4 Weeks Down!

Hello All,
     Well we've officially survived 4 weeks here in the 410! (that's the area code for those who don't know) We've been through a surgery, hospital stay, over a week without a car and now we've tackled finally getting into a routine of school, PT and leg lengthening and did I mention I took on a job last week too?! Why not, right?! Roll your eyes now but I'll get into the details about that later.  But first, check out this smiling face that I get to enjoy every day! Why can't we all be so happy when it comes to being in daily physical pain or just dealing with traffic...think about it!

 
   Adam and Matthew came out last weekend and Matthew stayed to day before flying off and Adam stayed for about a week.  He has come and gone and we enjoyed spending a lot of time playing ping pong and even giving mom a day off! We were even able to enjoy a nice breakfast with ballooning friends driving through town at a cute local place that was on 'Diners, Drive-ins and Dives' on the morning we took Adam to the airport. Zackary and I also ventured out on our own this past weekend to enjoy a movie, Zootopia. I highly recommend it! Baltimore is definitely not home but we are starting to get use to the roads, suburbs, weather and culture for sure. Oh and for the record, I miss my teenage boy (yes I said it) and my puppy very much so if you happen to see them please give them a big hug and tell them it's from me!!!
 
     Yesterday we saw the doctor for our second follow up.  The xrays came back great and the doctor was very pleased with the 1.4 cm separation you could see on the screen.  He said since his pain tolerance and flexibility has done great over the last week and a half they will allow him to continue lengthening 3 times a day.  He also mentioned that we will start to be able to see bone growth (hopefully) in the next xray we get in 2 weeks. When it comes to the bone growth we are praying for they upped his protein intake and asked him to be put on Silical; this is a supplement regiment that goes with his daily multivitiman that promotes bone growth.  It's an additional 7 pills a day (and $90 a month) but if he doesn't produce the bone then they will have to stop the lengthening and we definitely don't want that!  Dr H also said that Zackary is a poster child for incision healings and there are no signs of infections so this momma was able to take a big sigh of relief! Check out the growth on the xray....

     Now to that whole job comment...If anyone knows me just a little you know I can't just sit still.  Before we came out here I was working a few hours a week at my store, Buckle, and I loved it and miss it every day!  So, when my sister called and said she needed help doing computer work and answering phones a few hours a day mon-fri I couldn't resist.  It gives me a little bit of focused 'me time' while Zackary does school but don't worry it doesn't take away from our daily ping pong tournaments, weekly Taco Bell visits or anything else that Zackary finds important! :-) Also, even though it's small in the grand scheme of things all I can say is every penny counts. 

     We are one month into our 4 month stay and we are already almost half way through the money we raised before coming out here.  Please know that we are beyond grateful for every dollar that has been donated, they have been prayed over and spent wisely, I promise!  But if I could just take a quick moment and give you a snap shot of what it's like out here maybe you could take the time to spread our gofundme account just one more time, or think of one more person that could help out we'd appreciate it more then words can say!  The home we stay at is about $2000 a month.  That is a lot and we've looked into other places, (hopefully staying with family friends once our appointments aren't daily!) I even toured the Ronald Mcdonald House yesterday hoping that a room available would be worth the move (they are way less expensive and feed us daily!).  Sadly though coming out of there Zackary and I felt that it wasn't a good fit for us.  The hallways were tight and the bedrooms were even tighter.  They were not very wheelchair friendly and every turn we made I either hit a wall or had to pick up the wheelchair to maneuver.  If there ever comes a time when Zackary is in a wheelchair less then 90% of each day we will definitely look into it again!  Also, We are also having to go back and forth with our insurance company because we are only approved for 35 PT visits and we will need an excess of 100 by the time we leave and when insurance stops covering we will have to pay $200 per visit.  At this point it's looking promising for them to cover the next round of the 30 sessions requested but we have no clue when/if the approvals will stop.  These are just a couple of the things we have going financially not to mention food, airfare and other medical expenses so if anything if these could be things to pray about and let people know about.  Again, we thank every single person who has donated up to this point and all the good vibes are felt daily I promise!

    On that note I must bid you farewell.  It's time for lengthening, at home PT, casting and dessert ;-)  I hope this letter finds everyone well and I'll get back with you soon.

Until next time~
Momma Miller