Written a week ago...
I'm currently on a London bus with Squeaky and Mr Gin.
We are off to the Royal London Hospital for the cast change.
The end is nigh for our purple cast. It is good it is going. Squeaky is growing
fast and it is obviously getting too small. His belly button was hidden when he
first went in it. Now it clear of the top of the cast.
It has been a journey. It took two weeks for all of us to
settle into a routine with the cast. It was not dissimilar to the first few
weeks after he was born, sleepless nights and tears all round.
The shining light through those days was the check up after
the operation. Ms Bijlsma was very pleased. So pleased, she waited at the door
of her office to tell us it looked good. The x-ray shows the ball in a good
position. The socket looks a bit shallow, so there is a possibility of a brace
after. Only at night though.
The cast has been a learning experience at a very quick
rate. It took a lot of nappies to sort out the right size. The swelling created
issues to begin with. We also had a number of leaks. The general advice it to
use a hair dryer to dry the cast. That was okay except Squeaky is terrified of
noise, hysterical crying and shaking.
This has meant we have had to make do with flannels to soak
most of the wee. This lead to smells and a two pronged attack of tea tree oil
and a popular fabric deodorising spray. It still smells. So glad to see it go.
Later in the day:
The cast has been changed. Squeaky did well, he has very
little reaction to a general anesthetic besides wanting cuddles and sleep. He
is such a resilient kid, it makes me so proud. He was much better once he had
some snacks.
Annoyingly the opening for his nappy was right over his bits
which meant a trip to see the lovely plaster technician, Derek. He made the
hole bigger but it is still awkward. Also the cast is white. Meh.
We were finished by lunch and as we had all been awake since
5 am breakfast was long ago so we headed to the restaurant. Squeaky and I
shared lunch with him perched on my knee as we ate shepherd's pie. High chairs
out just don't work.
We headed home, Squeaky with his pristine cast and Mr Gin
and I relieved we are on the downward stretch of this journey.
