Surgery #2

Jordon had surgery on 8/26 to graft some skin from his groin to his first finger on the left hand. Things just weren't improving with the pressure glove and multiple splints we had tried, so surgery was all that was left to manage the contracture. He did so well considering the circumstances. Nothing to eat or drink since 7:30 pm (except for a few sips of apple juice that am)... then we were there by 8:45, with surgery expected by 10 to 10:30. Yeah, right. The surgeon was delayed so they ended up shipping us back out to the waiting room just to have more room for Jordon to roam around (and toys etc. to try and keep him occupied... and therefore not wailing). His gown was way to big, and he was tripping over it so I took it off and let him run in his diaper. Then he was climbing all over the chairs and tables, and ended up getting a big scratch and red marks all over his chest and belly. Nice. By this point Don is getting pissed about the wait and having the staff call to check and see how much longer it's going to be. I'm seriously considering feeding/ hydrating my kid, afraid they're going to have trouble with an IV cause he's dehydrated. Jordon finally had his fill in the waiting room and started throwing a fit so they took us back again... oh, but they had filled our room with someone else. Then we are told by another staff person we will have to go back out in the waiting room and wait for a room... I don't think so. By this time I thought Don was going to hurt someone. Finally they took Jordon down at 12:30 pm-- we had only been there with a child who had been npo for nearly 4 hours. And I thought the wait of 2 and 1/2 hrs. was bad when he had tubes put in (and the surgeon wasn't notified she had surgery that day). Geez. Can't believe some of the crap we have been through with health care lately-- the systems are in a sorry state of mess. Anyway, little man did very well. He has a blue cast that's on all the way past his elbow. Would post a picture but we have lost the camera. Hopefully it turns up soon. I take him back Wednesday to get the cast cut off and another one put on for a week.

On top of this, I have not been feeling well for about a month. After seeing 2 doctors, a nurse practitioner, and having 2 strep tests, 2 throat cultures, a medrol dose pack, and multiple sets of labs drawn, I still don't really know what I've had. Tired of hearing "it's probably viral". I do know this-- lesions in the back of your throat for 1 month is not normal, and I can't believe how hard it has been to get antibiotics-- I mean really, my patients have a much easier time getting opioids. Oh, and I have an ENT appt. this week-- can't believe they set me up with ENT before giving me a round of abx-- only got the abx when I finally developed nasty colored snot. I swear health care is going from one extreme to the other- can't believe how sick I had to get before I actually got treatment.

Butt paste.... yummy

Last night Jordon got the cap to the butt paste, inserted his finger, and proceeded to stick his fingers in his mouth, saying "mmmmm".

Deanna Rose Farmstead

I've heard people talk about it, but this was our first trip out there. We were impressed with the place and surprised that it's free to get in. It kept Jordon entertained and he was very independent, so he wanted to walk on his own most of the time, which was great... except for when he kept walking onto the track where the kids were riding their tractors. Thought he might get run down. Other than that, we saw many of the animals that we read about in his farm books (and some that we see on Grandpa's farm)... we had a great time and will definitely be back when we can spend more time... we didn't even get to cover the whole place, and they are building on and expanding. Jordon seemed to like all the animals, except for the peacocks which seemed to scare him a bit.

Visit to Gerald and Carolyn's

On our way back home from Arkansas we stopped by to visit with Don's cousins, Gerald and Carolyn. They have neighbor girls who come by with their horses and dogs often, and we were lucky today to get in on the action. Jordon still loves dogs, so when a pack of about 4 came up, he went crazy. There were also 3 girls on horses, meeting another girl for riding at Gerald and Carolyn's. I'm not sure Jordon would pet the horses or the dogs, but he sure liked to get close and wave at them.

Like father like son

Hangin' at the Catfish Cabin- the last place we ate during our stay in Eureka Springs. The food was actually very good and better than we expected. Couldn't miss getting the pictures of these two on the bench in front of the restaurant. We had Jordon outside trying to keep him entertained while we waited on food. He did pretty well-- he just doesn't want to be still for anything. He sat on the bench above for a whopping 2 seconds- the time it took me to take the picture. He also doesn't really do much walking- he mainly runs wherever he goes.

Downtown Eureka Springs

The place is really pretty, with all the flowers, rock, and Victorian style shops. Here we were at an outdoor stage... I think they have the Great Passion plays here. But today, they had a guy singing, and Jordon just loved it. He's here clapping and yelling after the performance. He also stood on the bench above and waved at the cars going down the street, yelling "Bye!". He would also do that with a lot of people we saw out and about, including his girlfried from the pool. J-man seems to have a thing for the cougars. It's fun to see peoples' reactions to him.

Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge

This was a great place that rescues abandoned, abused, and neglected big cats and provides them with a life-long home. They also had a bear, birds, and monkeys. We got robbed of seing the white tiger because you had to go on a guided tour to see him. It was pretty hot outside and J-man was throwing a royal fit so we didn't think we could make it another 1/2 hr. till the tour started. We had already raided the gift shop and taken a water/ snack break. Jordon got away with a t-shirt and a couple new books. I was really impressed with how close you could get to the animals; I have never been to a zoo where you could get that close. One of the tigers looked at Jordon like he could have been a morsel.... then again, maybe he just wanted him to shut his screaming piehole. They say that if you come late in the afternoon, they are more active because it's feeding time. They were pretty active though in the morning when we went. We saw a couple tigers running and playing together, and one kept jumping in the water tank and chewing on his large plastic ring. One panther (or jaguar, not sure which) was scaling the sides of his cage when we walked by. Hard to imagine people keeping these animals as pets. I'm glad there are places like this that take care of them; this place was pretty awesome.