Day 1: Halo Application... and all the odds and ends

Day 1: Halo Application... and all the odds and ends

Levi and his posse, (ie my mom, Baby Charlotte and myself), arrived in Salt Lake the night before Levi was to have the Halo applied. I will generously spare you from the ridiculous details of finding our hotel in the middle of rush hour, pulling over to feed a baby, almost missing an exit and nearly taking out another innocent (but grouchy) driver... never mind. The important thing is that we arrived safely, and managed to get a few hours of sleep before our ridiculously early check-in time. *Irritated Facial Expression*

6:00 am Thursday, November 9th, Levi went into a minor surgery to have the Halo Application. The surgeons kindly refer to the halo 'hardware' as 'pins'... LIES. Frankenstein would be proud. Fortunately, the kids seem to hold up just fine, and although I had to brace myself before seeing him in recovery, he passed with flying colors. The nurse that kept an eye on him during the application was floored at how amazing he was... yes we know. Levi is the man. 

We spent a couple of hours in recovery with Levi while they checked to make sure that he was eating and drinking properly, and then it was off to Shriner's Hospital...or as the kind personnel at Primary Children's refer to it... The Shrine. (HAHA) 

Levi in recovery directly after surgery

In recovery, feeling better after a snack and some juice

Transport (Levi got to ride in an ambulance...the coolness factor rises) 

Once we finally arrived at The Shrine, they checked us in to what will be our home for the next four weeks, and took us on the Grand Tour...complete with awesome, off-road wagon. 

Once our tour was complete, it was time to put Levi in Traction. (Woo hoo!) There are three sets of Traction, because he is to be in Traction 24 hours a day for the duration of our stay. This allows for optimum treatment before surgery. So, there is a pulley system attached to his bed, a small (and awesome!) wheelchair, and a walker. These devices allow him to be just about anywhere, and still be in Traction. 

First nap

The traction is a system of pulleys and weights that slowly pull his neck into a straightened position. They started him out at 5 lbs of weight, and will add 1 lb per day until he reaches 40-50% of his body weight. That way, he will be at the max amount of weight for the most time possible. We relate it to having braces, and he is on some pain management because, as you can imagine, he gets a little sore. 

Here at The Shrine, there are lots of nurses, a team of physical therapists, and doctors that round once/day. We cannot say enough about the kindness of these people- they have really worked hard to make us feel as 'at home' as we can! 

My trusty sidekick (and all around professional of all things mom)

The end of our first day. Grabbing some grub in the cafeteria...and we found a super hero movie...WINNING.