January 28, 2019 "Hip Surgery Incisions"

Dr. Vergun instructed us to remove the bandages in 10 days to allow them to heal with air. I knew they would heal better but I was extremely frightened to remove the bandages. I just kept thinking the incisions would open up and begin bleeding or they would get infected somehow. We finally got the nerve to remove them all 20 days after surgery.

Left femur and hip/socket incision bandage                     Right femur incision bandage

Left femur and hip/socket incision                    Right femur incision

Day 27  

January 10-12, 2019 "The days after surgery"

Thursday, January 10, 2019 Rayden was able to sleep a little better last night even though they continued to wake him for meds and vitals. He was up at 6 am ready to watch his ipad. Michael and I were able to change his diaper together without the nurses help this morning. WIN!! We thought things were looking up. He only drank some chocolate milk this morning but threw that up when I gave him his colace medicine. We need to try the potty system today because allowing him to get backed up will cause another problem and now that he is throwing up, things are getting sketchy. The nurses are just not familiar with the Peristeen system and how it is administered so in this case Michael and I are the experts. It took us a while to talk out all the scenarios of how to get him onto the bedside potty with his legs straight out. We tried potty time around 10 am unsuccessfully. I asked for some prune juice with an adult amount of miralax. It arrived around 2:00. After drinking this we took him to play in the music room again. This time he used his right arm but still wouldn't use his left one because it had two IV's in it.

Around 3:30 we wheeled Rayden into the hospital school for some one-on-one science time. He made green snow. Now that was exciting. The more water he put into it the more snow he got! Rayden continued to say, "This is the coolest!" and "I love this!" It was wonderful to see him smile and have fun.

When we returned to the room I asked the nurse if she would take out his IV's so he would start using his arm. When she did, he began using it immediately like it was cured! It was kinda funny. He seemed to be feeling better and even asked for pizza from the Ronald McDonald room. After eating half a slice (the only thing he had eaten ALL DAY) he threw it all up!!

I began to worry about him being backed up. Dr. Vergun came and said since we are keeping his pain under control with oral pain meds he could go home IF we could get his bowels to move. She didn't feel comfortable sending him home with a possible blockage, neither did we. She also asked the nurse for some sticky, plastic wrap to put over his incisions in case the prune juice caused a blow out. She wanted us to protect the incision sites. We tried the Peristeen potty system again around 8:00. This time we were somewhat successful. After transferring him into the bed he started asking for food! I knew then that he was going to be ok. He ate a banana, half of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and drank a carton of chocolate milk.

Friday, January 11, 2019 The night nurse did not wake Rayden all night. Although he got a good nights sleep he woke up screaming in pain around 6 am. I called for meds and began packing up. When Dr. Vergun arrived the first thing she asked was "Did we get anything?" referring to his potty time. When we told her it was successful she went over discharge expectations. Rayden is not allowed to bear any weight at all on his legs or hips. He is to remain on the couch or in bed until we see her in 3 weeks. We can take the pillow out from between his legs if he tolerates it. It is mainly for his comfort by keeping his legs still and apart. We can sponge bathe him because we cannot get the casts wet. He can take Tylenol and Oxycodone every 5 hours for pain. We can take the bandages off in 10 days to let them air. (Certainly don't want to do this!) The swelling in his abdomen, groan and upper thighs can get very bad. (He's already huge and all shades of purple, green and yellow!) If the bandages get filled with blood of course we have to call her. We were sent home with a bedside potty seat and a small wheel chair. When we see her on Feb. 1 she will take the pins out of his feet, and bivalve the casts so we can go Feb. 2 to see Bob in Wilmington for new AFO's. He will remain non-weight bearing for another 3 weeks allowing the hips to heal. Then the physical therapy will begin to get him back up and walking! Another surgery will be scheduled in a year to remove the plate and pins from his hips.

We were discharged at 10am. Rayden did not sleep all the way home and screamed "WE'RE HOME!" when he saw our house. So precious. He was so happy to be home. He did not sleep the rest of the day either and ate a very good dinner. Of course Michael, Alex and I had to figure out how best to do things for him at home.
Saturday, January 12, 2019 You would think that Rayden would have slept much better being in his own bed but that was not the case. He wanted Momma around 3am and I had to lay down with him until we got up at 6am. He is adjusting well to staying on the couch. He still wants to be covered up with the blanket at all times because he hates to see his bandages, casts and pillow (we cannot put on any shorts or pants). The pain meds are constipating him so getting his bowels to move continues to be a challenge. He is much better with diaper changes but it still takes at least 2 people to do it. I can't pick him up with both arms AND take off the diaper AND put down a new one all by myself.

