Friday, August 21, 2015

Botox

Blake's procedure is over here at Riley, sedating him turned out much more difficult than expected. After three tries the nurses were unable to get an IV to use for sedation. The ICU doctor opted to give him a shot into his muscle of a paralytic to keep him from moving during the botox injections. The medicine they needed to use takes longer to wake up from than the IV sedation that was planned so he's being monitored a little longer than expected.



After the medicine took effect- Dr. Sobus used ultrasound to inject botox into Blake's left arm bicep, and pronator. And both legs in his hamstrings and adductor muscles. They said the botox should start working within 24-48 hours then peak at 2 weeks lasting as long as 3-6 months...so we shall have to wait and see how the results are for our Blakers.






Blake's waking up now very slowly but surely. Everything went well- the first movement we saw from him was him waving "bye bye" to the RN- id say someone wants to go home ☺️

Zach Hargis and I want to thank everyone for all the positive wishes and prayers!

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

It's a go.

So as time get closer I suppose I should give updates so that we can start requesting prayer request and positive thoughts now! Next Thursday Zach myself and Blake will be making the drive to Indy and Friday morning Blake will be put under sedation for a procedure for his cerebral palsy. Botox everyone has heard of- you get it so you can look like this.....















However, after many years, many alternative therapies have been found with the use of Botox. One of which is used in cerebral palsy patients to help with muscle stiffness. Anyone who has met our sweet Blakers knows his left arm is quite an issue. His thumb stays tucked in...














He is able to use the spasticity to his advantage when crawling, and moving but when asked to use his left hand to grab something he has a difficult time to extend and open- to grasp and use it in any way for fine motor skills. You will notice in pictures he tends to keep it in a stiff position when standing.















He uses only his right to eat, wave, play, etc. this is not a right dominate normal development- we work very hard with therapy and daily stretches to get use of his left arm.

Blake also has issues with his legs. Although not as noticeable or as severe as the issue with his left arm- you know he doesn't walk, he is able to pull to stand, and walk around furniture but as he grows and gets older we have noticed his knees turning inward in standing- which is a trait seen in some cerebral palsy, but we are seeing in Blake due to tightness in his hamstrings, and his use of his spastic (tight muscles) in his left leg. Blake tends to use his spasticity to his advantage- but in turn has cause weakened muscles now in his right leg- due to him placing all his weight in his "tight" leg. (Clear as mud right?!) Blake's walking in his gait trainer has also suffered this summer- be it because of his muscle issues or out if pure three year old tantrums I'm not sure but he completely hates it now. I think it's more because he knows he can get around crawling way faster and much easier that he then in then gets frustrated when we force him to walk. We are hoping though that after the procedure he will progress in his walking training.




















So because of all these issues next Friday Blake will be getting a total of 6 injections of Botox. Two shots in his left arm- in two muscles. And two shots in two different muscles in both legs.

There are of course adverse side effects that may result in the Botox- one of which being the muscles becoming too flaccid. If this were to happen in his left arm, it wouldn't truly effect too much. It would actually allow us to stretch the shortened muscles and I believe he would still be able to get around and do daily activities as normal. HOWEVER, then there is he worry of him becoming too flaccid in his legs...something I'm terrified of. This is, of course, WORST CASE SCENARIO. We worry if it's too much he may lose some of his mobility- good news for that is botox is temporary and effects usually last only 3-6 months.

Now, best case scenario. It has been shown in cases similar to Blake that botox with paired therapy and stretching can actually help to progress development! We are keeping our fingers crossed that this is a positive procedure for Blake and helps with mobility and development and we could use all the support we can get! Any procedure, test, or basically anything medical with Blake is always worrisome for this Mommas heart - and really anything with sedation always makes my heart drop to the pit of my stomach- so any prayers and positive vibes sent our way will be much appreciated!
















Keeping positive thoughts for our miracle Blakers! And let the count down begin! Only 9 days to go!




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