Steppin' On Up!!!

I wonder what Carter will think when he is an adult and looks back at this picture?????


What shall I do with his old prosthetic leg, looking for any clever ideas on how to save it for him.....display it......

Carter Gets His New Leg

Today was the BIG day! Carter got his new leg!

Even though Carter has been out of his Prosthetic for about 2 weeks he did unbelievable when we introduced his new leg to him. Carters immediate acceptance of the Prothetic shows how great the quality and comfort is for him. This leg couldn't be any perfect if it was his own! I am just thrilled with it! The enitre team at Next Step O&P made Carter a beautiful leg! Thanks Guys!!!!! Even the girls who work in the office stood at the door watching Carter try out his new leg. We saw a little girl named Hailey that we met last week. She is so cute and Chase just warmed right up to her - giving her hugs and everything. Chase is not forgotten when we go to Next Step. The guys get right down with Chase and play with him. The girls shower him with stickers, bubbles and sometimes FOOD!!! Chase loves going to Next Step I think he thinks it is HIS place. I guess everything at 3 years old is HIS. Daddy had to work so Auntie Mary stepped up in his place. Thanks to Auntie we have great pictures from the entire process. We go back in about a week to check up and see how Carter is doing with his new Prosthetic.

While we were at the appointment one of the girls in the office told me that Carter is now on their website. Throughout the website you can find one of his 1st pictures at Next Step. The link to the website is on my main blog page. Check it out and please share if you like!!!

Carter's Leg Step 2 ~ Socket Fitting

Several days after the casting we go back to Next Step O&P for a socket fitting. Basically they made a test socket to try out on Carter. We put on his liner and his sock then the test socket. Scott is able to see if they need to make adjusments and if there are any hot spots on Carters leg. If there were adjusments to be made they would make a 2nd test socket but this one was just darn perfect. The test socket goes back to the fabricators and they make the finished product.

Here are some pictures of the Test Socket fitting.

Carter's New Leg ~ Step 1 Casting

About two weeks ago we went to Next Step Orthotics and Prosthetics to start the process for Carter to get a new leg. Before we knew it Carter had grown out of his 1st prosthetic leg. The process starts with a casting of his leg. Scott Cummings, his Prosthetist, actually casts his little leg over his liner so that the socket of his prosthetic leg will fit accordingly. A little bit of FYI .... we 1st put a gel liner on Carter's leg before he wears his prosthetic, then a sock over the liner, then finally the leg, LOTS of layers to his prosthetic, but that is what keeps it on. Once Scott was done casting him he slipped the cast right off his leg and had a beautiful mold. The next step (no pun intended) is for the fabricators at Next Step O&P to create a TEST socket. Another FYI....Carters prosthetic is in 2 parts. The foot and the socket - which is the piece that goes over his leg and ends just above his knee. The entire time Carter was being casted he say on my lap smiling at Scott. Not a tear was shed. Im not sure if that is because Carter is such a good boy or because Scott is such a good Prosthetist!!! Auntie Mary came along to take pictures in Daddy's place and to help with Chase. Chase was running from room to room as per his usual making friends.

Here are some pictures of Step 1 - Casting.

Summer Fun

We are having so much summer fun that I have not even had time to Blog!

BBQ's, Swimming, Park and play dates have filled our days. I started back to work this week after about 20 months of being a stay home Mom. It is not a permanent thing. At the moment I am scheduled for 2 weeks. Toady went Swimmingly, It was like riding a bike, I almost felt like I had bever left. So for 2 weeks I will miss some of the summer fun but I think Mommy needs a break from everday norm. Mike is working 2nd shifts and weekends so we don't even need a sitter.

HOUSE HUNTING has begun, AGAIN! Took a little break from house hunting but since I am back to work and my day revolves around real estate and purchase closings it is kinda hard not to think about how bad I want us to be in our house. I have a mission to be in a house by November 2007 the latest. Which means I have a lot of hard work to do!!!

Next Step is working on a new leg for Carter because he has outgrown his 1st one. We are very excited to see how he does in a new leg. We went to a board meeting at Easter Seals where we were the guest family. Basically we met with about 12 people who are interested in donating to Easter Seals and they were there to see how everything works. So we sat with them told them are story and they asked questions. It was very nice - everyone was so impressed with Carter and Chase. Best of all we bumped into Mike's friend from high school, Pam. She is going to get Carter involved in some Easter Seals publications both video and newsletter. Could Carter be the next Poster Boy??? How cute huh?

Well here are 2 new pics that I thought were cute. I hope to post more slideshows everyone seems to like those.