In the midst of this unusual month that we are having, I've neglected to mention that four days after the kids come home from camp, our oldest son will be going in the hospital for some pretty painful surgery. He was born with a condition called pectus excavatum. Pectus excavatum is a common chest wall birth defect occuring in males more often than in females. The best way to describe the way it looks is as if there is a dent in the sternum. Here, a picture is so much better:
Our pediatrition never so much as mentioned this as being a problem and it wasn't until we went to F's 16th yearly checkup. I had not seen F without his shirt on in probably a year, but never thought anything of it. This time, when the shirt came off, my jaw dropped. Now I see WHY I haven't seen my son without his shirt! I've been nagging him about his posture since he went through puberty... the slouching shoulders drove me crazy! He started going to my trainer and began strengthening his back, but no amount of weight lifting will repair the chest. No amount of weight lifting will allow him to have the confidence to take off his shirt.
The procedure is called the Nuss Procedure. Click here for a description. We expect at least a five day hospital stay for this very painful procedure. One month of at-home convalesence. Three months of restrictions (no lifting anything over ten pounds). After that, no restrictions at all.
So, in preparation for this, and after interviewing several parents whose sons have had the same procedure, we went last weekend to buy a La-z Boy Recliner. There was a big, 50% off liquidation sale going on and we also bought a new sofa and love seat. They are being delivered tomorrow and I have a sinking feeling that it will all look awful in our living room.
1 comment:
That is amazing. When is the surgery scheduled? How long does it take? It sounds like a long procedure.
Post a Comment