School has been out for 2 weeks now. Sarah, Tyler, and Connor all had a great year!
Sarah walked away from her junior year with 7 A's and 1 B. She earned her 3rd academic letter this year! We are so proud of her! This was by far the toughest year she has had in high school. She participated in an internship at a Carrollton Orthopaedics and really enjoyed it. She left school early every other day to learn the ropes of a doctor's office. While the experience was something that she enjoyed, she did learn that she does not want to be an orthopaedic doctor! Our baby girl is now a SENIOR!!
Tyler made all A's and B's this year and is moving on up to the 5th grade. He was accepted into the gifted program this year, which we hope will challenge him more in the years to come. He was awarded the following awards on the last day of school:
- Certificate of Achievement for Recognition of Excellence in Reading
- Certificate of Achievement for Recognition of Excellence in Social Studies
- Certificate of Achievement for Recognition of Excellence in Science
- Certificate of Achievement for Recognition of Excellence in Language Arts
- Certificate of Achievement for Recognition of an Awesome Achiever - A's & B's during the entire 2011-2012 School Year
Connor is zooming to 2nd grade next year. He was tested for the gifted program this school year as well. More testing will take place over the course of the summer and we will know more at the start of the next school year. Connor received the following awards:
- Music Award for outstanding participation and performance in music class
- Best Attitude Award for always having a positive attitude
- Mathematics Award for outstanding performance on the CRCT
Both of the boys took the CRCT this year and excelled in every area. A score of 800-849 meets expectations. A score of 850 and above exceeds expectations.
Connor's scores:
Reading :854
Language Arts: 879
Math: 903
Tyler's scores:
Reading: 873
Language Arts: 930 (a perfect score!!)
Math: 876
Science: 890
Social Studies: 852
We are so proud of all of them!
Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."
I searched for weeks prior to Sarah's surgery for the perfect gift. It finally came to me on a random Google search. A ring with the scripture above engraved on it. It was perfect! Her scoliosis surgery is giving Sarah a future and a hope just as God intends for her to have. Ironically (or by divine intervention perhaps??), this scripture has appeared in many places since, so it is now referred to as "our scripture".
As long as God, who knows the future, provides our agenda and goes with us as we fulfill his mission, we can have boundless hope. This does not mean that we will be spared pain, suffering, or hardship, but that God will see us through to a glorious conclusion.
Sarah's surgery was a huge success and a glorious conclusion to a 10 year battle with scoliosis! We can not be more proud of how brave she was to go through with it. If I am being honest, I must say that I thought she would back out. I couldn't have been more wrong. She was so much braver than her dad and I were.
The surgery itself took 6 1/2 hours. That was the longest 6 1/2 hours of our lives! She did great in surgery; although she did lose enough blood right at the end that a blood transfusion was required. Otherwise, there were no complications at all. Before surgery, we were told that the doctor would need to fuse the rods down to L3. This was a huge disappointment because we were counting on no lower than L2. The lower the rods extend, the less flexibility she would have. When the surgery was over, the doctor came to talk to Bo and I while Sarah was in recovery. She happily reported that she only had to fuse to L1. I've never seen Bo cry so hard (with joy, of course).
She had a 5 day hospital stay. It was tough getting her pain management under control, which is what extended her stay. The muscle spasms and pain was intolerable most of the time. The change in her anatomy was upsetting because "it doesn't feel right," as she would say. The physical therapist had her walking only 20 hours after surgery, though and was a huge help in her recovery.
Once home, her recovery has been steady. She gets in and out of bed on her own. Dresses herself on her own. Feeds herself on her own. She couldn't do any of this the first day (or even on the 5th day!).
The first picture of the xray below was taken during surgery to assist with the rod placement. The next picture is a before and after (1 week). As you can see, it's a huge change in her anatomy. My biggest fear in all of this is that she would regret her decision once it was too late to turn back. In the hospital, with all the pain she was experiencing, she said "Mom, I'm already so glad I did this". That was music to my ears.
