Journal entry by Karen Weaver —
It has been a whirlwind trip for Nicholas and I these last 13 days or so. We hit the ground running with appointments, beginning the day after our arrival, and continued to have appointments all the way up until yesterday! We are currently in NY awaiting our flight back home to West Africa. :)
Good News
1) Nicholas was able to see the prosthetist on Jan 31, the day after our arrival! This was so great bc Bud (prosthetist-extraordinare) was able to make some adjustments right away to Nick’s prosthesis, enabling him to be back up & walking! It was truly the best present ever, as it was my bday! 😉 We were both overjoyed to put the crutches aside!
2) Nicholas’ rehabilitation doctor wrote a script making it possible for him to have several Physical Therapy sessions. We are super thankful that Nick’s former PT was able to see him 4 times during this short visit.
3) Nicholas was fitted for a new slimmer socket for his everyday leg and cheetah! And, he finally decided to give a thicker sleeve a try, in the socket, which he now loves and is finding it to be way more comfortable! We are hopeful that the new socket (& adjustments) will last until we return again in June.
4) Nicholas was able to see the surgeon, rehab doctors and psychologist last Wednesday—which was super great! They were pleased that his wound has healed so well and how well he is doing overall.
5) Nicholas enjoyed getting to see some of his friends and extended family, as did I! While we wish we didn’t need to come back to the US for medical reasons, we are so glad that we can, that we have such great medical care AND that we get to see loved ones—a true blessing & gift!
Tricky News
While our visit overall has been very good, productive & necessary, we did find out some tricky news.
1) The X-ray last Wednesday revealed that Nicholas’ tibia has grown—faster than the doctors anticipated. In order to help slow the bone growth, they put Nick on some meds for the next 6 weeks (no, it won’t affect his overall growth—he’s sprouted up to 5’ 6” already in just 3 months!!) As you can imagine Nicholas (and me too!) was nervous and anxious, as he wondered if he was going to need more surgery or if the bone would break through his skin. The doctors were very reassuring and encouraging, and are not overly worried about him needing surgery at this time. They will take new X-rays and reassess the limb in June. Please pray that the meds slow down the growth in his residual limb and that they won’t bother his stomach (he’s on a different med to counteract the other one).
2) As a result of discomfort for most of January & not being able to run/workout for nearly 3 weeks, Nicholas’ right leg has become pretty weak. This setback means that he will not be able to run in the Olympics races (on 2/21) that his school does every February—which has been his goal since his surgery back in June. 😢 Understandably, Nick was pretty bummed to receive this news. While we know he could run in the 1 mile or 5k races, because he likes to push himself, doing so could cause injury to his knees or hips, because of the weakness in his right leg. He agreed with his PT to hold off for now. However, he did get clearance to run in a couple of the sprint races, the long and broad jumps and even high jump if he desires. I reminded Nicholas that he already hit the 5k milestone a while back, and that is something to cheer, considering all he’s been through. Please pray for him to continue to be ‘ok’ with the change in plans and trust it is what is best. He is accepting of this, but it’s still hard.
Nick is looking forward to being back home in the warm sunshine of West Africa and returning to school. Please pray for him to catch back up after missing about 2 weeks.
On another note, because so many have inquired, Georgia had her cast removed and is doing well—still healing but happy to be free of the cast!
We are so so thankful for the many prayers that were offered up on our behalf while we have been Statedude—the Lord was so faithful and each need was met! We are so grateful for your support and encouragement! 💜
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Last chance for McDonalds 😉🍟
Good friends, Connor & Andy, and their awesome German Shepherd, ...
Cheetah
Cousins ❤️
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