Look at me....return trip to St. Louis

We just returned from good ole St. Louie and Amelia is now in her final set of casts. Hallelujah and Praise the Lord!!! This set is short-legged and she is now allowed to bear weight.

Elise wanted to go back to St. Louis so badly, so she went along this time. Fortunately, I was blessed to have my sister accompany me on the trip. I'm a brave woman, some might even say fearless, but traveling the six hours, alone, with two toddlers, is not my idea of fun or smart. So, the four of us piled in "Betty" (the name of my Envoy), and off we went.

Traveling this time of year is different. By the time we arrived in St. L, it was already dark and raining~yulk. We checked in and decided to venture out of the hotel and by pass Applebees for dinner. We trudged down Euclid and found a nice Pasta House, ate a delicious dinner with a lovely glass of wine and headed back to the hotel for some serious "bed jumping". Yes, that's right. Elise only wants to come along to jump on the hotel beds. I don't allow that sort of shenanigans at home, but someone else's bed is just fine to jump on. She had a little trouble getting her groove on and the first jump found her bouncing on to the second bed with too much momentum and hitting the wall. Couldn't help but laugh at that one. She quickly regrouped, reduced the height of her first bounce and landed the second bounce with a perfect 10. Amelia cheered her on since she could only sit on the bed and observe.

Once again, we had the "strategic" 7:30 a.m. appointment~no waiting~and went directly into a room when we arrived. Amelia starts to get a little weary since she knows the casts are going to be cut off. Mind you, the saw just makes a great deal of noise but it won't cut her. The gentlemen who was doing the cutting is so very nice and does an excellent job. As I sat on the table with her, I started to ponder the possibility that there may be things shoved down into those casts. Over the past week, Elise has caught Amelia storing various items down in her casts. I've retrieved a puzzle piece and a few other toys. I prayed there was nothing embarrassing down there. Fortunately, all that come out of one cast was a tootsie roll wrapper. She was probably trying to hide the evidence. It made for a pretty light moment.

Next came the tough part...removing the "buttons". I've renamed the buttons, discs. There is no way that huge, bump-of-a-thing, can be called a button. Silly me, thought they would just come in and snip the stitches and remove it. Ha~ Silly Me, is right. As I sat on the table, with Amelia between my legs, holding her feet up, the resident doctor just YANKED the first button off. I was shocked, so was Amelia. Fortunately, it happened so quickly, there wasn't much time for a reaction. She whimpered very so slightly, but continued to eat her goldfish. Then came the second foot. This one didn't work out so well. He couldn't pull the stick out. So he sat there, pulling and tugging on that "button" while I held her foot up. Amelia was whaling, Elise was crying and had to leave the room and things were starting to get a little dicey for me. Finally, he had the good sense to realize that stitch wasn't coming out and he cut it close to the foot. After he left the room, I had to head to the sink and get a nice, cold cloth to drape across the back of my neck. Candy said I was looking a little peeky.

After the drama, I took a baby wipe and cleaned her little toes, the toes that have been couped up in those darn casts for over six weeks now. Her skin was flaky and instantly started to fall off around her. Amelia started removing the larger pieces her self. As I cleaned her toes, I gently massaged her legs and took notice of her feet. I was thrilled with how straight they looked! It was is an amazing difference.

Now she is in short legged casts with blue velcro shoes and she is allowed to stand and try to walk. To say the least, her legs are very weak. But she's already standing and trying to take some steps. The casts are heavy and the shoes are bulky, but she is so very excited. The first time she stood up she smiles, looked up at me and say..."Look at me! I'm standing!" My heart exploded for her. Her spirit is amazing and her determination will be the force that has her running by summer time.

It's good to be home and sleep in my own bed. Steve is returning in two weeks to have the final set of casts and I plan on staying home. During the return trip~I finally figured out that I have been to St. Louie eight times this year. I guess I've been so caught up in the day-to-day work, that I just wasn't thinking about how many times I've driven there. Or maybe I'm just in a state of denial~a place I like to go to cope with stressful situations. I always return from denial, it just takes me some time. I'm giving up control and letting Steve do this trip. I will be hard for me, but I'm going to do it! Pray for me ;-)

Enjoy the trip pics. I've also included a video of Amelia doing a somersault in her casts. Nothing stops her. She can't wait to join Elise in dance class~won't that be a hoot!!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow Somersaults:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSr-3YcBiuk