Extreme Makeover!

The photo on the left is from the week prior to surgery.  Took the photo on the right of Sam today during his morning snack... couldn't believe the difference!  Thought you all would like to see it as well.  

Sam had a visit from his "big friends" yesterday, Riley & Blake.  I asked him what he meant by "big friends".  He said, "You know, friends who can talk... who aren't babies"  I got a pretty good laugh at that one.

We are going to the 1st birthday party of the baby (soon to be 1 year old!!!) I watch on Saturday. I'm taking Sam to pick a present & out to lunch today.  He's excited! 

Take care everyone!  We love you!  Team Arrandale

Protecting the noggin...

Gigi Cheryl took this photo today of Sam in his protective helmet.  Yes, that's a Superman sticker from Karah Brown on the front & of course there is a big truck sticker on the back.  "Sam's" is written on the side of the truck.  Stickers were made by our friend Carissa Shillito.   

Cranio (sagittal) synostosis

What the heck is craniosynostosis?  Say it with me now!  Sam was born on Jan 2nd, 2005 with a birth defect called Craniosynostosis.  Normally, babies are born with 7 distinct bones or plates in their skull.  This allows for the exponential brain growth that occurs during the first few years of life as well as being helpful for the molding of the skull during a vaginal birth. Most 2 year olds have achieved 90% of the size of their adult skull.  By the age of 6 or 7, our skull is as large as it will ever be.  Then for years, really until we are about 30, our skull continues to thicken & harden.  Most of us are familiar with "softspots" in babies, one on the top of their heads & one in the back.  These "softspots" are actually where four or more of the bones meet.  The lines in between the bones are called sutures.  These sutures normally remain open to allow for growth for a number of years.   Sam was diagnosed @ 4 wks old with severe Scaphocephaly, which is the premature closure of the sagittal suture.  The closed suture restricted growth of Sam's skull from side to side.   The skull compensates by growing taller & longer from front to back.

This photo is of Sam at 3 months old.

First theatre movie!

Sam's cousin Rhys was born right before Christmas & between the chaos of our "quarantine", new baby, Christmas, Sam's birthday & surgery...  we hadn't yet got a photo-op of the two.  Yesterday, Gigi Cheryl (Kelli's mom) came over to take care of Sam so Kelli could go back to work.  They went to visit Aunt Jenny & Rhys!  Everyone had a good day...  (Sam is wearing his UnderArmor skullcap)

Then when mom & dad got home, the whole family went to see "Alvin & The Chipmunks", which was Sam's first movie in the theatre.  At first, Sam was a bit overwhelmed by the size of the screen, the noise & the fact that Mom made him whisper all of his questions.  He loved the music & the dancing & giggled quite a bit.

Gigi Cheryl mentioned to Sam last night that Coops (the almost one year old we get to take care of on M,W.F) was going to be back today.  He was SO excited.  "REALLY???" 

today should be fun!

Bionic Sam

Hi everyone!  Sorry we didn't get anything posted over the weekend.  Here is a pic of Sam @ lunch today.  So 3 days from the last photo.  His swelling goes down a little bit more every day!  His balance seems better as well.  Yesterday some friends from church came to visit & brought their boys.  It was great to spend some time talking with them.  Another friend Lu brought dinner & it was amazing!

We are starting to notice many of the plates & screws right now which make his head look a bit uneven.  For those of you facinated by science (like myself)...  the stitches, plates & screws are all made of materials that will break-down over time & be absorbed by Sam's body.  We were told that the entire process takes 6-9 months normally but can take up to a year.  So, from our perspective, Sam's head can essentially look differently on any given day.  Underneath all of those plates, Sam's skull will be repairing itself & filling in bone.  

Our normal schedule begins again today which Ted & I were both looking forward to.  Ted went back to work today so I am home with Sam.   Tomorrow I head back to work & then on Wednesday, the almost 1 year old I get to take care of will be here with us.  I've missed him & so has Sam!

We love you all!  Thanks for all your prayers & support...

Happy Valentine's Day (Belated)

http://video.google.com/videop...

Here is a link to a video of Sam playing guitar on Wednesday night.  Thought it would be fun for you all to see that his LITTLE personality is back in full-force.

