One Year Later

January 23rd, 2015 

It Has Been One Year!

(It's Valentine's Day and I've been working on this blog for a few weeks now in between work, activities, and family.  What better day to wrap this up!  I Love this family.)

I remember waiting for the surgery to be finished and I was busy praying.  I did not like that my son was in surgery.  I didn't want him to feel pain, I wanted to take it for him.  What would his reaction be when he woke up?  I wondered what the next year would be like.  I knew it wouldn't be easy, I just wanted to fast forward a year and see where we would all be.

Here we are.  Jordan's Journey has been a wild ride.  He has transformed into this tall, young man who is into sports and working out.  He has grown biceps and abs and a deeper voice.  He cares deeply for those around him.  He likes it when our cat curls up in his lap.  He really likes to hang out with his friends.

Jordan started Gr. 8 in the fall, his last year at Windsor School.  All the boys seemed to have grown over the summer.  

Jordan's first day of school Gr. 8 2014

He practiced walking with no limp.

He called me one day and said, "Don't pick me up after school.  I'm staying for volleyball practice."  What? I asked as my jaw dropped to the floor.  I had no idea he was interested in playing.  He's never played on a school team before.  I am thankful for his friends who pushed him to try.

Go Windsor Wildcats!

You know those moments when we can't stop our kids from experiencing life lessons, even though they're painful.  We said goodbye to our gentle spirit Sparkles in September.  It was hard for all of us.  This little guy kept Jordan company during his weeks of recovery.  Sparkles was like a helper cat and seemed to know when anyone was sad and needed some love.  Jordan and his sister were heart broken when he was found.  And even in his time of grief, Jordan knew he needed to help his dad give Sparkles a proper burial.  He honoured his friend with a special rock and a flower bouquet.  

We weren't looking to replace Sparkles, but another cat needed a home and we had a lot of love to share, so now there's Peanut.

Jordan's 13th birthday was in October.  He learned to play guitar at school last year and really enjoys it.  Now he has his own guitar.

 Jordan was invited to speak to two classes at his school about his experience with a prosthetic leg.
He answered all their questions thoughtfully and of course, with humour.  When the kids walked in, Jordan was twirling his leg around his head.  The kids thought he was the coolest!  The teachers commented about how comfortable he was talking about his experience and how his story was inspiring to the students and teachers alike.

We were very fortunate to spend Christmas with our Tiessen family in Mexico.  Our team at Rehabilitation Centre for Children did a fantastic job building a new swim leg for Jordan so he could be in the water with his cousins.

Jordan being pushed by two dolphins

Rappelling down into a cenote

Zip lining across a lagoon

 All 16 of us went on a day long adventure with  Alltournative which was a fantastic experience as a family.  We went zip lining, canoeing, swam in a cenote and visited the ancient temple at Coba.  We had many questions when planning this trip.  How will Jordan manage.  Many activities, lots of walking, do we bring both legs, what about climbing the temple at Coba?  It is so very steep, and made for a population that had smaller feet.  We asked Jordan about it and he said, "I'll figure it out." He had a blast and, of course, was the first one of our group to make it to the top of the Coba temple.

We all climbed the temple at Coba

Jordan and Naomi at the top of the temple

A monkey in the Mayan jungle

We had a fantastic trip all together, and came home to celebrate Christmas with the Banmans.  We had a very special Christmas and New Years with family and friends.  We do not take blessings for granted.  We acknowledged and celebrated everyone's successes experienced in 2014.

January 2015 has been great.  Jordan joined the basketball team and continues to play sledge hockey.  We just returned from a sledge hockey tournament in Regina, Saskatchewan and our team played so well.  In March, Jordan's team will travel to Minneapolis for another tournament.  The sport is growing in Manitoba and it's exciting to be a part of this program.  

Team Manitoba playing in Regina Sask  Jan 2015

We are very proud of our son.  We would like to wish Jordan the greatest of blessings for 2015 and we will encourage him to reach for the stars.  We will continue to follow him wherever his journey leads.  Thank you for walking with us during this past year.  Your prayers and encouragements have been so helpful and appreciated!  Thank you forever!

So much love:  Lori, Jason, Naomi and Jordan    

A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.  Christopher Reeve  

 

6 Months Post Surgery.

Summer 2014

This has been a summer of firsts with a prosthetic leg for Jordan.  And he's doing amazing!

First Jousting match - Windsor Community Centre BBQ

First walk with Rehabilitation Centre for Children
Team Nubbie raised over $1,000.00!

