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We are so happy,we never wanted anymore setbacks,our son was happy on the way home,we know it might have been obvious to the surgeons,but not to us we had so many things go wrong in the past,but now its all fine and everyone is pleased with the scan,so now in one months time the halo can be removed,he still will have to wear a collar for support until he can move and support his head,as hes not used his neck muscles for nearly a year,our son is happy that it will be removed and so are we,its been along road,not the route we wanted,and alot of barriers in the way, but we only wanted our son to be better than he was,to stop the curve progressing and for the chance of our son getting a healthy life,without his spine curving or going out of shape,it was a hard stuggle,alot of tears but we got there in the end.Tuesday 19th..We took our son hospital today for his pins to be tightened,we were happy we told the nurses and sister about the halo being removed shortly,they know nothing about it,the sister didnt look to sure,something is not right,a doctor comes to tighten his pins,never seen him before,we tell him about the halo,he looks at us and doesnt seem sure also,you can tell by his face,he says hes looked at the scan results and in his opinion it cannot be removed,he says it hasnt fused properly yet,but if the surgeon says its ok then it must be,we left the hospiital with lots of doubts,if this is true then why not tell us,why build our hopes up,why not tell us when we met a few weeks ago,instead of someone we have never met before to tell us.The next day we have a phone call from a company wanting to buy our sons story,after a few days of discussion a magazine called real people decide to buy the story and it should be printed around christmas time.The phones ringing all day our son has now been told hes just won wellchilds bravery award 2006,which is to be presented in london on the 25th october,our son is very happy, we know hes been brave over the years,and now the judges have recognised this and awarded him the brave child award,he said he cant wait as a few celebrities will be there also.OCT 3RD..We are at the hospital,the sister checks his records,there does seem to be sections which have not fused properly,our hearts sink,the doctor comes to tighten his pins,all are ok except three pins at the back they are all loose,he says he might need an operation to change a pin,we tell him theres no room in that area,he wants to use one of the same holes,how can you we said,if that pins loose then the new one will be as they are the same size,we ask him to try again to tighten them,this time it does tighten to torque four,how can that be,no tention a few minutes ago,now there is,lucky we asked him to try again,or that would have been an operation for nothing,he checks a note on our sons records,no he said it shouldnt be removed and there is still some movement there,this day is just getting worse and worse.OCT 4TH 06..The sister rings us today and said one of the surgeons has looked at the scan and the halo must stay on for longer as there is some sections which havnt fused,our hearts sink,why do we keep on getting lied to,a month ago we seen the main surgeon he said he was happy with the scan and the halo could be removed,now completely the opposite,everyone was happy a month ago,it was even in the local newspapers telling people that it would be removed after so long,we had our doubts the other week after seeing the sisters face and hearing what that doctor said,the sister and doctor knew,what gets us fuming is they keep things away from us,they know whats happening,we get told different stories all the time,people say they dont know,when clearly they do.I even saw the report myself and it clearly said it shouldnt be removed,why not just tell us the truth for gods sake.OCT 9TH 06..We had the reporters and cameras come today to film our son for the wellchild awards ceremony which is due to happen soon,they said we should be proud of him for winning the award,which we are,but we are proud of him anyway.OCT 17TH 06..We went hospital today for our sons pins to be tightened,we made a complaint to one of the nurses,that we want some straight answers,not to be told different stories,we want the truth,either the halo is coming off or staying on,we only want whats best for our son,if its to stay on then so be it,but stop the lying.The doctor comes to tighten the pins,and its good news they are all on a tention of four,our sons happy,and the nurse says she will pass our concerns onto the surgeon.The next day at 7.45pm one of the surgeons rings us,he says that there is some fusion but not all over,but he and the main surgeon says that they think it will be ok to remove the halo in the next few weeks,we ask him are you sure we only want whats best for our son,he says that our son has been in the halo for a year now and cannot stay in it forever,he says he wants to bring him in,remove the halo and put him into a plastic jacket with a neck support.I keep asking him,only if your absolutely sure its safe to be removed,he says hes looked at the scan,even though there is some sections where its not fused so good,it still looks ok to be removed,i asked him its not because we made a complaint is it,thats not swayed your decision,he said no they are happy for the halo to be removed.We have to be absolutely sure its the best decision,we will ask for another ct scan to see if there is some better fusion than from the last time,we cant go backwards after going through so much,a few doubts are still with us now,we have to be sure that the fusion is strong enough,and that we all agree that its the right decision,we will go back in two weeks time,tell them our concerns,and if we all think its the best decision,then we will have the halo removed,like they said.They said it can be removed,they should know what they are doing,they should know if its safe or not,and they suggested a removal date of two weeks.25TH OCT 2006..Today we all travel down to london,we are very proud of our son,he has won a best brave child award,alot of celebrities are there,tessa sanderson the olympian is sitting at the table next to us,vanessa feltz and the goalkeeper peter schmeichel are also here,lisa scott lee from the group steps,dick and dom from the childrens tv,zoe salmon from blue peter,laura jones from cbbc`s newsround presented our son with his award,it was a very good night and well done to wellchild for organising it all,the night went very well and our son was very happy he won the award,and we his parents are happy for him and very proud.The next day the local newspaper print a story about him winning the award,then the magazine called real people get in touch,they came out on saturday and took hundreds of photos,it should be in the magazine shortly.
