A long update
In support of
Leah Catlin's Burn Support
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Leah Catlin's Burn Support
It’s been a few days so settle in. This one might be a little longer 🙂
Leah’s had a pretty good couple of days. We settle in a bit and then mix it up every time we have a burn clinic appt. A couple things have been hard over the last few days.
1.) Our little Leah is a smart little cookie and she has figured out when it’s time to do her stretches. This has led to some really big, devastating meltdowns. These outbursts are new to Leah since the accident. It’s really, really hard to be see her during these moments. She screams, thrashes, refuses to be held and throws herself around in pretty dangerous ways. The stretching time is especially hard on mom and dad emotionally. Putting your child in pain multiple times a day is exhausting.
2.) Leah has also become very skilled at getting her braces off even though both hands are splinted at the same time. Even though she’s only needed them for sleeping until today’s appointment we found ourselves having to be extremely watchful that she hadn’t gotten them off while sleeping.
Then comes today’s burn clinic appointment. It’s was scheduled for an hour and 4 hours later we were still there. As soon as we pulled into the parking garage Leah knew why we there. She really really wanted to convince us that Josiah needed to be seen and not her. We have the sweetest team of providers but man Leah really doesn’t like them. She associates the whole space with pain so she’s on edge before anything is said or done.
THE PRAISE! Her burns all are looking good and healed. She did get a mosquito bite on her right wrist that turned into a blister but they said even that looked ok. Leah’s left hand and arm is doing so well she doesn’t have to wear her left splint any longer.
THE HARD! Leah’s pinky finger is incredibly tight and became a complicated part of the appointment. Initially they wanted to tweak her current brace. They explored all sorts of options and as soon as they thought everything was adjusted they realized that within a nanosecond Leah was able to wiggle her itty bitty pinky straight out of the position it needed to stay in. (Now picture screaming, thrashing, sobbing and having to hold her down in between every single itty bitty change they try on her brace). After 2 hours they realized Leah had reached her threshold and we were going to have to try a totally different option. They agreed Leah needed some anxiety medication and a break so they sent us off to the cafeteria for some lunch. After reviewing the 6 different option, it was determined that Leah would be put into a full arm cast on her right arm. This was decided for a couple reasons…first, Leah needs full time splinting for the pinky contracture. Second, girlie canNOT wiggle out of the cast positioning. Third, mom and dad will not have to do any stretching because the cast is doing it already. (This third one is a huge break emotionally for all of us) They moved us to the play gym for casting and had a big team ready to hold her down but the change of scenery, team members and medications helped a ton and Leah did soooooo much better while they casted her. She still had some tears but was able to be playfully distracted but toys, snacks and of course Paw Patrol.
What’s next- Leah will stay in this cast for one week. Assuming it stays completely dry, Leah will return to clinic next week for another cast. She will be casted with a new cast every week for the next 3 weeks as they progress the stretching to a full straight position. In two weeks her new sleeves and gloves should be ready. She will probably get her left one and start wearing it while they continue casting the right arm.
It’s really impossible to describe how exhausting these appointment are on us.
Ways to pray:
*Continue praying for miraculous healing of her pinky finger.
*Pray that her sensitive skin doesn’t react to the cast materials. And that the cast remains completely dry for the next week. If wet at all it has to come off immediately.
*Pray for emotional regulation for Leah. They want to watch this pretty closely to make sure she isn’t developing PTSD.
*Sleep.
Thank you for your prayers, love, and support!
Leah’s had a pretty good couple of days. We settle in a bit and then mix it up every time we have a burn clinic appt. A couple things have been hard over the last few days.
1.) Our little Leah is a smart little cookie and she has figured out when it’s time to do her stretches. This has led to some really big, devastating meltdowns. These outbursts are new to Leah since the accident. It’s really, really hard to be see her during these moments. She screams, thrashes, refuses to be held and throws herself around in pretty dangerous ways. The stretching time is especially hard on mom and dad emotionally. Putting your child in pain multiple times a day is exhausting.
2.) Leah has also become very skilled at getting her braces off even though both hands are splinted at the same time. Even though she’s only needed them for sleeping until today’s appointment we found ourselves having to be extremely watchful that she hadn’t gotten them off while sleeping.
Then comes today’s burn clinic appointment. It’s was scheduled for an hour and 4 hours later we were still there. As soon as we pulled into the parking garage Leah knew why we there. She really really wanted to convince us that Josiah needed to be seen and not her. We have the sweetest team of providers but man Leah really doesn’t like them. She associates the whole space with pain so she’s on edge before anything is said or done.
THE PRAISE! Her burns all are looking good and healed. She did get a mosquito bite on her right wrist that turned into a blister but they said even that looked ok. Leah’s left hand and arm is doing so well she doesn’t have to wear her left splint any longer.
THE HARD! Leah’s pinky finger is incredibly tight and became a complicated part of the appointment. Initially they wanted to tweak her current brace. They explored all sorts of options and as soon as they thought everything was adjusted they realized that within a nanosecond Leah was able to wiggle her itty bitty pinky straight out of the position it needed to stay in. (Now picture screaming, thrashing, sobbing and having to hold her down in between every single itty bitty change they try on her brace). After 2 hours they realized Leah had reached her threshold and we were going to have to try a totally different option. They agreed Leah needed some anxiety medication and a break so they sent us off to the cafeteria for some lunch. After reviewing the 6 different option, it was determined that Leah would be put into a full arm cast on her right arm. This was decided for a couple reasons…first, Leah needs full time splinting for the pinky contracture. Second, girlie canNOT wiggle out of the cast positioning. Third, mom and dad will not have to do any stretching because the cast is doing it already. (This third one is a huge break emotionally for all of us) They moved us to the play gym for casting and had a big team ready to hold her down but the change of scenery, team members and medications helped a ton and Leah did soooooo much better while they casted her. She still had some tears but was able to be playfully distracted but toys, snacks and of course Paw Patrol.
What’s next- Leah will stay in this cast for one week. Assuming it stays completely dry, Leah will return to clinic next week for another cast. She will be casted with a new cast every week for the next 3 weeks as they progress the stretching to a full straight position. In two weeks her new sleeves and gloves should be ready. She will probably get her left one and start wearing it while they continue casting the right arm.
It’s really impossible to describe how exhausting these appointment are on us.
Ways to pray:
*Continue praying for miraculous healing of her pinky finger.
*Pray that her sensitive skin doesn’t react to the cast materials. And that the cast remains completely dry for the next week. If wet at all it has to come off immediately.
*Pray for emotional regulation for Leah. They want to watch this pretty closely to make sure she isn’t developing PTSD.
*Sleep.
Thank you for your prayers, love, and support!
Comments
Sally Schwarz about 1 month ago