 Figuring out a 5 day canoe trip was interesting.  He didn't like the kayak at first because you need the foot to push down on the pedals to move the rudder, but he figured it out.  We did a long portage and Jordan managed a very rough terrain which was challenging for all of us!  Our canoe trip was in the Experimental Lakes area east of Kenora which is beautiful and rocky.  He went swimming with his cousins and preferred to swim without his leg, which was great because I was worried of it slipping off and sinking to the bottom of the lake.

Figuring out a kayak with a prosthetic foot is a challenge
but not impossible!

Archery at the campsite!

The bugs were no match for this guy

The sledge hockey team was invited to skate with Olympian Billy Bridges from Canada's Sledge Hockey Team!

We took a road trip to Ontario where we visited with family and friends.  Every summer we visit Point Pelee National Park and stand on the tip which is the southern most point in Canada.  It was here that we realized it was the week of July 23rd - 6 months since Jordan's surgery and as we watched him play in the waves with his sister and cousins, we couldn't help feeling very emotional and reflective of his progress during this incredible journey.

Yes, he can still climb trees

 We returned from our trip in time to attend our first War Amps Conference which was held in Winnipeg.  The child amputee program is called CHAMPS and their motto is "It's what left that counts!"  The War Amps is an incredible program.  It began with veterans from WWII who came back missing limbs and received support, counselling and prostheses.  They wondered about the support for children who were born missing limbs, or lost limbs from an accident, who was there to support them?  They began the War Amps program 39 years ago to support children amputees and today, they help fund active limbs for children across Canada, provide counselling to families, education displays and seminars and so much more.  The War Amps already funded Jordan's active leg and we began to understand that our relationship with this program will be long term.  We are so grateful for them and all they do for children amputees!  It was a very powerful experience to be in a room with 95 other CHAMPS and a privilege to hear their stories.  Pool time was fun as legs and arms were removed and strewn across the pool deck.  Kids splashed and jumped and the space filled with so much laughter.

  And as I write this, Jordan is camping with a friend and they were water skiing, tubing, cliff jumping and fishing.  I think Jordan has rocked this summer of firsts!  Jordan always saw the big picture.  He knew that a prosthetic leg would open up possibilities for him.  And he was right!

Jordan, you have inspired your family, friends and community with your perseverance, your positive attitude and your humour.  We are all so proud of what you've accomplished in the past 6 months and we're excited to see what the next chapter has in store for you.  We are so grateful to you, our families, our friends, our neighbours, our community, our sledge hockey families for your love, support, encouragement and hugs.  It has been an incredible journey and we thank you for joining us.

And..... He's off!

May 10th, 2014

Jordan went to the Sledge Hockey windup at the Windsor Community Centre.  The coach did a fantastic job of creating awards for all the athletes and Jordan received the Hart Memorial Award for the Most Valuable Player and Team Captain!  The coach highlighted Jordan's ability to encourage his teammates on and off the ice, and how he provided leadership to the Sledgehammer team.  Good Job Jordan!

May 16th, 2014

Right before the May Long Weekend, Jordan went to get his new summer leg.  He was very happy and proud in his new leg and it looked great!

Since he's been walking, he decided to have a growth spurt.  He's now as tall as his sister!  Naomi is Jordan's strongest support and friend.  So proud of these kids!

With this new leg, Jordan started to walk with out his crutches and tried running and jumping.  The day after receiving his new prosthesis, he was playing baseball with his dad and during a jump to catch the ball, he landed and his foot broke off!  He was heading out to visit Grandma and Grandpa in Morden and luckily, Grandpa can fix anything!

We took the leg back to get fixed and our Prosthetic guy said, "Wow, we've never seen this happen before."  I said that we hear that often with our son.  It took a few days, but they fixed his leg and now he's moving.

First pair of sandals

May 25th, 2014

Jordan can wear crocs!

He's off to visit friends

This is my favourite physio exercise!

Superstar!

So excited about summer and that Jordan is off and running.  As Jordan says, "Everything happens for a reason."  We are so glad now that his April surgery was bumped up to January.  He's now healed and ready to be active.  It has been an amazing journey!  The challenges have definitely proven what this boy is made of.  Whatever he sets his mind to, he will achieve!  He has inspired us each day.

We are very excited to be a part of the War Amps who will fund a yearly active leg for Jordan and is sending us to our first War Amps conference this summer.  If you support their key tag program, you support kids like Jordan.  His prosthesis and physio are done at the Rehabilitation Centre for Children and there's a big fundraiser that we plan to be a part of.  More info can be found at Children's Rehabilitation Foundation.  

We could not have endured this year without our families and friends.  We are so blessed and are constantly reminded that our focus shouldn't be on what we can't do.  We need to focus on what we can do.  It's about abilitiy!  For all of us.  Thank you for your love and support.  We treasure all the cards, messages of love, and prayers that have been said on Jordan's behalf.   

