Cast Free...and Lovin' Life!

~"But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds," declares the LORD.~ Jeremiah 30:17

On Friday, we took Sydney to have her casts taken off!!  It was the day we waited four long weeks (and two days) for!!  After what seemed like a long wait, a nurse brought us back to a room and took off her casts.  I was nervous about how Sydney would react to having them removed.  The best way I can describe her was that she seemed amazed.  She held very still while sitting in Blake's lap and watched the nurse and then immediately started rotating her wrists around and staring at her hands and seemed to be thinking, "there you guys are!!". 

Kisses in the waiting room

Skeletons

Still waiting...

Cast removal

"You're back!!"

Once the casts were off, Sydney's doctor came in to take out the pins (those yellow things you can see in the picture above).  Overall, she is very pleased with how her hands look.  Her left hand looks almost completely healed, just a little scabby.  Her right hand is the hand that required much more work.  It looks good as well, just not as good as the left.  It has some black scabs where a flap did not take fully.  The doctor says that what will most likely happen is the black scabs will fall off and pink, raw, and tender skin will be underneath. Dr. Patterson is so happy with the results that she asked us to come back in two weeks just for her curiosity. 

Sydney and Dr. Patterson (who is EIGHT month pregnant!)

The doctor assured us that it does not hurt to have the pins removed but that she would most likely cry because it feels weird.  I had already decided that I couldn't watch the pins being removed (they would have been picking me up off the floor).  I knew I had made the right decision when they brought in two LARGE pairs of pliers.  Luckily, Blake isn't squeamish in the least bit, so he held Sydney as the doctor and two nurses helped remove the pins.  Blake said he was shocked when they pulled them out...it seemed like they kept pulling and pulling before they were completely removed.  Here is a picture of one of the pins, which clearly went completely through her finger and into her hand.  Just compare the pin length to the thumb length of the nurse's hand holding the pliers and remember that Sydney has tiny hands. 

Wowzers!

After bringing Sydney home, we put her in the bath to help remove more of the scabbing.  I would love to say that she relaxed in the tub and was happy to be in it after not having one for over a month.  However, it was my bright idea to put her in the big tub rather than her smaller whale tub she was used to.  She didn't love the idea of being in the big tub, but we did get some of the scabbing off.  Her left hand looks almost completely healed, other than a bit of swelling.

Look at me...I'm holding this toy!

Since her casts have been removed there are so many things I took for granted before that I have relished watching now.  Here are just a few:

1. Sydney rubbing her eyes when she is tired.
2. Sydney being able to hold her toys independently.
3. Sydney being able to put her paci back in (OK, this is nice in the middle of the night, too).
4. Sydney grasping my face with her hands.
5. Sydney easily getting comfortable in her crib.
6. Sydney holding onto my fingers.

They may seem like small things, but they are such big things for us.  Blake and I are relieved to have her surgery and recovery behind us.  But I must say, I am mostly happy for Sydney...she is so glad to have her hands back!