You can tell he is in pain. He grits his teeth and moans but he doesn't scream in pain anymore. He is the definition of a WARRIOR!! He just keeps getting stronger and stronger. He has a distinct cry when he is in pain. I can tell, even though he continuously screams "I'm fine" and answers "Nowhere" when I ask him where he is hurting. He tries so very hard to be brave and show no weakness. He is the bravest, strongest, most courageous four year old I know!

January 9, 2019 "Surgical x-rays-Day 1 after surgery"

Wednesday, January 9, 2019 The nurses continued to wake Rayden and myself throughout the night to get vitals, and give him round the clock pain meds. I was pleased they didn't try to change his diaper or move him like the other nurse said. They let him get as much rest as they could. He was up and asking for his ipad about 5:30am. I ordered him some pancakes but he wouldn't eat a thing! I knew he wouldn't eat with that IV still in, so they disconnected it but left it in his arm in case he still needed pain meds. He was still in so much pain. We changed his diaper again about 6am. He didn't tolerate it any better this time either. It took three people this time, and the nurse wanted to put a chuck under him to help roll him. This was excruciating for him!! I can't even put it into words. Rayden could not tolerate anybody touching him and rolling him around onto the hips he just had reconstructed!!! I can only imagine the pain he was feeling and it was killing me to see him like this.
Around 7:30 Dr. Vergun and her intern came into the room. She didn't want us to try his potty system today because of his pain level. No one wants him to get backed up but we don't want him in agony either. Maybe two days with no poop would be ok. (Keep in mind Rayden has neurogenic bladder and bowel.) She explained the surgery again but this time she had x-ray images to share. It really made things much clearer for us.

1. This first image is BEFORE surgery. You can see the femur (leg bone) is straight with a dot on the top. This dot is the ball. His leg is shaped like an 'i' but it should be shaped like an upside down 'L'. The ball should be inside the 'V' shaped hole (socket). The 'V' shaped hole should actually be 'C' shaped. What a challenge!

2. She cut the femur with a saw and turned the portion she cut into the "V" shaped socket. Then she rotated the femur so it was straight, 15% NOT 60% inward, and attached it to the portion she cut off with a plate and four screws. 

3. In this third image she was checking the placement of the ball and socket. It is taken from the side so you can see the outside of the plate down his leg. 

4. In this image you can see where she grafted bone from his upper pelvis and reconstructed his socket that was 'V' shaped and made it 'C' shaped wrapping the ball correctly. 

Around 8:30 Alex arrived and was able to get Rayden to eat some home fries but nothing else. He will do anything for his brother. Soon Courtney, the physical therapist, came wanting us to get him out of the bed. I thought she was crazy! He couldn't even tolerate us rotating him to change his diaper and this woman wanted me to pick him UP OUT of the bed!!! 9:30 I bucked it as long as I could but soon she showed up with a little wheelchair saying it was time. She wanted me to put one arm under his shoulder blades and the other under his knees and lift him straight up, rotate my body and lower him into the chair. Keep in mind that he still has a purple foam pillow velcroed to between his legs too. Michael and everyone else left. They knew this was going to be bad. Rayden began crying immediately. I think he was scared of the chair. 

Of course, I had to be strong for Rayden so I tried. He was alright when I put my arms behind his shoulders but when I placed my other arm under his knees he started screaming. This scream sent chills through my body and I just fell to the floor laying my head on his bed and cried saying "I can't do it!" Courtney encouraged me to get up and try again. I had to be strong for Rayden. If he was going to get better SOMEBODY had to help him out of this bed. I got myself together and tried again. This time I was able to transfer him into the chair. Once I sat him down he stopped screaming and wanted Alex to push him around. I knew then that he was going to be ok. We took him down the hall to play the Wii for a while then rolled him into the play room. 

He wanted to look at things but he would not lift his arms to play with anything. He acted as if he were paralyzed. It didn't take me long to realize he wouldn't use his arms because he had tape on them. (He HATES tape.) No matter how much we encouraged him to use them, he could still SEE the tape and refused. When I saw the music room in the corner I knew this would make him happy and he may actually use his arms. The entire family got an instrument and we made happy music. Rayden played the xylophone a little. You can see on his face that he was still in pain but he sure tried, and we actually got a smile or two.  

