A Good Week

Last Saturday we were invited to some friends’ home to make Chinese dumplings. Lin-Ley and Mercy are in the same Sunday School class. Mercy’s parents are from Taiwan and Mercy is adopted from China. We made the dumplings and then we cooked and ate them along with many other traditional Chinese dishes. The girls had fun and Tru was in luck because as soon as we walked into their home he spotted Mercy’s play kitchen! He wanted to get down right away to play. He did not even take time to eat – he was busy!

Monday - Lin-Ley headed back to school after a long Spring Break. Tru was also going back to school for the first time since February 21st! I was afraid that he was going to cry because he had been home for so long and he had total one-on-one attention the whole time.

After Lin-Ley caught the school bus I tried to convince Tru to try on Daddy’s soldier hat. He pushed it away and said “No!” Then he saw me get out my camera. He instantly threw the hat on his head and started saying “cheese” over and over. (I wonder where he gets that from?!)

Soldier or Rapper??

When we finally walked into Tru’s classroom he held on tight. I think that was because everyone was walking over to tell him how much they had missed him. He looked around and saw many new toys that were not there when he left. He started leaning over and wanted to get down. He began playing with the toys and forgot I was there. Well that was easy! Before I left he gave me a kiss and told me good bye. He waved me out the door from atop a new bright red scooter.

Also on Monday I received a call from Dankmeyer. They said Tru’s test socket was ready for a fitting. Unfortunately they could not see him until Friday….

Tuesday – We met with a photojournalist, Jonathan, who is writing a story about Tru. He will follow Tru through his future doctor visits, physical therapy, etc. and end with Tru independently walking. At least I think that is the plan.

Thursday – Tru had his follow up with the surgeon’s office. All is well and his leg has healed very nicely. From there we went directly to physical therapy. This was his 3rd PT visit. The main thing the therapist is working on now is to encourage Tru to place weight on the end of his leg. Tru avoids any contact with his leg – who can blame him? But it definitely does not hurt. He will let me massage it, stretch it, tickle it, etc. He never flinches. We have some “rough play” at least once a day. He enjoys it and it allows me to stretch his leg while he thinks it is all play. Jonathan accompanied us to both appointments.

Also, when I picked up Lin-Ley after school she had brought me some flowers…. in a plastic container… with water. I guess she wanted to make sure they were fresh! But where did she get the container?? And how did she get away with taking this on the school bus? I was especially appreciative as I walked to the car holding Tru, an umbrella and the flowers while holding Lin-Ley’s hand in the parking lot!

She is so proud of them and comments on them everytime she passes them.

Friday – Tru had his test socket fitting. The socket is the part of the prosthesis that his leg will fit into. I am just beginning to learn the lingo myself. The Prosthetists (another new word) took several different measurements and would adjust the test socket in between measurements. Tru did not enjoy any of this! He just kept saying “Mommy, Mommy!” in a very sad little voice. But the moment they would remove the test socket he would say, “All done. Bye-Bye.” and began waving at the staff. This would always get a laugh – but he was quite serious. Jonathan was there to document the whole visit.

At this point they are expecting to have Tru’s completed prosthesis prepared by April 16th. If it is ready sooner they will give me a call. My original prediction was that Tru would be walking by April 1st. I was not too far off!

And today, Saturday, was a quiet day. We did not have any school, appointments, lessons, shopping or other time managed activities. We were free. A good day.