Back In The Saddle

Or AFO I should say.

Yesterday Matthew wore his AFO all day. Yay! Guess the cut on his ankle was the culprit.

He also had physio yesterday. Steve is still pleased with his dorsiflextion, mainly focusing on his forefront drift (Metatarsus adductus).

So, for the time being, things are back to normal...what ever that means.

Curses

On Monday, while skating, Matthew got a rub mark that turned into a bloody mess on his ankle from skating.

On Tuesday, he came home from school with his AFO in his backpack rather then on his foot. It hurt.

Understandable.

Now, he has been out of his AFO for two more days.

Will try again tomorrow to see if he can wear it again. Hoping his cut on his ankle is the reason he is out of the AFO. If not, then it is back to the orthotist we go.

Curses.

Family Day Skate

Yesterday was Family Day, a holiday for many Albertans including Craig for once. Actually, he had Presidents day off, not Family Day. But it doesn't matter, we were all home together.

All four of us have been sick but yesterday we thought we felt good enough to do something. Why not a family skate? So off to an indoor rink we went.

Everyone had a great time, the boys laughing at me for my slow skating. Hey, I have my first pair of skates in about 20 years, and that ice is much harder at 42 then it ever was at 12. Speed is not my goal at the moment.

The boys are improving. They played tag with Daddy while I practiced not falling.

At one point, I skated up to Matthew, who had fallen again. His pants were soaked from falling. I asked him if he was having a fun time.

"This is GREAT Mommy!" he said as he hopped up and skated away.

I watched him skate. It isn't the prettiest sight. His left foot is not strong and wobbles terribly without his AFO. He tried to skate with mostly his right. And he spends a lot of time on his butt. But that doesn't matter to him. What matters is he can go faster then Mommy and it is a lot of fun.

And you know what? That is all that matters to me too. I know he will never be a Gretzky. That's not what I want. His name isn't Wayne, his name is Matthew.

And he is a great one.

Are You Ready For Some Football?

Over a year ago, Matthew came to me and said

"Mommy, I want to play football."

Maybe to many families of boys that doesn't come as a complete surprise. They see their dads watching football, maybe the superbowl, they play football with their buddies, or toss the ball around with their dads from the time they could walk.

Not here. We don't watch sports on tv apart from a bit of CFL (Go Riders!) when we are around. Daddy here never played football, or baseball, just a bit of hockey. And for me, well, I can barely throw a football without embarrassing myself.

So you can imagine our surprise when Matthew decided football was going to be his sport of choice. I looked into it and found a great organization for football, but it started at age 8. I told him he had to wait a year, and in the meantime, did he even know what football was?

So, out in the yard he went last spring, picked up a football we had and tossed it. I have to say, I was shocked. It was a perfect spiral, and he could chuck that thing far. Since then, he has tossed a football around while camping, at grandma and grandpa's house, and with our friends. "that's quite an arm he has" is something we have heard quite a few times.

So, now that he is 8, I signed him up. Season starts in August.

Now I'm not the kind of mom who thinks her kids are superstars but I am very excited for football season. Maybe it is because I've seen where he has come from. I've seen him struggle with pain, with AFO's, with tripping, endless physio, surgeries, e-stim, with a foot that won't do what it is supposed to do. Just yesterday, we were at the outdoor rink in our neighborhood. He sat down on the ice, mad. I asked what was wrong and he said "Mommy! It isn't easy to skate for a kid with a clubfoot!" I told him that no, it isn't as easy for him as it is for others but that just meant that if he wants it he has to try even harder to do it. He sat for a minute, stewing, then got up and skated, played tag and even tried a hockey stick without another word.

Thanks to many people, this kid is going to play football. Something I never thought he would do. And I get to watch it all, with a smile on my face, and maybe a few quiet tears of joy.

So, are you ready for some football?

Valentine's Day In A Crafters House

I asked the boys what kind of Valentine's Day cards they wanted me to buy for them to hand out this year. Their answer,

"We want to make them this year!"

I reminded them they needed to make one for each child in their class. That maybe store bought would be easier.

Nope, they want to make them. And not just a cut out heart with the student's name on it, but a unique creation for each child.

It was one of those proud mommy moments mixed with the feeling of 'crap, there goes my table for the next week'. So, out came all the paper, scissors, glue, foamy shapes and everything else you could ever want to make a valentine's day card with.



They are about half way finished. Matthew's have gotten more elaborate as he goes on.



Ryan has decided to stick to one template.



I hope the kids, parents and teachers understand how much work and effort is going into this project.

And a quick update, Matthew is finally on the mend. Even went to school today.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back - Revisited

Last week, Matthew went back to his orthotist and had the toe strap on his AFO adjusted. Finally, success! He is able to put it on in the morning, wear it all day at school and walk home from school with no problems. Yay!

And the back steps...

Matthew's tonsils looked horrid on Friday. Took him to the doctor again on Saturday. No fever. No white spots on the tonsils. No hint at all that a bacterial infection was there other then it had been 10+ days since the last doctor's appointment and some mild fluid build up in his ear. Because of that, he was given yet another round of antibiotics.

That evening, the sore throat started. By bedtime, he had three doses of antibiotics. I thought for sure by Sunday evening, he would be right as rain.

I was wrong.

It is now Tuesday and he is just starting to get better. His mouth and throat starting Sunday was bright red covered with white. His throat so sore he couldn't eat or drink.

And to add insult to injury, he is getting his last molars. All four are trying to push through.

Poor kid.

Maybe next week will be his week.

My Morning Funny

This morning, the boys came running upstairs.

"Mommy! There is a dead fish in the tank!"

Sure enough, one had died overnight. Not a big deal, we have home bred guppies. One dead will not be missed, let alone noticed.

I got the net and removed it. Went to the bathroom to flush it, followed closely by the boys.

Ryan "Mommy, I want to flush it."

Matthew "Me too."

So, they flushed together. They must have felt the need to say something for the occasion.

Matthew "Awwwww, poor little guy."

Ryan "Have a nice day fishie!"

What To Do On A Snowy Cold Weekend?

This past weekend, the snow fell and the temperature dropped changing our plans of camping and skiing, or even skating.

What to do when the snow is coming down so peacefully on a Friday evening? Bundle up, grab the wine and have a fire outside of course!

This was just what fell in the few hours after school.

Fire in the quiet snow. So peaceful.

Then, on the weekend, I stumbled onto a sale on board games. So I picked up a few new ones.

These were big hits.

Luckily, the weather is warming up. Looks like skating outdoors this week, maybe even some more skiing.