Liam is having hand surgery tomorrow to fix his bent thumb, which won't straighten all the way.
this is as good as it gets
It's known as trigger finger. Basically, the tendon that makes our thumbs bend and straighten slides through a guiding sheath at the base of the thumb. Liam's tendon has a thickned portion down by his palm, making it so the tendon can't slide all the way through. It's not from an injury, it's just something his body did on its own. The good news is that the surgery to correct it is minor, a simple little incision through the base of the thumb to widen the guiding sheath.
Our pediatrician referred us to the local orthopedic surgeon, who signed him up for surgery the following week. But then I asked him how frequently he performs this surgery on a young child. Once every 3 or 4 years. So then I asked for a referral to the pediatric hand specialist at Children's Hospital in Little Rock.
This surgeon sees 2 or 3 cases of this every week. I'd rather this be a routine procedure, wouldn't you? So that's where we are going tomorrow.
His surgery is at 7:30 am, and we need to be there in Little Rock by 5:30. So we will be on the road by 1:30 tomorrow morning/tonight. It's going to be a long day.
Liam knows that we are going to the hospital and the doctor is going to fix his thumb while he is sleeping. And when he wakes up, he'll have a really big band aid. We've been reading plenty of books about hospitals, playing with a stethoscope, and play-acting with a surgeon puppet.
I think this is as prepared as we can be. Here goes.
Hoping all goes well, Dorothy!
ReplyDeleteYou are such an amazing Mom! I love how you constantly are thinking of the best ways to introduce Liam and River to otherwise difficult situations! You are so intuitive, wise and strong! I admire you more and more every day! :)
ReplyDeleteGive Liam a big hug from Tia Molly! Tell him I love him!!