Dan Zane and Friends

About 2 weeks ago we went to the Dan Zane concert with some friends. We had a great time but the heat forced us out. It was very humid and there was no AC at the Concord High School. Since Carter still had his cast on - he was miserable! We spent about an hour at the concert then went with our friends to Friendlys for ice cream. It was such a great day out even though we were hot and sticky!!!

Better Late than Never!!

This post is about one week late! Carter got his cast off early due to some cast ISSUES! You can use your imagination if you have ever dealt with a spica cast! I will spare you the details. He is only wearing an ACE bandage. The past week he has been doing well and now is letting us take the ACE off for a couple hours a day. Soon he will go back to Next Step to start fitting for a new prosthesis. He is not walking on his little leg because it is VERY sensative. We are in the process of trying to de-sensatise his leg, but it is not that easy! Maggie brought a bean bucket big enough for both boys to fit in and that seems to help. We also are giving him tubbys with no ACE on. Hopefully soon we can get him in the pool, it will be the perfect therapy! So here is a picture of Carter right after he got his cast off.

So Natural for Chase to Help Others

Carter Asleep on Floor Covered in Chocolate

Boston Childrens Dr Clowns

Everytime Carter has surgery at Childrens Hospital we see the Dr Clowns. They come and visit in pre-op and in inpatient rooms. This time we were lucky enough to have them come to our room. Carter was just starting to feel good and it was just what he needed. Some very cute Laughing pics.

Carter Walking on his Cast

I told you he was walking on his cast! Literally NOTHING holds this child back!

Carter Meeting his Surgeon

This past week Carter met his surgeon. Dr Spencer will be doing Carter's surgery in place of Dr Kasser who is on medical leave for the summer.

Dr Spencer will be removing a little bit more of Carter's leg and making several revisions. One of the revisions will be cutting the tibia and the heel bone and fusing them together. She will also be cutting his achilles tendon and reattaching it to the bottom of his tibia not his heel pad like what was done in the 1st amputation. She will save some soft tissue to wrap over the bottom of his leg. This is in hopes to prevent the achilles tendon from pulling the heel pad back like it has done. There is a chance of changes to this plan while he is in surgery. Dr Spencer needed us to give her full permission to revise at her discretion. They are unable to really say for sure exactly what they will do once they open him up again. He will be in a cast like before and stay in the hospital until his pain is able to be managed at home.

His surgery date is June 16th. We will be going next week for pre-op to Childrens.

Thank you everyone for all your support during this rough time.

Here is a picture of Carter at his appointment with Dr Spencer last week at Childrens Hospital Boston in Waltham. I also took a picture of a beautiful tree outside our exam room that I have to show off.

Recliner Potatoes

Brothers Watching a Movie!!

Fishin' with my Dad

Chase got to use his new SpongeBob Fishing Pole that Grammy got him!

Daddy took Chase to Doors Pond, just the 2 of them for Chase's 1st Fishing Trip.

Ever since they got back it is all Chase has been able to talk about.

The Bee is Back in my Bonnet.....

I recently blogged about a bee in my bonnet and I HAD set the Bee free, BUT somehow that Bee is BACK!!

The blog entry I wrote about McDonald's was published in the Union Leader and I received a lot of emails, phone calls and mail about it. We even received a call from the owner of Mc Donald's telling us how much our story touched him. He even sent us a letter with gift certificates for the whole family. The negative experience really turned out to be a positive one!

We never stop going out as a family no matter how hard it is. I know some people might say "why is it so hard to go out"?, honestly sometimes we just want to be invisible when we go out or maybe blend in a little!

Today we took the kids to McDonald's Playplace for their Happy Meals and some indoor play fun. Every thing seemed to be going well. Chase and Carter were running around playing with the other kids very nicely. Then the dreaded moment came, a little boy starting calling Carter "The Monster Baby"!

Now I have said this a thousand times and I will say it again. "Out of the mouths of babes". No matter how innocent children are it still hurts a mother to hear those words. Mike and I just couldn't believe what was happening, again. The little boy kept running around the play place saying "where is the monster baby"?! After a few times of hearing this the tears started to well in my eyes. Id like to think Mike and I have developed tough skin but this still breaks our hearts. The parents did not stop the child and try to explain why Carter was different. Sound familiar, yes this is pretty much a repeat of my last Mc Donald's story. Again we sat listening to the kids talk about Carter while in the playplace and the parents did nothing. All the while Carter and Chase continue to play without a care in the world and have no idea what is going on. I only wish that they could stay so naive but I know someday Carter will hear the comments and understand that people are talking about him, staring at him and pointing at him. Some people might think that this would not happen.... people would not talk, stare or point, but trust me when I say it happens. Adults are the worst offenders of this rude behavoir. I ended up in the bathroom crying my eyes out so my son would not see me. When I came back the little boys were sitting at the table next to us eating and they started to ask questions. The mother did not seem to know what to say. Mike explained that just like the little boy had brown hair and brown eyes, Carter had one hand and one leg. Everyone is made differently by God. Mike offered to the little boys that when they were done eating they could come over and we would tell them all about Carter.

Some days I wonder why God made Carter different.

Mike and I know that Carter has changed peoples lives and will continue to make a difference in the world but we still can't help but wish he didn't have to go through life being different. Being stared at constantly. Being the center of attention every where he goes. Being faced with obstacles every day. When I was growing up I always hated my acne, I used to cry my eyes out because I looked different from the other kids. I can not imagine how Carter will deal with his differences. My complex about my acne seems so trivial compared to what Carter will be faced with.

Someone once told me "God gives special babies to special people". I wish someone would tell me if the sadness that comes with it will ever go away........

This Bee might be in my bonnet for a long time.....

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