We played for about an hour and then took him back to the room to try to eat something. Of course he didn't want anything to eat. This was beginning to worry me. I realized he only had one bandage on his right arm so I took that one off so maybe he would start using it. After his nap I transferred him back into the bed. Yes, this was very, very painful for him but with every transfer it will get better. 

Around 5:00 he started asking for Legos. Alex and Michael went down to the play room and brought him some back. He began to play using his right arm and we got our first genuine smile!! While they were in the play room they saw a target shooting game and asked if he could play with that too. The lady in charge told Alex he could have that because they couldn't keep toy guns in the hospital. Rayden really enjoyed shooting the target. He even started laughing! 

 

Throughout the day we continued to monitor his pain level and tried to get him to eat anything!! Finally Papa thought he might eat some Vienna sausages. (He will eat them when he won't eat anything else.) Michael and Alex went down to the little drug store inside the hospital and got him some. He actually ate four of those sausages. Maybe things are looking up. When Rayden only had casts he hated to look at them so we kept socks over them. Now that he has bandages, pillow, and casts he screams every time we take off the blanket to move him. As long as we keep the blanket over him he seems to tolerate it fine. 

January 8, 2019 "Surgeries #12 & #13- Bilateral Femoral Osteotomies with Derotation, Left Pelvic Acetabular Osteotomy, Bilateral Arthrograms and Casting #23"

Tuesday, January 8, 2019 We arrived at UNC Children's Hospital at 6:00 am where we met Nanny, Papa, Granny, Alex, and Bob Collins (orthodist). Rayden seemed happy to see everyone but I could tell he was wondering why they were there. We went straight up to the 2nd floor where we were greeted by a nurse saying "Welcome Back!" (I don't know what to think about the hospital staff recognizing us...) They took us straight back into the Pre-Op, no waiting this time. Of course, we went through the same procedures of weighing, changing clothes, taking vitals, signing papers, decorating a gas mask, talking to anesthesiologists and docs. Bob joined in trying to keep Rayden's mind off of what was happening. Dr. Vergun went over what was going to happen again with us. After they got him to sleep she would cut off the casts, Bob would mold him for AFO's, Dr. Vergun would wrap his feet and do the hip Arthrograms (injected die to get x-ray images). After viewing the images she would begin working on the hips, cutting the femurs, putting the balls into the sockets, grafting bone to reshape the socket, turning the leg to a straight position, making sure the legs are the same length, screwing in the plates to hold it in place, taking new x-ray images, and finally recasting the feet. Of course this had to be done on BOTH legs so she expected it to take about 5 hours. 

They gave him the versed to make him loopy around 7:15 and took him to surgery at 7:40. Bob gowned up and went with him. Apparently this anesthesiologist didn't have as much luck as the last one. She had to stick him five times for 1 arterial vein and two IV's. (At least he was asleep during all of this.) Dr. Vergun cut off casts #22. She and Bob examined his feet and said they are healing wonderfully and the skin looked great. Bob molded Rayden for AFO's and came out of the OR about 8:30. The long wait was excruciating for us. We ate breakfast in the cafe and went back to the second floor to wait. We sat in the window seats, walked the halls, played solitaire, walked some more, etc. At 10:30 I had not heard from the OR so I asked the hall nurse to call back there and give me an update. She said they had finished one leg. I thought this was wrong but at least it wasn't a bad update. By 12:30 I went to ask for another update. This time the nurse said Dr. Vergun was finished with the left leg and was starting the right. I was confused but again, at least it wasn't a bad update. Around 1:30 (6 hours in) my worry took over and I felt like I was going to pass out. Michael went with me to the bathroom so I wouldn't pass out in there with the door locked. Instead of passing out, I started throwing up! I kept telling myself I had to get it together, that Rayden needed me. I began to pray for God to ease my fear and worry. We stayed in the bathroom for about 30 minutes. 

At 2:00 (6 1/2 hours in) we opened the door, Michael looked down the hall and saw Dr. Vergun looking for us. She said the surgery went well but was very tough. She said his hips were a mess so it took her longer to fix. She had to take bone from his pelvis to fix the left socket. He lost too much blood and had to have a tranfusion. She also said his femoral anteversion, the inward rotation of the femur bone in the upper leg, was suppose to be between 10-15% but his was 60%!! This is what was causing his knees and feet to turn inward. She said all of this just validated that he REALLY needed this surgery and she would explain more tomorrow when she shows us the x-ray images.  

