Merry Christmas!

Sharon's been having some holiday fun, with visits from both Baer grandparents and daddy being on a nice long break from work!!
There's a shot with Gram and Sharon and I on Christmas morning (Gram was well into the chocolate by then!), and Sharon has been LOVING candy canes, especially the enormous one from cousin Marion. I LOVE the picture of Sharon singing with me. We were playing a singing video game with Anna and Sharon grabbed a mike and was singing along!! And every year I make a gingerbread house with the Messick kids and this was the first year Sharon was interested in helping (or eating it is more like it!)

I haven't updated since she got her casts off and i was hoping for sleep...very funny of me!?? She actually has been in pain most nights and we had her back on pain meds for the first week or so. It seems to be getting easier now for her and we're trying to stop the meds. Her legs seem to want to contract into a curled position at night, which then wakes her up because it hurts. We have been giving her lots of baths and getting in the hot tub with her, which really helps loosen her up. Her legs are still very stiff and sore and she doesn't like to move them out of the casted position. We were told by her doctor not to really worry about moving her legs until the middle of January (giving her bones adequate time to heal), so we're just biding our time.
She is so much happier to be out of the casts! She is able to play with her toys and even scoot a little on the floor. We're prety confident that she's going to come back pretty quickly once we're given the go-ahead to start her PT again...she really WANTS to be up and moving so that's what is going to work in her favor!
Thanks for the continued support! We really enjoyed hearing from so many of you in Christmas cards! I love getting the letters and hearing what everyone is up to!!!
Continue to enjoy the holidays and the CHristmas season! Remember, it's just started!!!

We see legs!!!!

So, the cast is off!!! Hip Hip Hooray (yes, pun intended). I feel like a weight has been lifted...and i'm sure Sharon does!
RJ and I took her this morning, and after a really really long wait, the process of taking the cast off took 6 minutes. It wasn't as bad as i was expecting (meaning, Sharon took it better than i expected. She sure didn't like it, but she survived). She was uncomfortable for the first couple of hours and we're keeping tylenol in her because her muscles are so tight and sore. We got home and put her in a bath...where she stayed for almost an hour! She was so happy to be playing in the water and the bath loosened her up and also made her legs look human again (they were rather lizard-ish prior to the bath!) (she and daddy had fun blowing bubbles together)
Anna pointed over that they are very skinny, but that is to be expected (and it's not like she had any meat on those legs to spare!).
After a visit from Namom, Jax, and Anna, she perked up nicely and has been having a wonderful evening. She loves touching her legs (and itching them!) and keeps kissing her knees. Aunt Debbie and the House crew sent a great package of lotions and Sharon has been LOVING rubbing the lotion all over her legs....
We hope to see more movement of the legs in the next day or so...they're pretty much still in cast-position.
The doctor doesn't want us pushing her at all for the next month, no standing or walking unless she decides that she wants to. We'll go back for one more x-ray in a month and if she is continuing to heal well, then they'll let us get to work on getting her standing and walking again!!
So, she's off to bed, and here is one tired Mommy hoping that she will sleep better with the cast off...more later!

the homestretch!

We're almost through! hard to believe but this Friday is the big day. yay!!!
She's had a fun week with lots of her favorite visitors (cat, dog, ally and mimi came back, cousin Rose...) and even was able to do some piano playing! We celebrated Pop-Pop's birthday and it was the first time we've been away from home and she's been able to really enjoy herself, so that was nice! She even got a chance to hang out at the barn for awhile because the weather has been great.
What a trip this has been. Wouldn't wish it on anyone, that's for sure! And we sure couldn't have done it without so much help. My parents cooked, entertained, visited, helped, did whatever they needed to any given day. We had people bring food, toys, and themselves to help pass the time. People sent care packages or called to talk to Sharon on the phone. One of our therapists has cooked for us at least once each week!! It certainly takes a village to get through these 5 weeks! THANK YOU THANK YOU!
So now we wait to see what happens when the cast comes off (well, after the MASSIVE bath she's going to have!). She's going to be so relieved! And let's hope she sleeps at least a little better...
And on a totally unrelated note, it was brought to me attention from an old college friend who was reading through the blog, that i never let you all know that Lil is home from Iraq!!!!! She came home a couple of months ago! yay!!!!

3 down, 2 to go!!

So our little trooper is hanging in there. Well, she's doing better than that. She's accepted that this is now her life and is her regular happy self. Hard to believe...i think most adults would be complaining regularly! I can't wait to give her the gift of getting the cast off...she'll be so pleasantly surprised that this isn't permanent!!! This shot is a rare one of her in daddy's lap (the lap position usually is very uncomfortable for her, but she was happy eating lunch on daddy's lap today)
So, we've made it 3 weeks. December 14th is CAST OFF DAY!!! yay!!! I truly try to appreciate every minute of Sharon because i know how fast kids grow up, but i'll be honest and say that i have been counting down every second of this cast time!
Her pain is very manageable now, she rarely complains, just a wince or whine now and then. Nightimes continue to be a challenge. She seems to get sorer then and also must be quite uncomfortable trying to sleep in the cast...and now the itching has started too. if anyone has any ideas or suggestions, we would love to hear them! When she was in pain we could give her drugs, but we just don't know what to do for this itching (I was a bit sleep deprived the other night and was ready to cut the top of her casts off myself so i could scratch for her!!)
But in general, she is just amazing. Happy, playful...so fun to be around!