Our top 10 list: (of today)

10. We stayed up way too late last night watching Season 3 of Scrubs.  Thank you Wendy Bell.

9.  We both slept through the night the past 2 nights.  Thank you Sam Arrandale.

8.  You all are much better cooks than I am.  Thank you gracious friends.

7.  We both go back to work next week.  Thank you lousy non-winning lottery ticket.

6.  We have seen WAY TOO MUCH of Thomas's Halloween Adventure.  Thank you England.

5.   We completely forgot about Valentine's day.  Thank you perspective.

4.  We have been able to catch up with a lot of new and old friends who have come by to visit or call us, thank you visitors of the quarantined.

3.  Our 3 year old now owns an "Under Armor" skullcap... which Kelli had never heard of but has made the helmet experience SO much easier.  Thank you professional football.

2.  Watching Sam-I-Am rock out on his new guitar.  Thank you Ron, Carol & Aunt Shannon!

1.  We have had all our needs met...  thank you community...  thank you God.

Yook, no hands!

Went for our first follow up visit with Dr. Singhal today, which meant that Sam got to wear his cool helmet for the first time since leaving the hospital on Friday. It has since been decorated with some very cool stickers. The doctor's office was FULL of kids and adults, and Sam was ready to play!
When we got to see Dr. Singhal he said that Sam is looking good and that he'd like to see him again in about 3-4 weeks. While we were there, we saw lots of beautiful little kiddos that were going to be needing surgery for various cranio-facial reasons. Kelli and I are very grateful for the fact that we should be all done with surgeries. The doctors advised us that instead of wrapping his head in gauze every time we strapped on the helmet to look into a "skull cap"; the kind that football players wear under their helmets. Kelli picked one up at the local sporting goods store and now Sam looks just a real NFL player.
After the doctor's office we decided to brave the cold and visit a park by our house. Sam had a blast going down the slides, climbing the "yadders", and riding the tractor.
We've had lots of visitors which has been really fun. Everyday, Sam acts more and more like his old self. The other day he started talking with his left hand again, and Kelli and I about fell over laughing. We'd forgotten how much he made us laugh. After his nap today Sam's friends Blake and Riley A. stopped by to play. It was the first time in over a month that Sam had to got to play with (or even see) some of his friends. It was so much fun! He also spent some time rocking out with his guitar.
Kelli and I have been enjoying time at home with each other and Sam. We've also been very tired at the end of each day. We'd forgotten how much work it is to make sure that he doesn't bonk his head. It didn't help that we were up every 3-4 hours to give him some medicine, but he should be just about done with regular doses.
It's hard to believe that just 8 days ago he basically had his head completely rebuilt.
Thanks again for all the great cards, meals, prayers (we've felt them and needed them!), and visits.
Until next time,
Peace.

A few rounds with Apollo Creed...

This is Kelli this time...  so due warning if it's not as funny as when Ted updates:)  Things are going very well at home.  You can see by the photo that the swelling seems to be getting worse before it gets better.  Part of that is due to Sam's refusal to stay sleeping upright. The kid just demands to sleep on his stomach...  & since I can't stay up all night days on end like I did in college, it seems he will have his way!

Sam is sleeping really well, eating really well & really glad to be back with all his trucks.  We've had wonderful visits from friends!  We are so grateful for the meals that are being provided...  it has been so great to be able to focus all our attention on Sam-I-Am for now.  He's still pretty weak so needs help walking & standing for any length of time.  He's fiercely independent so that is causing him some frustration.  

His pain is pretty manageable right now.  He refused tylenol/codeine the first time we tried to give it to him on Friday night so he's been down to alternating tylenol & ibuprofen since we came home.  Ted and I have split the night-time watch.  I get the pleasure of sleeping on Sam's floor to be there if he wakes up disoriented & tries to get out of bed.  Ted gets the pleasure of waking up a few times a night to give Sam medicine.  We both have this week off from work & we can't imagine doing it any other way.

Sam will need to wear a protective helmet for the next 3 months in the car & anytime he is active (might hit his head)...  So we will be laying low playing quiet games, reading, working puzzles, doing art, watching movies etc.  

We have settled in pretty well!  Feel free to visit.  Sam has been getting up around 9am.  He goes down for a nap after lunch & is back up around 4pm.  So late morning is a good time.  Or late afternoon, early evening.  Give us a call...  We would love to see you!  Thanks for your love, support, encouragement, prayers, food, & fun gifts to keep Sam busy these next 3 months!

There's no place like home!

We made it home today!!!