At 2:40, 7 hours later, I was able to see Rayden in the PACU. He had morphine and fentanyl in the OR so he was really out of it. He was in and out but every time he woke up he was calling for Momma. I am so thankful God helped me through my anxiety and that I was able to be there for him. He had two IV's and an arterial line. He had two short leg, carolina blue casts, and a foam purple pillow velcroed to his legs to keep them separated. He had three incisions-one on the outside of both legs and one in the left groan. The nurse wanted him to drink some juice but he never would. At 3:20 Rayden was transported to room 7Ch10.  I wanted him to have his pillow that Barbara Pollard made for him so I lifted his head just a little to place it and he screamed out in pain. This broke my heart! He was in so much pain! He couldn't even lift his head, he wouldn't move his arms!! How bad is this going to be?!!?? 

By 5:00 he was asking to watch his ipad even though he was in and out. The nurse stated that they were going to have to move him every four hours throughout the night to prevent bed soars and blood clots. I thought I was going to die. He just had both legs CUT OFF and was in so much pain and you want to move him?!!?? She gave him some Tylenol and Oxycodone and came to move him around 6:00. He could not tolerate even lifting one hip to place a pillow underneath. That's when I knew this was going to be really bad on my Warrior. 

By 6:30 when Carol and Ray Fisher and Uncle Gerome Heath arrived he was really out of it but woke up just long enough to say "Hello" and "I love you." By 8:00 the nurses wanted to change his diaper. OMG!!!! It took 4 people (3 nurses and me), everybody else left the room. They began to roll him onto his side and he screamed out in agony. I mean PURE AGONY!!! It about killed me. I have never heard him scream like that before. After it was all over and Rayden was back asleep I turned my head to cry. Rayden could not see me get upset, I had to be his rock, but this was killing me! The only thing we got him to eat was some "red" icecream (strawberry). He ate it trying to race his brother. Even though it took him a very long time to eat that small cup, he still won, haha! By 9:00 he was out for the night. 

December 21, 2018 "Casting #22"

Rayden has actually been very good about NOT standing up and putting any pressure on his feet. He has always been told that he could not walk without his shoes on so this is actually the same concept for him. He doesn't even try to stand up or get off the couch. He asks for help and crawls around from time to time. I am very pleased with how well he is following directions and I pray that he is healing properly.

Since Rayden's feet and legs were swelling so badly after surgery Dr. Vergun had to bivalve the casts, which means simply cutting down both sides and pulling them apart a little to give the legs and feet room to swell. Now that a week has passed and the swelling has gone down she wants to push the casts back together and rewrap them. They did not REMOVE the casts so this is still casting #22.

We discussed the fact that Michael and I requested an MRI before she performs the hip surgery on January 8. Dr. Vergun was NOT the first surgeon to come out of surgery on him saying "that's not what I expected." We want to be more prepared from now on. Dr. Vergun understood our concerns and said they were completely valid but also explained that this was risky and unnecessary. To do an MRI of the hips he would have to be put to sleep and they don't like to do this unless it is absolutely necessary. She said his feet at this age are still cartilage which is why she couldn't see everything on the x-ray prior to surgery. But the hip bones are completely formed and will show up on x-ray so she is not expecting any surprises. After saying all of that, her intern came in and asked me to sign a new consent for the hip surgery. The funny thing is that there was something new on the consent form. She is now going to do bilateral arthrograms in the OR before surgery. They will inject a dye into the hip joint to look at the coverage of the femoral head better on x-ray. The intern said this will help them see how much of the head is covered so they can decide which acetabular osteotomy to do at the time, apparently there are several different kinds.

Dr. Vergun also stated that she would take the casts off in the OR before surgery so she could get his legs the same length and recast him again when she is finished with the hips. She agreed to have Bob Collins, our orthodist from Wilmington, to come into the OR and mold him for new AFO's after she removes the casts. Of course, upon completion of the hip surgery she will have to recast his feet to complete the healing process. I'm not sure how long all of this will take but it sounds lengthy.

December 13, 2018 "Surgery #11-Bilateral Clubfoot Reconstruction."

