A rough day
In support of
Leah Catlin's Burn Support
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Leah Catlin's Burn Support
For ALL of us, yesterday was so rough, we just didn’t have the energy to given provide an update.
Leah woke up at 4am and was determined it was time to wake up. Josiah woke up shortly after. No idea what was in the air but it kinda forecasted how the rest of the day would go. Then they both fell asleep on the way to the hospital for Leah’s appointment.
When we arrived the OT team had already put together a plan for Leah. She received her meds and we went to the cafeteria for a quick snack and gave the meds time to start working. Leah was on edge but manageable for the beginning portion of the appointment. But her new brace was a multi step process, and any time they tried to touch her, it would be set her off! They developed a piece for her arm, a piece for her hand and a separate piece for her pinky. It was a lengthy process as they melted and molded each piece. Unfortunately along the way something broke in Leah and she became inconsolable, fighting, thrashing and screaming. We tried lots of breaks but just could not get her re-regulated. The OTs did their best, we got the brace strapped on and after about 3 hours we went on our way… BUT as soon as we got to the car, Leah got the most important piece of the new brace- the pinky brace- off and out of the straps. Followed moments later by ripping off all the straps of the arm brace. And we still haven’t been able to get it back on properly. 😣
The rest of the afternoon was a mess. Leah refused to nap and was on edge. She begged to watch paw patrol over and over and over. She had short moments of quiet while swinging or walking one of her favorite pups. Those big emotions and feelings stayed with her and us most of the day. It was a rough day, a really, really rough day!
What’s next:
Leah woke up at 4am and was determined it was time to wake up. Josiah woke up shortly after. No idea what was in the air but it kinda forecasted how the rest of the day would go. Then they both fell asleep on the way to the hospital for Leah’s appointment.
When we arrived the OT team had already put together a plan for Leah. She received her meds and we went to the cafeteria for a quick snack and gave the meds time to start working. Leah was on edge but manageable for the beginning portion of the appointment. But her new brace was a multi step process, and any time they tried to touch her, it would be set her off! They developed a piece for her arm, a piece for her hand and a separate piece for her pinky. It was a lengthy process as they melted and molded each piece. Unfortunately along the way something broke in Leah and she became inconsolable, fighting, thrashing and screaming. We tried lots of breaks but just could not get her re-regulated. The OTs did their best, we got the brace strapped on and after about 3 hours we went on our way… BUT as soon as we got to the car, Leah got the most important piece of the new brace- the pinky brace- off and out of the straps. Followed moments later by ripping off all the straps of the arm brace. And we still haven’t been able to get it back on properly. 😣
The rest of the afternoon was a mess. Leah refused to nap and was on edge. She begged to watch paw patrol over and over and over. She had short moments of quiet while swinging or walking one of her favorite pups. Those big emotions and feelings stayed with her and us most of the day. It was a rough day, a really, really rough day!
What’s next:
- Leah has an appointment Monday for her new compression garments.
- Leah is also scheduled every day next week for outpatient OT at a different Riley clinic. Hoping that a change of scenery will help her. They will do her daily stretching and work on her scarring.
- They are evaluating what is best in casting and bracing for Leah since she’s such a smart little Houdini. If she were older and she understood the importance of these for her it would be different but she’s just too little to understand and she is wiggling out of everything. The team decided in their words “we can’t keep doing this to her. It’s just too much”. There is a possibility that her future bracing and casting appointments will be done under sedation.
- It has been decided that Leah is a good candidate for laser therapy on her burns. This is a surgical procedure that helps break down the scar tissue and helps regenerate new skin growth. It will take about a month to get her enrolled and then she will need multiple procedures every 6ish weeks.
Ways to pray:
- That Leah, and family have a calm weekend.
- That we can find a way to brace her hand and arm so we don’t lose the stretching progress that was made on her pinky finger.
- That Leah’s compression garments fit perfect with a short appointment. Leah has very sensitive skin and many allergies, the Doctors are concerned that her skin may react to the garments so pray for her sensitive skin to not react so the garments can do their job.
Leah’s rehab Amazon page - a few items have been added https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/FCBEDJDEKDNW?ref_=wl_share
Comments
Katyratcliff 25 days ago