At our first follow up visit we saw Dr. Kevin and Dr. Paley. We were able to see for the first time Jakes 'progress' so far with lengthening.
The shaded area has new bone which will harden (consolidate) over 9 months. This growth is from 12 days of pin turning which slowly separates the bone ¼ of a millimeter at a turn. We turn the pin 4 times a day which equals 1mm a day and every 10 days equals a centimeter of bone separation ie. new bone growth. This lengthening process has many moving parts and it has been a team effort to get this far, between, PT appointments, Jakes medications and vitamins administration, heat application, muscle massage, muscle stimulation device application, pin cleaning, drying and wrapping, along with trying to entertain him (and his very active brothers) this is a full time job! All of our family and friends who have supported us along this journey has helped us tremendously! We really do feel your love, prayers and support and it helps! We are 1/7th of the way there, Praise God! Please continue to pray for Jakes pain management, his strength and his determination. 
With love, Jake and Family
Jake and Family,
ReplyDeleteI am not surprised at all to hear that Jake is persevering like he is! What an incredibly strong young man! We missed you so much at the end of our school year. We even put together a package that I would love to send your way that includes different goodies from the end of the year. The class asked about him each and every day and when we shared the blog they were so amazed at how determined and brave Jake is! They wanted to send their love, as did I! I consider myself so incredibly blessed to have had you in my class this year! I hope you will continue to stop by my classroom when you are in first grade! My goodness you're growing up so fast! It seems like just yesterday, we became pre-school playground pals! We miss you terribly and are sending our love to you daily! You are my little hero, Jake!
Love,
Miss Petterson