We spend this week getting ready for Theo's surgery. On Monday, November 23rd, Theo had PT at home and then I had a Zoom Parent/Teacher Conference with Theo's teacher, Mrs. D. We discussed Theo and how much he has improved in just the last few weeks. Even though Theo only spends about 30 minutes a day in Mrs. D's class, she still has so many nice things to say about him. Mrs. A, Theo's Speech Therapist, also hopped on the Zoom so we could talk about Theo's speech. He has been very chatty lately and his teachers and therapist are very happy about that. We also discussed the switch back to "remote learning" and how we are going to make that work with Theo's recovery. We decided that Mrs. D will continue to send us her videos and and we would pause activities for now. Once Theo is healed and up for it, we can resume the Zooms with his therapist and his homework activities.
On Tuesday, November 24th, I took Theo to OT. Due to increased restrictions due to COVID-19, our "therapy session review" that his OT gives me after therapy has to be done over the phone or via text message. This is done in order to limit exposure between me and his therapist. It just sucks because I love talking to Theo's therapist and I love hearing how his sessions are going. Hopefully Illinois can get this pandemic under control soon and we can get back to the previous mitigation tier.
[We got to OT early to I put Theo in the back on his pack-n-play mattress and vented him. It was cold, so I closed the door and jumped back in the car. Theo thought it was funny and just kept kicking his legs.]
After OT, we drove to the hospital in Ottawa so Theo could get his COVID-19 test. He's had it before, so we knew what to expect, but it still sucks to see him so upset.
Yes, we decorated for Christmas early and I have no regrets!
Theo has been doing SO GOOD with his feeding therapy lately! He has been playing with his ball and ground up Fruit Loops. He licks his ball, rolls it in the Fruit Loops, and then licks the ball again. He's been getting some of the food in his mouth and he hasn't been gagging or freaking out about it! It's taken him TWO YEARS to get to this point, but hopefully slow and steady will win the race! I just hope this hospital stay doesn't make him regress too much.
Theo has also learned to blow kisses this week! I've only been working with him for a couple of days!
On Wednesday, November 25th, I had my post-op check up from my LEEP surgery. After surgery my doctor told me to "take it easy" and I thought that meant for a couple of days. Turns out he meant for a couple of weeks. Oops! I started running and lifting weights a few days after my procedure because I was never in any pain. BUT after a few days of working out I started to bleed a little. My doctor checked me out, told me I wasn't allowed to run for two more weeks, and we scheduled a follow up in six months.
Before we knew Theo was going to have surgery, I went ahead and ordered three pies from our favorite bakery in Indiana, Marilyn's Bakery, for Thanksgiving. I even though we got the small sized ones, I had planned on eating them over a few days time. After Theo's surgery was scheduled for the day after Thanksgiving, I knew that our plans would need to change.
On Thanksgiving morning I headed to Indiana so that I could be at the bakery right when they opened at 8:00 AM. I arrived 10 minutes early and there was already a line! I picked up the pies and then drove 75 minutes home. We heated up the Apple Crumb and Rhubarb pies in the oven and we enjoyed some pie a la mode for breakfast!
[I ordered three small pies, but they ran out of the small apple crumb, so they gave me a large! We will definitely not be able to eat these today!]
We FaceTime-ed with my family for a few minutes which was fun! We got a nice tour of Luke and Andie's place by Porter, watched Dane open his birthday presents, and Luke lead a family prayer for Theo.
For lunch we had mashed potatoes with gravy and yes, more pies!
For dinner we again had more mashed potatoes and pies!
[Apple pie and football]
We then packed up our hospital bags and headed down to the hotel in Peoria. Theo's check in time for surgery is 5:00 AM and it's a two hour drive from home. Staying in a hotel with Theo is not idea, he doesn't sleep well and neither do we, but it's better than leaving home at 2:45 AM.
We arrived in Peoria, checked into our hotel, got Theo to bed, and enjoyed our final (AND BEST) pie: French Silk!
I hope you all had a very safe and happy Thanksgiving!
[I sent this to Josh 🤣🤣]
