The casts are off!

Aidan did really well while the PT cut his casts off. She said that his feet looked great and that he won't need to be recast. Thank God for that! They are doing what's called bi-valving, which means they are using the back half of the cast to act as a splint or brace and securing it with an ace bandage to keep his feet in that position until the AFOs are made for him.

We got him in the stander and gradually got him upright. He was a little upset at first, but eventually fell asleep in it. The PT said that getting it right the first time generally doesn't happen and she was very pleased that Aidan responded so well.

Thank you all for your prayers that the casting did it's job. We're one step closer to getting him standing and hopefully eventually walking again. Right now, he's asleep in his wheelchair. Therapy usually wipes him out.

I also got news from the doctor that the EEG did NOT show any seizure activity. Another thing to thank the good Lord for. The startles seem to just be part of the Autonomic blah, blah, blah Syndrome we like to call "storming". All I can say is at least he isn't posturing with the sky high heart rate and breathing over 100 breaths per minute.

Only 8 more days here! I'm so ready to get home. 2 months of living between hospital and home and my babies not being under the same roof is about to make me stir-crazy. I'm ready to get into a normal routine and spend time at home with my boys. We've got such a long road ahead of us. We are planning to take Aidan directly to his first hyperbaric treatment as soon as we leave the hospital. Please pray that we see positive results from these treatments. I don't really know what I expect, but I know what I'd like to see. I'd like for his responsiveness to improve and I'd like for him to be able to smile and laugh again. I want his vision to improve.

I wish I could say that HBOT is a cure all, but it isn't. It can do some amazing things for people as far as I've seen, and maybe if it had been done for Aidan as soon as he was stable we wouldn't be dealing with the amount of damage to Aidan's brain. We'll never know... I can only hope that it helps him. At this point any step closer I get to having the old Aidan back is a step in the right direction and is a miracle.

Thanks again everyone! I just want to end by saying that Russell and I really appreciate everything that you all have done for us. The continued prayers, love, support and generous donations. I have been trying to work on thank-you's to those who've donated, but unfortunately I lost part of my list. I'm trying to remember it or locate it, but I didn't want people to think that we aren't appreciative, because we are. I've been so overwhelmed by people's generosity and I really want to thank each and everyone individually, so I feel terrible that I lost my list. So, if you don't receive a thank you card from us in the next week or so, please, please forgive me and know that we greatly appreciate your kindness, generosity, love and support for our family.

Thanks!
Erin