Rock On!

He's BAAAAAAACCKKKKKKKK . . . (cue EPIC drum solo with a crazy amount of cymbal crashes at the end)!!!

Our apologies that things have been quiet on the blog front lately.  We've been keeping our "carpe diem" close to home for the past six weeks as we've been helping the youngest member of the corp recovers from his first major orthopedic surgery.

At the end of May, we made the trek up to Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Children's Hospital in Baltimore, MD, where the little guy underwent spinal fusion surgery for scoliosis.  The 5:00 a.m. report time put us on the road in the wee hours of the morning, but we were all wide-eyed and awake as we checked in and waited in the waiting area to be called back to surgery.

Waiting to get called back

True to form, his sunny disposition and positive attitude kept a smile on his face (and everyone else's . . . nurses, doctors, anesthesiologists, and anyone else that popped in to talk to him!) right until the moment they wheeled him back to the operating room.

Ready to roll

Dad got to suit up to walk him back

Let's just say that was the longest six or so hours of our lives!  Thankfully the surgical nurse would step out of the OR periodically and call updates in to us in the waiting area, so we generally knew how things were progressing.

What our incredible surgeon was able to accomplish for him was nothing short of miraculous!

We spent one day in the intensive care unit . . .

And six LONG days in the hospital, but he was determined to fight his way through the fog of the pain killers to start his rehab right away.  He was able to walk with support when we left the hospital, and he walked in the front door of the house when we got home. 

Drum stick therapy

View of Baltimore out our hospital room window

We knew he would be taller, but it's still hard to get used to seeing him fully 2-3 inches taller and holding his own in the lineup with Bro and Dad.   

Boy, were we relieved and surprised when he was able to sit behind the drum set three weeks after the surgery and gently start playing again.  By week four, it was as if he didn't miss a beat, sitting tall behind the drum set and working his way through one of his Rush faves, "The Trees."

Behind the drums four weeks post surgery

Earlier this week, we headed back up to Baltimore for his six-week post-op visit with Dr. Sponseller, his amazing orthopedic surgeon.  He was pleased with the recovery so far and the xrays showed that everything looks good.  Huzzah (as our reenactors would say)!

Posing with Dr. Sponseller

It seemed only fitting to take a moment to celebrate the good news, so we headed down to the Hard Rock Cafe at Baltimore's Inner Harbor to have some food and check out the "merch" in the gift shop.

Rockin' a fedora at the Hard Rock Cafe

We are counting our blessings and raising our goblets of rock in gratitude to the amazingly skilled Dr. Sponseller and to this brave kid who continues to rock our world each and every day!