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Going to london was great,it was a shame we couldnt have stayed over,and its ashame that madame tussauds never replied to our emails,but we had a great day anyway,apart from getting a parking ticket even though we have disabled badges,we will have to look into that,but it was our sons day and nothing was going to spoil it,hes got his award which he truely deserves,the best brave child for his age range,other children got thier bravery awards which they all truely deserve and it puts life into perspective,some people worry about the daftest things,some people have alot more to worry about,but thats life i guess,but we all get on with what we have to do,so to all who got an award for caring,doctors,nurses,children,adults,you all truely deserve the recognition,and a big thank you to wellchild,for all the work they do to help the sick and disabled.MONDAY 6TH NOV 2006..Today we got a phone call from the sister at the hospital asking why we havnt gone in to have the cast done,we were shocked,i said if nobody has spoken to us,if nobody has phoned us,if nobody has sent us a letter then how are we suppose to know that you want us to come in,nobody has informed us,she says sorry,we said we can come in on tuesday,she said leave it with me i will check if everyone is available and ring you back,we never did get a phonecall.The next day at 11am we had a call saying why havnt we arrived,i said not again,you said you would call back to tell us that everyone will be there,she says sorry again,this time she books us in for the following monday to have the cast done then the operation on tuesday to remove the halo,the plastic body cast will be from our sons neck down to his waist,she doesnt know how long it will have to stay on,we get a letter this time confirming our monday appointment,but it doesnt matter as the sister has just called to say they cant make monday,and it will all have to be done on the tuesday,making the cast in the morning then the operation in the afternoon,where they will remove the halo and put our son straight into the plastic jacket,the sister said that both the surgeons are happy that the halo can be removed,we will ask them before this happens just to make sure.20TH NOVEMBER...The operation was cancelled last week,but as some of you may be aware,if you have watched the news,there had been some patients who fell ill,and one fatality,the sister rang us to cancel the operation due to what has happened,we are worried even more now,the operation theatre was closed down,and rightly so,but we have even more worries now we were told that.Tomorrow we will take our son for his cast to be taken,then on thursday if all goes to plan the halo will be removed,and the cast/jacket will be fitted,our son seems to be having a few more nightmares,he shouts for us at night,we hope this will soon stop,but this week we should be celebrating as the halo is finally being removed,after a year in that contraption,he will be free and we will get our son back, how he used to be,we will finally be able to hug and kiss him.21ST NOV 2006...We took our son for his cast today,all went well he didnt get upset,we will be back on thursday for the removal of the halo jacket.23RD NOV 2006..Today we took our son for his operation,we never saw his normal surgeon,and we got abit worried when someone sat us down and explained about what had happened the previous week,he said we have put in new procedures because of the tragedy what had happened,and tried to put our minds at ease,but its still a huge worry for us,when they took our son to the theatre,we all went straight into the theatre for them to put him to sleep,we didnt use the anasthetic room,it was straight into the theatre.We waited only about half an hour and our son was brought up to the hdu ward,hes finally out of his halo,his head seems to be down abit like hes not looking straight forward,this could be because hes got to build his neck muscles up or this might be how he will be,we will have to keep an eye on it,see if it improves,but hes happy now and so are we.SUNDAY 26TH NOV 2006...We are allowed to remove the brace for an hour a day,so today he has his first bath in over a year,he stands infront of the mirror,his shoulders are abit off line,but seem better,his back looks like thats the best they will get it,and his head does seem to droop abit,but when asked he can lift it to a better position,time will tell.When he went for his award at the wellchild charity awards,they said they will let us know when its due to be on sky tv,well they rang and for all the people who would like to watch the awards it will be on..3rd dec sky channel 539..ntl 233 and freeview 87..also in the real people magazine on the 30th november.We have to go and see the headteacher next week,about getting our son back into school,they want him to go back but we will not rush him,try him part time at first and see how he feels,as we have noticed hes getting a few headaches since hes been home,but apart from that hes doing fine,hes looking forward to christmas and the first thing he wants on his list is a laptop,we will try our best to make that first wish come true.4TH DEC 2006...Our son went school today only for a few hours just to get him used to it again,he did say he had a few aches but managed ok,we think his teacher had something to do with his halo being removed,as she sent a letter to the surgeon asking him when will it be removed as hes missing alot of school,we didnt agree with her interferring as we got told the halo couldnt be removed yet the next week when she sent that letter,then all of a sudden