Living at the hospital at this time of year is obviously very hard, but it is also heartwarming to see the efforts that the hospital goes to, to make this time of year as special as possible for those of us that have no choice but to be here.

    

Visit from Santa before the traction procedure

Music therapy with the BEST therapy clown - Ranger

   

To think that there are approximately 370 other families here as inpatients that have to “celebrate” the holiday season and new years in the hospital – it makes you really take a hard look at your life and appreciate the times when your family’s health is in order.  Health is the best present anyone could ever receive.  When you are with your family over the holidays just be grateful to have them in your life. 

 This quality time with Brody has been very special and I haven’t taken a second of it for granted.  Brody is honestly one of the most special and beautiful people I have ever met.  He has a soul that is so pure, honest and true and I am so lucky to call him my son.  I have been cherishing my time with him because we could have lost him and it is hard not to think of that when I look at his beautiful brown eyes.  

   

In terms of an update on how things are going with Brody - let me start by saying that he is stable now and is doing well – all things considered. 

It has been a tough couple of days to say the least, but Brody is now showing signs of improvement. 

After we discovered that his halo moved a few days ago, he needed another procedure.  It is called a traction, which involved removing the old halo, readjusting it in the correct position and adding two extra screws in his head.  They then attached the halo to a hook, which is connected to a pulley that is attached to a weight that hangs over the bed. 

                                                    

                                               

This almost medieval looking device that makes me feel like we are in the 1700s is intended to naturally pull the neck so that it allows the vertebraes of his spine to decompress and relieve the pressure to give the surgeons the opportunity to work with a “better” situation when they inevitably need to go in for surgery.

When Brody got this contraption he was then obviously ordered to be on hospital bed rest.  So everything he does, he does it from bed.  He eats with his head back and is of course on a pureed diet. His food is administered through a syringe so we have had to be very creative with how we give him his food.  He has Mac and cheese through a syringe, Chicken with mashed potatoes, green peas, cranberry sauce and gravy through a syringe. I even figured out a way to get his favourite (a chocolate chip muffin from Tim Hortons) watered down and put through a syringe.  I also discovered the squeezable PC organic fruit and vegetables purées that he absolutely loves and has one with every meal.  He eats these meals with his head back, very slowly and hooked up to a saturation monitor to ensure that he isn’t aspirating.  But – he is managing and is enjoying his food – as he always has.

He also has to go to the washroom in a bed pan lying down on his back - imagine how awkward that is.  Well – Brody just deals with it and makes it happen. He also watches TV with these special glasses that Childlife (thank you Alexis) brought to Brody, which has reflection lenses so that he can see what is happening at the end of the bed without moving.  It is pretty incredible! Brody is just dealing with everything and is doing it with very minimal moments of frustration.  When he gets upset I just give him a massage and he relaxes.  What a kid.  He is honestly the most resilient boy. 

    

When Brody had the procedure a few days ago, the position was not better (it was actually worse) and Brody was close to needing an emergency surgery to correct the issue.  Luckily, with repositioning and constant x-rays they were able to get him in a better position with better alignment.  This has shown to improve the state of his injury by decompressing the spinal cord and relieving some of that pressure.  If we can keep adding weights and get things aligned, than a successful surgery in January is more likely.  So – with each passing day we have this traction device doing its job – the better. I am just so hopeful that this will work. I really appreciate everyone’s thoughts and energy that is going towards my son – I do think it is helping us in some way. 

 

As for my other two amazing kids – they miss me.  They miss their brother.  And we miss them terribly.  They are being so wonderful and understanding during this time.  My daughter apparently wanted to sleep in Brody’s PJs the other night so that she can feel Brody.  Taylor is such a thoughtful and compassionate little girl.  I love her.  Cole keeps making cards for Brody and wants me to tell him how much he loves him.  I am so lucky to have such wonderful children with such empathy for their brother.  It makes me so proud to be their mom. They even came down today for a visit and we had the most wonderful time with them all together.  Brody squealed with excitement when they entered the room – the bond they share is one of a kind.  They have all had their extended stays in the hospital for different things and they have learned to roll with the punches and make the best of these kinds of situations.  I continue to learn from my children every day. 

Brody so excited to see his sister :)

                                   

                                                                              

Coley playing with Brody's iPad 

                                             

Thank you again for your love and support and happy holidays to everyone. Lots of love to you and your families.  

All my love,

Dana

xo