With So Much Love:  Jordan, Naomi, Lori and Jason

Learning to Walk Again

11 Weeks Post Surgery

Jordan has been wearing the gel sleeve, doing his leg lifts and spent his spring break waking up early to go to physiotherapy.  Some days there's pain and discomfort.  His limb is changing in shape and the prosthesis is feeling too big.  They adjusted his prosthesis in height and he needs to walk with this basic model before they upgrade the style.  Sort of like getting used to the tricycle before learning to ride a two wheeler.  Sometimes the tricycle sucks.  I had to strongly encourage him to keep with his exercises and some days it was a bit of a battle.  We had a few days where the prosthesis went flying across the room and told "I'm never wearing it again and will use crutches for the rest of my life!  You don't know what it's like and how much it hurts!"

Yes.  It's hard.  And Jordan's right.  We don't know what it's like.  So I reminded him that we just want to see him happy, so if he wants to use crutches for the rest of his life and he's happy, we'll be happy for him.  He's the one steering this boat and he can take it in whichever direction he wants.

Wednesday, April 2nd, 2014

The next day we went back to physio.  He put it on... we held our breath, wondering if he would try.  He swayed, just bearing weight on his new leg.

Then he took some steps while holding onto the bars and gradually added more weight on that side.

The physiotherapist said, "and soon we'll get you doing stairs."  Jordan said, "Like this?"

WOW!  We were so surprised, impressed and proud of him.  It was awesome!  They said that he was ready to begin wearing his leg out and about.  That evening, Jordan was invited to play sledge hockey with the senior team against the University of Manitoba Bison Hockey team who were learning to play.  He walked to the arena with the help of arm crutches and surprised his friends. It was so fun to watch him gliding across the ice, playing with these adults and keeping up!

Jordan is in the centre of the pic

Tuesday April 8th, 2014

This past week, he went to school wearing his new leg and his friends celebrated with him!

We had a few days of spring!  So it was time to pull out the shorts and go for a walk around the block with dad.

The following day he was sore and didn't want to go to physio.  We went hoping to fine tune his technique.  She started with some warm up leg lifts with a weight on his prosthesis and some weight shifting toys.

Friday, April 11, 2014

Physio can be fun!

He was encouraged to slow down his steps to focus on the heel toe movement and slowly swing his leg forward which places all his weight on his prosthesis.  She asked if he could walk without the bars or crutches.....

Look, no limping!

I have to say I had to hold in my super excited shrieks of joy!  Remember when your babies took their first steps on their own and you'd pick them up, toss them into the air and hug them close, feeling so proud of this major accomplishment?  I had this feeling, I just couldn't toss him into the air!
So proud of you Jordan!  What mattered most was that he was proud of himself for the work he did and his big accomplishments this week.

There is no other way to describe this but as a journey.  We celebrate with Jordan and acknowledge  how far he has come.  We accept the bad days and rejoice in the good days.  Jordan is taking this journey one step at a time, at his speed.  We know that whatever he sets his mind to, he will achieve!

Thanks for all your continued support.  We are so blessed.  

First Day of Spring - A New Beginning

Today, on March 20th, 2014, Jordan received his first brand new prosthetic leg!  This has been a process.  On February 26th, we went to the Rehabilitation Centre for Children where they examined Jordan's leg and confirmed that the healing was coming along great.  They made a cast of his leg to create a temporary prosthetic.  He also received a gel sleeve that he had to wear daily just to get used to.  This gel sleeve needs to be worn with the prosthetic. 

When a limb isn't used regularily, it can retain fluid and lose muscle.  So this first leg was created to get Jordan used to standing and bearing weight on his leg.  He was given exercises to do over the next few weeks to build up his muscle, and ordered to wear this gel sleeve every day.  Then he tried on his leg.

His leg slid in with no pain or discomfort.  He smiled, then stood up.  Jordan said, "This looks good on me!" 

He was able to put full weight on this leg which delighted his team!  This is considered early in the big picture and we are all thrilled for him.

They added some fiberglass to make it more durable and we took this one home to practice.  His next visit is in a few weeks where they will take new measurements of his leg since all his practice will change its shape and he will have his walking leg in a few weeks after that!  The next one he will have some options for patterns and a fancy foot. 

One step at a time.  Happy Spring!