it was safe to come off,they should go on whats safe for our son,not about missing school.Its just like every time we put in for disability living allowance,we get turned down,years ago we had to appeal,and as soon as they saw our son she awarded it him back straight away,saying he should never have got turned down,then last year they turned us down again but this time they knew what they were going to do,they was going to turn us down on the appeal also,but didnt expect our son to be in a halo and wheelchair,as soon as we walked in their faces dropped and they said to us "we never expected him to be in a wheelchair..can you go back out of the room and give us ten minutes,then they awarded in only for one year,its terrible that was planned to turn us down before we even got into the room.6TH DEC 2006..We went hospital today for a check up,we could hear them whispering in the other room,one said if our sons head falls forward this time,then we dont know what we will do,they come out and talked to us,he still says theres abit which has not fused,i said what did the ct scan say,he says ct scans dont tell us the true picture,the only way to find out is to operate and check,but we dont want to do that he said,and neither do we i said back,all they said was keep a close eye on our son and if we see him falling forward or backwards then to let them know,but they did say that its not changed since hes been out of the halo,we left being unsure,we have some doubts as the main surgeon never spoke much and went back in the other room,we dont know if we are being told the truth,we know things are being kept back from us,they never tell you the whole truth,but for now our son seems fine and we hope he stays straight,we have to go back in six weeks,his head does seem abit low but we hope it doesnt get any worse,he looks fine as he is,and if nothing else can be done we hope it stays as it is now,if you go on www.wellchild.org.uk you will see our son being awarded the brave child 2006 award,hes been trough alot over the years and truely deserved it,and to all who have read this..a merry christmas to you all.JANUARY 14TH 2007..We went to the hospital last week,and got abit worried as the nurse said,another doctor wants to see us before we see our own surgeon,we wondered why do we have to see someone else also,but after going for an x-ray our minds were put at ease,as our sons surgeon says hes very happy with the x-ray,his back looks better and the other doctor who we suppose to have seen was in the room,and was from America and was interested in our sons case, what a relief,so we drive home alot happier than when we went,our son looked happy and as long as hes happy and everything is fine, then thats all we could ask for.1ST FEB 2007..We went to the hospital last week,the surgeon still says he's pleased with the x-rays and that we should see him in two months time,so all looking fine for our son,and we couldn't be happier.I seen my sister the other day,havn't seen her for over a year,she's still on medication ever since the tradgedy which happened well over ten years ago,i will never forget that day,and i will never forget where i used to work and the way they treated me,i worked at a place for six years,then two of my nephews were badly burned,and sadly my other two nephews died in the explosion,i explained to my work what had happened and that i wanted some time off work,all they said was no i couldn't,and that we all have problems,i went mad and walked out of that job and never went back,some people just dont care.FEB 14TH 2007....Well would you believe it.We have been in touch with Duncan Bannatyne from the tv,we respect him alot for making a success in life,and for what hes achieved,our son watches everything he does.A few days ago he offered our son free membership at his healthclub so he could use his swimming pool,which was very kind of him,today i rang the sister at the hospital,she says that our son is not allowed to go swimming,we cannot believe it,it must be one of the easiest activities to get fit,yet he is not allowed,we have to see the surgeon shortly to ask why.The next day i rang the surgeon and apparently the sister got it wrong,our son is allowed to swim,but no jumping or diving,which we fully understand,and we would not let him do those anyway,we will be with him all the time,anyway this would be ideal for him,it gets him out again,gets him fitter,and gets his confidence back,like the surgeon said,he's got to lead a normal life as possible.1ST MARCH 2007..Today we had an appointment at the hospital,the main surgeon was in theatre,so we
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seen one of his fellows,and good news,the plastic jacket which hes wore for four months can finally come off,they are happy with the x-rays and everything looks alright,we have to go back in two months just for a check up,but after six years of our son having spinal operations,and all the setbacks,it looks like he's finally made it. This story has now been published in book form,which contains alot more than you have just read. It will start from the very beginning and in more detail. It is a very emotional insight into how we all felt throughout those terrible six years, and the cost for the book is being kept very low. All money raised will go to our son,as he truely deserves it. If you would like to buy this story in book form, please contact me at my e-mail address,which is crash3uk2002@yahoo.co.uk or visit www.authorhouse.co.uk or amazon. It has now been published, under the name of.. EVERY ROAD HAS A BEND. Thank you.
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