Things were going so good....

Well, not only am I going the way of mothers of many and starting to take less pictures of my youngest child, now it's going to be awhile before I have a chance again to take pics of Maxim with his walker. This week, while playing with my other son Joel, his right femur got broken. Poor boys.

Joel is kind of like Maxim's living Disneyland sometimes, giving him rides of all sorts. Joel had just been riding Maxim on his shoulders, as he had done so many times, and was going to gently flip him back down to the floor, hanging on to him the whole time. However, this time, when Joel quickly lifted Maxim up off of his shoulders, he heard a terrible crack and Maxim was immediately wailing.

I took him in to emergency and as he was saying his knee hurt, that's what the physician concentrated on and ordered x-rays for. However, once we got in there and slid his shorts up a little, we saw the swelling in his thigh. He has a spiral fracture. Then, because of his complicated orthopedic history, they decided to transfer him to Grand Rapids for treatment. So let's just say Maxim had a memorable field trip in an ambulance, surgery to set the bone, and will not be using his walker again until July, easily.

But I can still say God is good, God is good, God is good. When Joel heard that awful sound, he had the presence of mind to not let go of Maxim, so he didn't fall and get hurt worse. Joel immediately crumpled to the floor crying, apologizing and praying for his little brother. It gave me a window into his heart; that even though they sometimes irritate each other as will happen with siblings on occasion, he really loves Maxim and would never want to hurt him. I felt bad because when Maxim asked if he was going to have a big cast (spica) or little cast, I assured him that it would just be a little one, only on his leg. However, the doctor opted for the spica cast, to immobilize both of Maxim's upper legs, and I thought for sure Maxim would be angry when he woke up from surgery. He wasn't at all. He has had such a good attitude and has also been sleeping really well, a definite answer to prayers.

Joel was happy when I put Maxim on the phone to talk to him. "Maxim, do you still love me?", he asked.

Maxim just wanted to talk about the cool movie he was watching. TV is a big deal to him since we don't have one at home.

Joel said, "That's great Maxim, but do you still love me?"

"Yup." as the reply.

Joel was soooo relieved.

I would not wish this on anyone, but I see blessings in it already. I met and could pray for people I wouldn't have connected with otherwise. Nurses who saw Maxim before, at past surgeries, could see him again and hear about all the progress he's made over the last year. They don't often get to see kids again and know they've made a difference. In my prayer time during the surgery and afterward, God taught me about being patient even when I'm tired, and that it's important even in the thick of care giving to take care of ourselves. It's the first time I have felt at peace to just go take a shower after Maxim was settled comfortably in his bed, and lie down myself to sleep that night. At one in the morning, Maxim was awake and watching Shrek and I said, "Maxim, I have to go to sleep now. See you in the morning." He said, "Okay Mama; Maxim watch movie." I layed down in the bed next to his and he watched the end of the movie. Then we both went to sleep. He had a great sleep that night and last night as well.

Thank you, Heavenly Father, for walking us through the unexpected and showing us bright spots within it.

The Walker Is In the Building

Maxim's walker finally came! After a wait of about eight weeks, easily. I've explained it before, but our insurance for Maxim works in this manner:

A claim is first submitted to our primary insurance, which Daniel has through work.
Whatever the primary insurance will not fully cover is then submitted to our state insurance for disabled children. So more people involved equals longer wait. I don't remember such a long wait for equipment with Cyan and all of her CP paraphernalia years ago, but I guess I would rather have the state go over our claim with a fine-toothed comb to make sure we're legitimate than be throwing funds every which way without discretion.

So how is the little man with his new wheels? Wonderful! The walker was delivered by UPS this past Friday. We had guests over for Shabbat dinner (Uncle Timothy and Aunt Shannon who Maxim really likes to see). Maxim wanted to make extra trips to the bathroom during the meal just so he could use the walker.

On Shabbat, we took the walker to church with us figuring he would enjoy it part of the time. He used it all day long, with the exception of lunch time after the service and inside Grandpa and Grandma's house in the evening, since they have white carpet and Maxim had already used it outside.

On Sunday, he spotted Daniel's Uncle Roy and Aunt Laurie out for a walk with their dog. They came over for a moment as he was walking up the sidewalk and agreed he should walk right over for a visit when they returned. He sat outside watching until they were finally back and made the trek across the street with me. They presented him with a little beach chair they thought he would enjoy and he sat their eating hot buttered corn in a bowl while informing them that he really likes their blue house and is going to come live with them. He still believes that if he tells enough people what he wants that he will always get it. So much for that plan. He will still be living with Papa and Mama.

I know it's pitiful that I don't have a whole slew of photos for this occasion. It really is exciting to see him standing his tallest and taking off. Today, for the first time, I had to tell him to slow down and just walk. He already has the desire to take off running toward whatever appeals to him. So I guess you can say we're off and running.

Praise God, the Most High, our Heavenly Abba Daddy! Thank You for some wind in our sails!