Tobias is home! We picked him up from the hospital this morning. We are so glad this is all over... You may wonder why I put this picture on... Well, it was taken this morning, right before we took him home. In this picture you can see that Tobias is able to bend both his legs. Coming out of traction hasn't bothered him one bit. As you can see his leg is still a little swollen. This is only because of the healing of the bone, not because of bruising or anything like that. Even though I know it really doesn't hurt him, I am still a little worried when I touch his leg, but that will all get better I am sure. Both Lisa and I took the day off today to welcome Tobias home. Of course also Grandma and Grandpa Mayhall were there. It was a very nice day and it is great to have Tobias back with us.

Today Tobias was taken out of traction which means that we were able to hold him for the first time in 3 weeks. Thas was so good and as you can see in this picture both mommy and Tobias are thoroughly enjoying it. The doctors were a little afraid that it might hurt for Tobias to be taken out of traction because his muscles had gotten used to the traction by now, but it did not seem to bother him one bit. He was smiling and seemed to enjoy being held. It was really good to be able to hold him again! Tomorrow morning we get to take him back home with us.... Yeah!

Yesterday Grandpa Mayhall arrived in the Netherlands. Of course he came to visit Tobias right away. Here you can see that Tobias likes playing with Grandpa Mayhall as well. And, grandpa felt right at home in the hospital, as you can probably imagine. The good thing is that Tobias also gets to spend some time with his grandfather at home because he will be released from the hospital tomorrow (25/04)!

Good news today! New x-rays were taken this morning. The result is that new bone is forming rapidly and Tobias will come home on monday and he doesn't need a cast. We are very excited about this and we can't wait to bring him home on monday! Just a few more days.... Also, another interesting thing happened today. Since Tobias' butt is hanging in the air in order for the traction to do his work, it is kind of hard to put a diaper on him....

Also, it is hard for the diaper to hold everything in, so we would find Tobias quite often with a wet back around the edge of the diaper and we had to change his clothes and sheets quite often. So, how did we solve this problem....? Answer: A maxi-pad.... The nurse put a maxi-pad in his diaper to catch the pee, and it works. He was much dryer than he was before, so that's good.

As you can see in this picture, Tobias likes playing with Grandma Mayhall. Even though she didn't exactly plan to be in the hospital so often she is enjoying playing with Tobias as well. She has been such great company for Tobias, especially now that both Lisa and I are working. She is there most of the day to feed, play, teach, train, and so on..... So, even though it is not according to plan entirely, Grandma's company is greatly appreciated by us all! Thanks!!!

A little update on Tobias. He is doing fine. As you can see he is enjoying the toys that he is surrounded with. In this picture you can also see the setup of his bed and his legs... Anyway, he doesn't seem to be so bothered by being in the hospital. He gets lots of attention and lots of toys to play with. We however are dying to have him home again. His tentative release date from the hospital is now set at April 25, so that is next monday. This thursday they are going to take x-rays again and I guess then we will know with more certainty when he can come home and if he has to be in a cast or anyting like that. Until then, it's just more waiting. Currently I visit in the morning, to clean him, and at night, to feed him. Lisa visits in the late afternoon, after school, to feed him, and Grandma Mayhall visits during the rest of the day, so, no lack of attention for Tobias, and that does not include all the nurses yet.... :-)

Ever since last friday Tobias is not on Paracetamol, or any other pain medication, anymore. I am very glad about that. Since that time the situation has been quite stable as far as Tobias is concerned. He can entertain himself with all the toys around his bed and then of course there is always mommy to play with :-). Today mommy went back to work for the first time though. This is probably a good thing because while Tobias is playing and smiling and probably oblivious to the situation he is in, being in the hospital (nearly) all day started to get harder and harder on her. Since Tobias is going to be there for at least another week and a half, working may make time seem to go by faster. I am also back to work and I go in to feed him breakfast and dinner. Grandma Mayhall does lunch and mommy does the late afternoon, right after school. So, we are running shifts now... :-). Other than that it is just waiting, waiting, waiting, and, oh yeah, more waiting for us until we can take him home......

As you can see in this picture Tobias is smiling again. Also he is becoming more and more playful. That is good to see. I have a feeling the pain is pretty much over. He is still on some "paracetamol" but they are decreasing the amount he gets. He was moved to his own room so he can have some peace and quiet while he sleeps. Lisa is able to breastfeed him (actually she has been for the past few days) by means of a bed that is put next to his bed at the same level, so that is good. Tobias seems to be enjoying that. It has been quite a week, but I am glad I got to take such a happy picture by the end of it!

Ever since Tobias was put on morphine and the pain became bearable, he has been eating like normal and sleeping like normal. This is me feeding him breakfast this morning. Lisa is with him all day, I try to visit him three times a day, breakfast, lunch and dinner :-). Before breakfast this morning, we cleaned him and changed his sheets and everything. I am so glad to see that he is not in (so much) pain anymore. And he is smiling again!

Update (07/04): Yesterday (06/04) Tobias was taken of the morphine. He is now on "Paracetamol". I don't know what that translates to, but I guess it is something like Tylenol (no ibuprofin). He is doing great with that pain-wise and he is much more alert. Today new X-rays were taken and to me, based on some experience of my own, what they explained to us on monday, and logic, they look great! Also the crying decreases while the smiling increases.....

The doctor also took a look at the x-rays and he concurs with my preliminary diagnosis. The position of the bone is perfect. According to him Tobias will be in "traction" for two weeks and will then be put in a two-legged cast for another two weeks. By then his leg should be recovered.

Last monday (04/04) an accident happened. Lisa fell down the stairs with Tobias. We rushed Tobias to the ER and they found out his leg was broken. He was in so much pain, he cried pretty much all day. They put him in "traction" which means that weights are pulling his legs up as you can see in the picture. He has to stay like this for at least two weeks, but probably three.... He has a morphine IV which really helps against the pain and yesterday he was already doing a lot better, as was his leg. Today they might even be able to stop the morphine. Lisa is "just" brused pretty badly. As you can imagine, monday was probably the worst day in our lives...... Let me tell you, there is nothing worse than seeing your child suffer like that.

Grandma, Mama and Tobias on the couch. Nice picture huh? We're all very glad Grandma Mayhall made it over and gets to spend time with Tobias.

Tobias is showing us his smile more and more often. Here he is in his little rocker listening to me playing the piano. He seems to enjoy that a lot, hence the smile I guess :-). Usually his smile is accompanied by lots of arm and leg movements.

Last Friday morning, a week later than expected and after some frustrating passport problem, Grandma Mayhall arrived to see Tobias for the first time in real life! I guess he had to get used to her a little bit, or maybe he was just hungry here or something...