Sunday, February 27, 2011
Zipper scar
My step son Cody is a very tall boy....he stands 5'11" at age 13. Well this fast growth at such a young age caused a major problem for Cody. We noticed about a year ago that his chest had a huge dent in it. His Mom took him to the Dr. to get it checked out and it turned out his ribs on his left side were not growing toward his sternum and protecting his lung and heart the ribs were turning in towards his spin and moving his heart out of the way and starting to squeeze his lung. He started having shortness of breath a few times and the connective tissue in there was getting inflamed. Well the Dr. decided he need to have surgery to correct this problem before it got worse but insurance decided the surgery would not be covered because it "cosmetic" in there books. It had to be life threatening for regular insurance to cover it. We then reached out to The Shriners Hospital. That organization is AMAZING!!!!!! They agreed to do Cody's surgery.....for FREE!!!!!! It was a very expensive surgery and they did it for free. I was so amazed a felt like our families had been bless. Cody had his surgery on Monday. It was 4 hours long and it is a 6 month recovery process. They went in and cut 3" off 4 ribs on one side and 2" off 3 ribs on the other side. they then used "bone cement" to connect the ribs back to the sternum and they but in a metal rod to hold his ribs in place till they heal in about 6 months and then they will go in and take the rod back out in 6 months. He has a long road for recovery ahead of him but he is a strong kiddo and will do great!! He is going to come stay with us for about a week when he is able to ride in a car for 2 hours without to much pain. Cody will soon have a "zipper scar" to show off LOL and when his Great Grandpa on his Moms side gets out of the hospital after having heart surgery they are going to stand together and compare/show off their "zipper scars"
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
I'm glad to hear Cody came thru the surgery okay. That's quite an amazing story. I'm so glad the Shriner's Hospital was there to help him and his family. Amazing! It sounds like he has a long road ahead of him, and I wish him all the best. Kids sometimes heal more quickly than expected, so I hope he falls into that category. He'll be showing off that "zipper scar" for the rest of his life. :)
*hugs*
Kids have an amazing way of healing real fast. I pray he does well.
He's gonna be one tall boy! Maybe a future baskeball player there.
Have a great week
Patti
I'm glad he is doing so well. Maybe he'll want to spend a day or two with us in t he country when he comes to stay with you. We don't have an extra bed right now, but maybe a day trip or two will be in order.
I'm glad he is doing so well. Maybe he'll want to come spend a day or so in the country with us. There's no spare bed right now, but maybe a day trip or so will be in order.
love you!
I hope Cody makes a speedy and full recovery!
Got to love those non-paying insurance companies (NOT!)
I'm glad he's on the mend - I hope he has a complete and speedy recovery!
Post a Comment