December 12, 2018- We arrived at Ronald McDonald House this afternoon to prepare for surgery tomorrow morning. The timing could not have been more perfect because they were having their annual holiday party. Rayden certainly enjoyed making ornaments, dancing with the characters, decorating Gingerbread houses, but most of all he enjoyed playing with a sweet, young volunteer in the play room. He played with her for hours and even told me to leave!! He also received 6 gifts. We really appreciate all the Ronald McDonald House does for the families. They truly bring smiles to children/families facing difficult, trying times. 

December 13, 2018- There is a mountain in our path. Rayden will be having his 11th surgery this morning, the biggest one so far! It is expected to take over 6 hours. I rely on my faith during these times. I know God has His hands on Rayden. I truly believe God sent me this song during the benefit sing earlier this month. It has spoken to me and I can't seem to get it off my mind. Just the thoughts of this surgery has brought me to my knees and this song brings me comfort.  Please listen to the words of this song.

                                                     Sometimes it takes a MOUNTAIN!

We arrived at UNC Children's Hospital at 9:30. Our check in time was 10am. I thought they would take Rayden back for surgery a little after 10 but I was so wrong. The wait was ridiculous! They didn't take him back into pre-op until 12:00! Rayden was very anxious in the pre-op area. He knew something bad was about to happen after praying with Pastor Brad. We try not to talk about things in front of Rayden now because he is so aware, but the anesthesiologist came in excited that she was getting to work on Rayden. She had done two surgeries on him before and remembered us, WEIRD!! She started talking about his difficulty with IV sticks, the possibility of a central line, having to go under his clavicle, cutting so much that he may have blood loss so she started talking about blood transfusions, etc. 

I was amazed with his care nurse. She noticed how upset he was getting and asked if his brother could come back. She saw how super happy he was in the hallway with Alex. How observant of her! When Alex arrived Rayden seemed to calm down. Around 1:30 the anesthesiologist brought in some Versed (loopy medicine that will make him unaware of what's going on). I told them I didn't want to take him into the OR again because I didn't want him to associate ME with putting him in pain. I wanted to be the comforter. We noticed he started looking real drugged up and couldn't put the lids back on his markers. 

About 20 minutes later they came with the wagon to transport him into the OR. He didn't cry or anything!!!! He kissed us all and went for a ride. The anesthesiologist gave him a light up, spinning toy and he was just fine! It was actually a little humorous. It was a relief to watch him go so happily. I normally break down because he is crying but this is the first time he didn't cry. What a relief. 

Rayden went into the OR at 2:00. We all went down to the cafe to grab a bite to eat. At 3:00 the OR nurse called to say that Rayden was asleep and Dr. Vergun had just made the first cut. We walked around a bit looking at the Christmas trees throughout the hospital and then went up to the Ronald McDonald room on the 7th floor to sit in a quite, more comfortable environment. The OR nurse called back at 4:24 to say that Dr. Vergun was still working on the right foot. I settled into the recliner to try to rest but the OR nurse called back at 4:44, only 20 minutes later, stating that Dr. Vergun was coming OUT of the OR and wanted to talk to us now! I panicked!!!! Michael and I ran down the hall and into the elevator. Dr. Vergun met us when we got off the elevator. The first thing she said was "He's fine!" I started crying and my knees buckled! She said she didn't mean to scare us but the feet were so much worse than she had anticipated. She called in Dr. Campion to help her. She wanted us to prepare ourselves that she may NOT be able to complete the surgery today. She would explain everything later. At 5:21 the OR nurse called to say that Dr. Campion had arrived and they were beginning the left foot. Of course after this scare we didn't leave the 2nd floor again!! Michael and I walked back and forth down the hall for hours! There was a lady that came out of the PICU. She started talking about Michael's 'Dad' shirt and noticed the worry on our faces. She said she felt led to tell us that God has all of this under control. She said a lot more, but I don't remember it all. I just know I felt at peace when she left. She mentioned that she would be praying for us. I, of course, said we would pray for her as well. Then she commented that at this point she was just praying for a 'rest in peace.' I knew then that her child was dying. Michael and I started counting our 'blessings' and not our 'fears'. I truly believe God sent her at that very moment to send us peace. At 6:07 the OR nurse called back to tell us that the surgical team had decided NOT to do the remainder of the surgery. It was just too risky. He was suppose to have a Femoral Osteotomy on both hips, a Pelvic Acetabular Osteotomy on the left hip and Bilateral Clubfoot Release on both feet. They only completed the Clubfoot releases. At 8:00, approximately 6 hours after they took him back, Dr. Vergun came out to talk to us. She seemed upset and very apologetic. She knew how badly we wanted to get all of this done at one time so Rayden could heal only once but it didn't work out that way. 

She stated that at this age his feet are mostly cartilage and not bone, therefore she couldn't see everything on the x-ray. She couldn't foresee what she came across during surgery. (Here again, Rayden doesn't follow the textbooks!) She said his bones are so deformed. They curve where they are suppose to be straight. His midfoot on both feet were completely dislocated!! She didn't know how he was walking so good. (Sometimes miracles hide!) When Dr. Campion got there he released a little bit more and they were able to get his feet 80% straight, which is the best possible outcome for the shape of his feet. Although they were not able to get 100%, she said they were perfectly plantigrade and the skin was all closed. She also believes this should be the last surgery he needs on his feet. That sounds wonderful! She said to expect a lot of swelling because they had to do a tremendous amount of work on his feet. This is why they all agreed not to complete the surgery because of the amount of swelling he was already having. It would only get worse and that was too risky. She wanted to keep him over night and might possibly have to bivalve the casts in the morning if they are too tight due to swelling. When she left, the anesthesiologist came to talk to us. She said although Dr. Vergun was having a terrible time, everything was perfect on her end of the table. She was able to get IV's on first stick and his blood pressure and vitals were stable the entire time. She wanted to warn us though because she had given him a tremendous amount of pain medication anticipating the hip surgery. She said this should make him sleep all night. She also mentioned that Rayden's heart rate elevated when Dr. Vergun was working on his feet which meant that he COULD FEEL something down there, how much we don't know! This was a completely new development. They put some numbing medication there just to make sure he was comfortable. 

At 8:40 we were finally able to see our baby. They allowed Michael and I both to go back to the PACU to sit with him. He looked so peaceful lying there. They said he probably wouldn't wake up just like the anesthesiologist said, but at 9:20 he started looking around and said "There you are mommy!" the most precious sound I've ever heard. Michael asked him to smile for a picture for brother and his sweet face lit up. While the nurses wheeled him to the short stay unit for the night Rayden talked their heads off. He was saying he fell down the stairs that's why he had green casts. He was so funny, I think he was still a little drugged up. His little face was swollen so bad he could hardly open his eyes. This is because he was lying on his face for six hours during the surgery. But when he started asking for tea and ham we knew he was going to be fine. 

It was taking so long to get his food and Rayden was so hungry he actually ate a popsicle. We finally got him a ham sandwich around 11:00 and he ate the entire thing and fell asleep. We have never been in the short stay unit before. It reminds me of an ER. It is a bunch of beds separated by curtains. No privacy at all. Needless to say, Michael and I didn't sleep at all. 

December 14, 2018- The nurse continued to give Rayden IV antibiotics throughout the night but when he woke in the morning he started to spike a fever. It got as high as 101.8. When Dr. Vergun came in he even started coughing a little. She was concerned and wanted Peds to come check his lungs but she was pretty sure the fever was coming from his body working overtime to attack the trauma that just occurred. She said it was way too soon to have an infection this fast after surgery. Dr. Vergun was most concerned about Rayden's feet and legs swelling under the casts. She thought it was too much and they needed to relieve the pressure. 

At 9:00 an ortho team came in to bivalve the casts. They cut them down both sides, popped them open a little and then wrapped them with ace bandages. This would give his legs and feet more room to swell without causing issues. Rayden was super brave during all of this. His heart was flying and he looked scared but he never cried. He would have to go back in a week to close the casts back down again. Dr. Vergun called back and said she cleared the OR for January 8 at 7am. She wants us to think about doing his hip surgery then. I told her we would think about it and let her know.

Peds finally came and said Rayden sounded fine and agreed that the fever was coming from his body's reaction to the trauma. They sent him home at 2:00. When we got home his temperature was 103! I was scared to death thinking something was really wrong. I continued to give him tylenol and motrin for two more days and all is well. 

We can't thank everyone enough for your continued support, prayers, cards, phone calls, texts, food, and visits. You all mean the world to us.
Listen to Rayden's theme song, he is truly a WARRIOR!!!

December 8, 2018 "Dunn Shriner's Christmas Party"

This is the second year that Rayden has been invited to the Dunn Shriner's Christmas Party. It has become one of the highlights of his Christmas. The Shrinettes do such a fabulous job decorating, planning games, prizes, food, Clowns, Santa and even bringing gifts for the children and parents. Rayden loves every single minute of our time there and does not want to leave.