We woke up, Sam ate a huge breakfast (pancakes, muffin, hash-browns, and juice), and then he was fitted for his shiny new crash helmet. When he's wearing it he looks like a hockey player that took a puck to the face.

We spent the day packing, going over our paperwork, and waiting on the official "okay, you are free to leave" from the hospital staff. We got home a little after 4 pm.

When we got home, Sam sat on the couch and said, "I'm SOOO happy I'm home!" He ate some pudding, bread, and washed it all down with some chocolate milk. We watched some Thomas videos (for the 6 billionth time) and he was ready for bed by 7pm.

We moved our mattress into his room and are looking forward to the slumber party.

Thanks to everyone who visited, called, texted, Facebooked, and fed us. We look forward to seeing you all really soon. We're not really going anywhere in the near future so feel free to drop by visit.

Until next time,
Peace.

Here he is!

After a great night of sleep (Sam only woke up a few times, mostly when the nurses were in there giving him medicine or checking his vitals; but he did wake up on his own twice. Once, he was looking for his binky, and the other time he couldn't see Dad due to a pillow blocking his view) Sam woke up and ate a few bites of hash browns.
Two members of the surgical team showed up to remove his bandages and the his "fluid drain line thingy".

We all were pretty anxious as I'm sure can imagine. After they got the bandages off, they noticed that he had a ton of fluid over his right eye so they sort of "milked" it towards his drain hole. Sam was not a fan of this process and was immediately given both Tylenol with Codeine as well as an I-V narcotic pain killer.

But he is now the proud owner of a "normal" shaped head.

Sam spent the majority of the rest of this morning and afternoon zoning in and out of sleep.

As soon as I got home to write this, Kelli called to let me know that he was now wearing some jammies and is in the playroom located on our floor! How cool is that?

I've posted all the photos from today on my Facebook account.

Looks like we're headed home tomorrow, so we might not be able to post anything new until then.

Until next time,
Peace.

Day 2

First, thank you all for your wonderful comments, support, email, prayers, visits, food, etc...couldn't do this without you.

So Kelli calls me this morning at 6:15am and tells me that Sam had a rough night. Evidently he spent some time vomiting and had to have his sheets changed a few times. Unfortunately, Bear was not spared from the onslaught, so "Back-Up Bear" was needing to make an appearance today. Kelli asked me to please hurry up and get there as she had got no sleep.

So I'm hustling around, packing, slamming coffee, etc. and then I see that we'd received a few inches of the heaviest, wettest snow. So I go ahead and do a quick shovel and I'm off to the hospital.

When I arrived Kelli and the nurse were putting a new gown on Sam and they informed me that breakfast was on the way. We were able to get two bites of oatmeal down as well as some sips of apple juice before he went to sleep. Kelli told me that after he vomited they had to put him back on a narcotic I-V drug but that we could try some Tylenol with Codeine later. He no longer had the catheter and that I was going to get to show him how "airplane pilots do it" with a jug.

Kelli left for home for some much needed and deserved rest. Sam was restless, so I asked for the medicine. The nurse told me that Kelli had had a hard time getting him to take it during the night so she was leaving it to me. I tried to give him some and he turned into a karate expert; deflecting and blocking every attempt I made. Even when I tried to give it to him in his sleep he woke up and went Chuck Norris on me!

The nurse wound up giving him a non-narcotic I-V pain killer at 12pm.

My folks arrived and Kelli's mom and grandma showed up shortly after; so I went down to eat in cafeteria. No sooner had I sat down then my dad arrives to tell me that they'd moved him to a real room, out of the PICU!! Yay!

I got up there as quick as i could, and he was uncomfortable, moving around, and actually asking to "go out there" (the hallway). He asked for me so I put him in my lap and that didn't work either. Turns out he just needed to pee, and boy did he let loose. After that we had about a minute or two of "old Sam"; smiling, laughing, and he even cracked a few jokes.

He slept off and on for a few hours, and as of this writing he has not been back in his bed since he went to my lap. He's spent time with Gigi Cheryl and most importantly, Mom.

He has eaten a few blueberries, part of a banana, part of a cookie, and some chocolate ice cream; and has held everything down.

Speaking of mom: around 2:30 Kelli called to check on us and to tell us that she would be at the hospital soon. She would have been there sooner but she had had some issues throughout the day.

After she got home she laid down, but the phone kept ringing, so after a while she shut the ringer off and tried to get some sleep. Soon after that she heard a knock at the door and when she opened it, there was city employee there and asked her if "that was her car", pointing to the street.
Evidently, after she parked and went inside, the car had slid out into the street, almost hit my Jeep parked on the other side, and was blocking traffic. So she moved the car, visited with some neighbors, and then returned home to lay down. Shortly after that her alarm went off. She decided that she needed to actually sleep for a while so she turned it off and got some much deserved z's.

Thanks again for all the support. We seem to be "seeing the end of the trees in the forrest".

We were told today that Sam will get his dressing removed tomorrow. He'll also be fitted for his new helmet, and that we might be discharged as early as Friday.

Until next time,
Peace.

Day 1: over=now we can sleep!...sort of

Confession time,
I don't think Kelli or I slept all that well last night; maybe we had something on our minds?

Day one recap:

Papa Gene picked us up at 5:38 a.m. We got to the hospital, got checked in, and then Sam and I played in the waiting room while we waited to be called back to our "special" waiting room. They called us back and Sam was weighed and had all of his vitals taken.

We then met with various, amazing medical people from CMH, including Dr. Singhal. They gave Sam a little medicine to "take the edge off", and he got goofy! He informed Mom and Dad that he was feeling "Yoopy." For those of you that don't know, Sam pronounces his L's as Y's.

He was wheeled off in a very cool wagon (by his Aunt Jenny, who happens to be a nurse at CMH-which makes saying goodbye so much easier) a little after 8-am. We all then waited in the waiting room for several hours. We had several visitors, and several who stayed the whole time.

The nursing staff did an amazing job of keeping us updated every hour or so. Actually, it was an old friend from Kelli's school that was our main updater.

The first incision was made at 9:15am and at 2:15pm we were informed that they were closing him up and that Dr. Singhal would be down shortly to visit with Kelli and I.

Dr. Singhal was very happy, upbeat, and all smiles as he reported that he was able to accomplish everything that he wanted to do, plus, as an added surprise; he was able to get rid of Sam's old scar from his 1st surgery.

He said they were able to lower the height of his skull, widen it, round out the back, tip his forehead back a little bit, and round out his forehead as well so that he wasn't so "bossy".

We were able to catch a quick glimpse of him on his way to the PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit). After he got settled in the PICU, we were able to go back and visit. Mom and Gigi Cheryl first (I was out fetching some bags from the car) and then I got to see him. What a sight!

He even woke up a little when I showed up, and asked for some water. He told me that he wanted to hold his sippy cup and after he finished it, he told me that now he wanted, "A yot and yot of yittle bit" (Samspeak for a lot). Paul and Darla Turner stopped by with some dinner and Sam was even up for giving Paul some "Dap"!

Kelli is staying there with Sam in the PICU tonight, we should have a real room tomorrow.

I'm posting only one pic here, but will create an album on both Kelli's and my Facebook sites.

You can also view it here http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=91047&l=64d58&id=747070356

Thanks to all who prayed, visited, and fed us today. It was a long day and we definitely couldn't have made it without you and your prayers.

Hopefully I'll have another update tomorrow.

Until then,
Peace.

And they're off...

Well, it's 4:55am, we've been up for an hour drinking coffee and packing. We are to report to the hospital by 6:30a.m. Kelli's Dad (aka: Papa Gene) is supposed to arrive at 5:45a.m.; which means that he's probably already here, he's just driving around the neighborhood until our designated pick-up time.

I took Sam to CMH yesterday for his final lab work, and he was not definitely not okay with the nurse poking his hand with a needle. He was pretty brave, though, as well as funny. (Crying) "I want my Dad!!" He was sitting on my lap, which I pointed out to him. He responded with, "Then I want my mom!"

He was all done shortly after she began, and then he got to pick out a sticker and a toy.

We spent our "last day" together doing things as a family. We had take out from Chili's (Sam's request, I swear) and watched Halloween Thomas videos (Kelli's request, I swear). He took a bath, and we read tons of books together.

It was great.

Thanks to everyone who called to check up on us. It is most appreciated.

Surgery starts around 7:30 and is scheduled to last around 5 hours. He'll spend some time in recovery and then be moved to the pediatric ICU, where he will spend the night. He should be moved into a real room sometime tomorrow.

Feel free to visit, call, email, pray, or just shoot some good vibes our way.

Thanks again to everyone for all of your support, we love you!

And, yes, that is his new guitar with an oversized pick.