An Answer to Pain - Week of Mar. 25th

"You do not need to know precisely what is happening or where it is all going.  What you need, is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope." ~Thomas Merton

One may wonder if Thomas Merton ever had a child in pain and felt helpless...
This week, we met with Cam's orthopedic surgeon on Thursday, the first official day of spring break.  As we reviewed his MRI results,  the doctor explained that Cam's left hip socket was slightly displaced (vs. completely dislocated as his right hip was 2 years ago) and there was fluid (white area) where the socket had moved.  The combination of the displacement and fluid, he indicated, were causing Cam's pain in his left leg.  Before leaving the office, we had surgery scheduled for April 17th knowing we would have one overnight in the hospital and 6 weeks of recovery.  A bit daunting, but knowledge is power and Cam seemed to take the information in stride and with acceptance.

The day took an upswing when Oma arrived late morning to spend time with her grandson. The two completed Cam's homework and then proceeded to pick out some games to play.  After a few rounds of Connect Four, one of the pieces had dropped and Oma and her grandson had a hilarious time trying to find it.  With the weather improving, a stroll outside was the perfect way to soak up some spring.  Even though Cam likes to roll ahead, he will still stop and wait to make certain his grandma is behind him.

As we begin our countdown to surgery, Cam can only find moderate comfort by sleeping in his powerchair at night.  Chris and Jane have tried multiple methods to keep their son's pain at bay.
Before he settles in for the night, his chair is accessorized and after a shower and clean teeth, he settles in.

It is not ideal but as we meet different challenges, we have learned to be an adaptive family.  After all, it was Albert Einstein who said, "The measure of intelligence is the ability to change."  We may all be bordering on genius level :)

Camology Quotes:

Cam typically chooses a different breakfast to eat most mornings.  He loves our homemade banana bread with chocolate chips and his dad talked him into adding peanut butter on top of a warmed piece.  The two of them experienced a belly-laugh moment when Chris thought Cam had a bruise on his eye...it was actually just a bit of p.b.!