Baby Steps...

I haven't been very good about updating on Hunter's progress, mainly because there was a good 5 weeks there where we weren't doing anything! It has been a long, difficult, and frustrating time for both Hunter and I, and I just didn't want to write about it. However, today I am writing with a renewed sense of joy, hope, and most of all, gratitude.

This has been a very, very big week for Hunter! We saw the surgeon again on Monday, and she was very pleased with Hunter's progress. Hunter was given a leg immobilizer, which we were able to start using at therapy this week, and he will start wearing it at home starting next week!

Big event #1 came on Tuesday at therapy: Hunter has already been doing a great job straightening his leg (he is 5 degrees short of full extension!). On Tuesday, Katheryn (our PT - I'll use her name from now on instead of 'the therapist'!) asked Hunter to bend his leg as much as he could. So Hunter started with his leg in almost full extension, and with no help, bent it to 91 DEGREES! If you recall, the surgeon had his knee bent to 90, so the fact that Hunter can now achieve even more flexion is absolutely huge, and a wonderful indication that the surgery was indeed a success. After that, Kathryn put him in the immobilizer brace, and tried to get Hunter to step down on his left foot. Hunter was pretty freaked out by this, and would only touch his toes on the floor very gently.

Big event #2 came today!: Today, Hunter went to therapy a little more prepared for the leg brace, and he was tremendously successful! After a few stretching exercises, Kathryn put Hunter's brace on and had him step on the floor. He was still resisting putting any weight on the left foot, so Kathryn let him play with the foot controls for the bed they have in the therapy room. An electronic gadget was just the right motivation! Hunter started pushing down on that foot with no trouble at all and even said "hey, this isn't so bad!". Since he did so well with that, Kathryn decided to have him try walking with a walker.

After the first two steps, Hunter tried racing down the hallway hopping with only the right leg, and we realized the walker provided wheels and a little too much support! After that we had to bargain with Hunter - five hops, then 10 real steps, five hops, etc. Just when I thought this was all so amazing, Hunter decided he wanted to try standing without holding on to anything -

Seeing the progress this week has been like seeing a light at the end of a long, frustrating, exhausting, and very challenging tunnel. It was a reminder to both Hunter and I that this is only temporary, and that the best is yet to come!

On our drive home, we stopped for a milkshake as a reward for all of Hunter's hard work. During the drive I had the song "Tunnel" by Third Day stuck in my head:

I won't pretend to know what you're thinking

I can't begin to know what you're going through

I won't deny the pain that you're feeling

But I'm gonna try and give a little hope to you

Just remember what I've told you

There's so much you're living for

There's a light at the end of this tunnel,

There's a light at the end of this tunnel For you, for you

There's a light at the end of this tunnel

Shinin' bright at the end of this tunnel For you, for you

So keep holdin' on

You've got your disappointments and sorrows

You ought to share the weight of that load with me

Then you will find that the light of tomorrow

It brings a new life for your eyes to see

What a day :o)

Batts Finally Out and About...

Hunter's recovery has been an interesting, exhausting, yet fairly uneventful road so far. The surgeon cut Hunters cast in half on February 9th. He is required to wear the bottom half at all times (with the exception of showers and physical therapy), and then he wears both the top and bottom halves to bed. So, four weeks post-surgery, Hunter is still pretty much immobile, although it has gotten a little easier to carry him around now that he isn't so sore.

As you can imagine, we really haven't been up to much. Hunter and I have been sticking around the house for the most part. Hunter has gotten really good at Justin's motorcross and skateboarding x-box games. We've also been working on puzzles, and building things with Hunter's trio set, in addition to our regular 'school at home' activities.

Hunter expanding on Justin's tower:

Like Father, Like Son - he couldn't even take is eyes off the game for 2 seconds while I took the picture!

Today was a particularly fun day. Hunter was signed up to play basketball this season, with the same coach he had for soccer. Due to the surgery being right in the middle of the season, we had to pull Hunter out. His coach, Coach Brown, asked Hunter if he would come and be the assistant coach for the next few weeks, now that they are actually playing games. Today was the first game, and Hunter had a great time. Coach Brown went above and beyond, making sure Hunter was as in on the action as he could be :o)

After the game, we decided to visit our favorite eating establishment here in Monterey, the Paris Bakery!

Justin enjoying his Chicken Focaccia, and Hunter patiently waiting for his treat -

Hunter's usual - A smiley face cookie and an apple juice

My usual - a hazelnut latte, today I also enjoyed a lovely ham and swiss croissant (photo courtesy of Hunter)

Before we left, Hunter put on Justin's hat and then wanted to take a picture of himself - Justin and I think it came out pretty great!

