Blaise went to the doctor on Wednesday and had some good news. Everything is on schedule. He had some x-rays taken, and his cast cut open to check on the incision. Everything looked good. And Blaise was a trooper the whole time the saw was buzzing right by his leg. And this cast is THICK! He got a bit more uncomfortable when the doctor started to remove the inner padding of the cast to expose his leg. At one point, our foreign doctor, said "You're talking crazy dude. I talk crazy too but I cannot understand you." Needless to say it was quite comical. But seriously, everything was good. The cast will stay on until July 7th when we follow up. That is the full 6 weeks. Honestly, it is probably easier for us because he is getting very comfortable and trying his hardest to get around now. Annie asked about the beach, as summer is almost fully upon us. And we were advised to not take him there only because the sand would cause him discomfort if it got in the cast. We also need to be careful with his sun exposure while on the chemo/bactrim. All in all not the worst news, and maybe some of you will get to catch Blaise in Sea Isle during the 2nd half of the summer!
But I know you're all here to see his x-rays, and of course I got them! I am still working on the actually pictures from the surgery, I haven't built up the nerve to ask the doctor yet! Let me know detail what you're looking at below...
Upper leg - The highlighted part is the steal plate protecting his leg, basically holding it together. You see the screws into the bone holding it in place. In the picture on the right you can see a faint piece of bone next to the plate, about half the size of the femur - that is his implanted fibula bone. Eventually that will grow to be the same size as his femur!
Lower leg - That is an almost completely removed fibula! 10 centimeters were taken out in order to reconstruct the femur. You can also see a screw in the ankle which the doctor put in to stabilize the ankle. Anytime you take more than 7 centimeters of fibula, you put in screw in the ankle, duh! Also, he was able to graft a piece of the fibula to the ankle to help fuse the bones together. All this should leave Blaise perfectly functioning as a teenager and adult. Totally typical leg function! So there is still hope for the big time football scholarship, take note Jim Harbaugh.
Obviously some really cool things, and really amazing things! I am speaking about this so casually now because it is going well. But think about how crazy this surgery was, 9 hours or so, 2 teams of doctors and nurses. Its just incredible and seems so second nature. We thanked our doctors immensely when it was over, and they said it's really nothing and there are plenty of other people that do what they do. But in all honesty there is not, these were the best doctors with the best teams in the best place for this to happen. Blaise is lucky, and I don't think he'll ever know how lucky he is because he will always be just a normal kid thanks to these doctors!
Rundown
As I write these posts I imagine myself as a host on a show like PTI and have witty banter back and forth with my co-host. Except I am both hosts, and that's weird. I probably should not have written that. But onward and upward.
Like I said, Blaise is more mobile and getting to do things he likes. The first couple days he was kind blah, or "Hope To" as Annie says. He was a kid version of Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh. Totally understandable, but that is how he was.
But he has really perked up. He is scooting around the floor, and being as active as he can. Annie has had him and Lucy outside almost every day and he is doing kid things. He is starting to get the concept of games, like Matching and Old Maid. Lucy is just being her normal disastrous - self!
You also might have seen Blaise has gone viral again. Well not viral but he is garnering quite the attention to thanks to a Villanova fan blog, Nova Nationer. Mr. Moore came over and gave Blaise a sweet cast design! If you want to sign his cast stop on by, its pretty bare with just 3 signatures!
More good news, the shirts are in so get your money to us if you haven't yet. Once we get your cash, we'll give you a shirt!
A couple things going on this weekend...
Annie is having her 10 year college reunion, Go Cats. She's super old, I am only VU class of 2013.
Huge party on Saturday here in Westgate. The civic association is playing a movie in the park, And to our delight it is the movie de jour in the Davis house - The Wizard of Oz, or the Wizard of Dorothy if you ask Lucy. Feel free to join us!
Big shout out to the Alfano boys, battling for a VA High School Lax championship! Go James River! These guys put Blaise's initials on their helmets in the beginning of the year. Obviously they played up to Blaise's standards if they made it this far! Great job and good luck.
The ACS Bike Ride to AC is Sunday! A select few brave souls are riding from the Ben Franklin Bridge to AC, over/under on how many make it the whole way is 1.5. We'll see!
Also on Sunday, Blaise, Lucy and Annie will be going to Steps for a Cure. Its a sarcoma walk sponsored by Mark Herzlich of the NY Giants. I am boycotting because he plays for the Giants (I'm actually riding my bike). Actually, he's probably a really cool dude, he is Jesuit educated and played lax in high school (only the best of us can say that). Mark is a survivor of the same cancer as Blaise. So like I said earlier, Blaise is still in line for that big football scholarship. If you cannot ride to the shore, think about heading to Wilson Farm Park in Wayne and join the walk.
And finally, a big time congrats to Uncle Goo and Margaret on the birth of their son. Not only did they have a kid but they named him after me, so I am super pumped for that! Here is Andrew Miller Jr. meeting his buddy Blaise and I am not sure who is more confused about the encounter!
That's all for now, I am beat after a long day at Hershey Park with 8th grade!