Happy Valentines' Day to Me

3 Weeks Post Surgery

Many important steps were made last week.  On Wednesday, we went to the cast clinic to get the stitches out.  Jordan was not ready to look at his new leg so Jason was up by his head and distracted him during the procedure.  I held his leg so he wouldn't kick the tech in the face.  The doctor said that his leg looked beautiful.  He was healing well! There was a wire that had to be removed which kept the tissue in place and Jordan was very happy to have that out!  He could finally stretch.  I asked the Dr. to bandage again - he looked at me funny since it was no longer necessary and I explained that Jordan needed privacy to look at his leg for the first time.  The cast clinic was not a suitable environment for this personal moment.  They bandaged and we were off.  We also went to the chiropractor that day and he saw an improvement already in his alignment!  He also confirmed this was the best decision for Jordan.

He went back to school the next day.  Jordan has been in school on and off for the past two weeks and managing well.  His nervous parents wanted to make sure supports were in place there and Jordan calmly said, "Mom, Dad, I got it!  I can do this, and my friends will help me."  And they have.  We are so thankful to his friends, to the staff and for the community we live in!  Thank You!

Thank you Neighbourhood for the Recovery Gift Basket!

 On Friday, Valentine's Day, after supper, Jordan says, "I'm ready to unwrap my leg."

I got some scissors and he started snipping the bandages.  He quietly observed the new shape of his leg and after some time said, "That's amazing what they can do!"  So true!  He touched the skin at the bottom, around the stitches and said it was cool.  He was in awe and completely accepting of himself.  He wanted to take a bath with his swim shorts so we could stay with him.  He was happy!  I told him it was ironic that he chose to look at his leg on Valentine's Day.  This was an act of self love, a beautiful moment.

On Saturday, he wanted to get out, and he requested we go shopping.  We went to the mall and expected to borrow a wheelchair from customer service.  Instead, we got a scooter!

He was a careful driver, until we entered an area that was empty...

He received a nice card from his Oma and Opa (with a cheque) and they suggested he could get something to help his recovery.  We looked at shirts and video games, but since he just received some amazing games from the neighbourhood get well basket, he wanted to choose something else.  We went into a store and he was inspired!  A place where you could make your own hat???  He looked at some images and knew exactly what he wanted.

Thank you Oma and Opa!

The dragon is perfect for him.  And Awesome - that sums him up.

Next step:  Prosthetic fitting in two weeks.

 

Surgery

The night before the surgery, we wanted to celebrate this foot that has been with Jordan for 12 years.  We took some family pictures of our feet.  We spent many years stretching and working on his foot with physio and massage.  We love those 4 toes.  But it was time for Jordan to move on.

Won't be needing this brace anymore!

Great way to get kids down to the OR

We met with the surgeon who said that he would prefer to attach the heel bone onto the end of the tibia which would provide a strong base to the leg.  He would secure the bones with a rod and treat it as a fracture with a cast for 6-8 weeks.  Of course, it would depend what he saw during the surgery.  He confirmed again that this was the best option for Jordan, which was very reassuring to hear since we still had the option to turn and run.  What was most incredible was how our 12 year old son hugged us and walked right through those doors without a glance back.  He was ready.  We were overcome with pride and amazement at his grown up courage.

After the 3 hour surgery, the doctor met with us and said that everything went well.  He was surprised to see that Jordan didn't have a proper ankle joint and was missing the heel bone, so they kept the heel pad and no cast was required.  I wanted to know what would've happened if we went with the 6 month leg lengthening option and he said it would never have worked!  The doctor confirmed that it would have been extremely painful and would have pulled on the foot so eventually, Jordan would've walked on the outside of the foot.  Another confirmation of our decision!  

I will not lie.  Even though we were comfortable with our decision, nothing can prepare a parent to see the bandages for the first time, or our son, in his post-surgery haze, lifting his leg and looking at his leg for the first time.

This picture was taken when we got to our room and he was was feeling good.  They used a nerve blocker which lasted for 12-16 hours.  The surgeon saw him the next morning at 8am when he was feeling good.  They recommended we get down to physio, pass the crutches test and go home with Advil and Tylenol.

I put the brakes on and refused to go, understanding that the nerve blockers and anesthetic meds were about to wear off and we didn't know what to expect.   Sure enough, it took two long days to get the pain under control.  On Day 3, Jordan was Face Timing his friends, and says, "Hey, wanna see my nub, nub nub?"  On day 5, he was ready to leave the room so we zoomed to the cafeteria in Jordan style, taking the ramps at high speed and scaring the nice hospital people with some wheelchair spins.

"I'm so happy to go home!"

 We left the hospital today. We anticipate 4-6 weeks of healing and hopefully he'll be back in school next week.  A fitting for the prosthetic is scheduled for the end of February.  We are so grateful for the fantastic nurses and doctors who took good care of Jordan, who listened to us and helped us through this past week.  We are so thankful for all the thoughts, prayers, hugs, calls, emails, texts, Facebook messages and visits!  We are so lucky to be surrounded by love.