As you might be able to tell from the basketball pictures, Hunter's shorts seem to have gotten a little shorter over the winter :o) So since we didn't have any other plans we decided to head out to the Carter's outlet in Gilroy. As we walked in the door, the saleslady handed us a coupon for 20% off your entire purchase of more than $50 - Justin sighed and rolled his eyes as I went skipping down the aisles, snatching up clothes at 40, 50, and 60% off (before the coupon!) for both kids (yeah, that's plural - yikes! :o)

After what I would consider a successful mission, we stopped and got Hunter his first shamrock shake to enjoy on the drive home (and in case anyone is concerned, lunch was served in between the cookie and the milkshake)

We are expecting Hunter's walker to be delivered early this week, so hopefully that will help him get up and around the house more. Our next appointment with the surgeon is on March 1, at which point we should gain a little clearance and be able to keep the cast off for longer periods of time.

Resting Comfortably

Hello all, it's a little after 4pm our time. Hunter was out of surgery right on time at about 1230, and I was able to go and see him pretty soon after that. So far, the surgery appears to have been a success. Hunter, unable to bend his knee past 20 degrees prior to surgery, is currently casted at 90 degrees :o) The surgeon is very pleased with the result, and feels that having both legs able to achieve 90 degrees will do wonderful things for Hunter's mobility in the future.

Hunter is less than thrilled with his cast (he keeps saying it 'bothers' him), but that is to be expected. The pain meds from surgery wore off pretty quickly, so there was a bit of time this afternoon when Hunter was pretty miserable, but now that those meds have kicked in, he is watching a movie, and appears to be resting comfortably, waiting on his dinner. Justin is on the road, and should be joining us here within the next two hours.

Here is Hunter, happily drugged up. Notice the matching blue cast on Puppy's left leg :o)

90 degrees of flexion

Friday Morning Update

Hunter was wheeled into surgery at 10:30am (PST). The procedure is expected to last about two hours, I will update when we are settled in Hunter's room. For now, here are a few pictures of Hunter's smiling face this morning :o)

Happily playing with his leapster while waiting to check in at 7:30am -

10:00 am, still waiting, still playing with the leapster :o)

Batt Family Goings-On

After four years of hearing "we don't know what's causing the problem, and there's not much we can do", we have finally been given some answers regarding Hunter's condition. In mid-December, Hunter did a gait analysis, during which a team consisting of an engineer, a physical therapist, a neurologist, and several orthopedic surgeons determined Hunter's muscle and bone function. This team determined that Hunter's muscles function appropriately, and his muscle strength is that of a normal four year old, and therefore he is a good candidate for surgery.

On Friday, January 22, Hunter will undergo an endoscopic quadricepsplasty on his left leg. This is a lengthening/reconstruction of his left quadriceps muscle. The goal of this surgery is for Hunter to achieve greater flexion at the knee joint as currently, he can only bend his left knee to about a 20 degree angle. Lengthening the quadriceps muscle should help him achieve at least a 45 degree angle, although the ultimate goal is 60 degrees. (Hunter can bend his right knee to 45 degrees, so the surgeon does not want to mess with a good thing on that side :o) Signing the consent form for the surgery today was gut-wrenching. As a parent, it is heartbreaking to hand over your sweet, four year old little boy to be operated on, even though you know that the procedure has the potential to drastically change his quality of life in the future. I am not looking forward to that moment of separation tomorrow morning, but I am praying for the strength to keep a smile on my face until Hunter cannot see me anymore (being pregnant does not help with the emotional aspects of your child's surgery!).

The surgery will be done at the Lucille Packard Children's Hospital, which is the children's hospital at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The hospital is up near San Francisco, which is almost a two hour drive from Monterey, so Hunter and I are spending the night in a hotel on the edge of the Stanford campus, as we have to be at the hospital at 7:30 tomorrow morning. Justin was unable to get any time off of school (tests all week), so he will be driving up to Stanford to join us when he gets out of school tomorrow afternoon.

Hunter's surgery is scheduled for mid morning, and should take 1.5-2 hours. He will be casted with his leg at a 30 degree angle (assuming that angle is achievable), and the cast will need to stay on for three weeks. We are expected to stay in the hospital until midday on Sunday.

I will be using this blog to update you all on Hunters progress this week, and for the weeks to follow. Thank you so much for your prayers and support, they are very much appreciated :o)

Love,

Justin, Nickie, and Hunter

View From the Outside

Well, since I posted a picture of our little one on the inside, I thought I'd share a picture of what's happening on the outside, since most of you don't get to see me in person very often!

Here I am today, at 19 weeks:

Is this thing working??

I've been having a heck of a time updating this blog lately, and not because of my own procrastination this time! I have made a few changes on the computer, so hopefully that will be the end of the technical issues!

Baby Batt:
We had our second ultrasound done on Monday, January 11th. While the baby was shy and decided not to reveal his or her gender, we have another complete scan on February 8th. We have been inspired by friends of ours who just had their second baby this week - they knew the gender all along, but chose to keep their friends and family on pins and needles until the baby arrived... We were all ready to reveal the gender to the world on Monday, but now that we have a few more weeks to ponder it, we might keep you all in suspense until June, we'll just have to see ;o)

For now, here is the latest snapshot of the newest member of our family: