Summer Hiatus and Splinted Hands

We are on the second official day of summer break. “The routine” is a stay at home mom’s only method of survival. I need predictability as much as the kids, so we are quickly trying to find some kind of rhythm. After about 9am, they both start getting crazy, and my coffee has kicked in. Eli has joined Sidney and I on our morning walk or forced march as I like to call it. I also shuffle him out the door at every opportunity, to keep him from going nuts inside. We are waiting to go to the pool on a night when dad is home. Sidney cannot get in until the splint is gone from her second surgery, in three weeks. Eli has remained calm about it so far, but I can tell it is a bone of contention.


We had our first physical therapy appointment, to work on the scar tissue which typically develops after syndactyly is released. Sidney’s first surgery, in January, restructured two webbed fingers. This procedure requires a skin graft, and the scar tissue became quite dense. Our objective is to eliminate this from occurring. This will either prevent surgery down the road or the need to correct the area as quickly. It is her body’s natural inclination to form webbing, in the same area surgery took place.

I will work Vitamen E oil into the sides of her corrected fingers two or three times per day. We will also visit the physical therapy office two times per week for ultrasound treatments on her hand. This will aid in softening the tissue. She will wear a splint at night. She is already splinted from the second surgery which was completed last month, on the left side. She will have a splint on each hand until we are released from the splint in three weeks, on the left side, from the second surgery. I have never been so happy she has working thumbs which are not restricted by the splint. In the coming months our visits will become less and less. When the scar tissue is where the physical therapist is comfortable, we will splint at night and during naps. Eventually, the number of visits will be reduced.

Kelly, our physical therapist, is someone I met in a mom’s group I attended before Sidney arrived. There have been many things that have fallen into place. Kelly’s specialty is hand therapy. If I went into all the things that have coincidentally fallen into place, it might be unbelievable. Of course, Tom and I know it was not mere coincidence.

In the midst of all of this, Tom is working day and night. Memorial Day was great, because he had a couple of days away from the cell constantly ringing. He could have worked all weekend, but we needed family time. Spending time at his dad’s cabin on Sunday was welcome relief. We have an LLC, in addition to his work with his normal job, allowing him to do work in the evenings. This was how we saved money for the adoption. Unfortunately, much of this work came from homes which were flooded a couple of summers ago. Now, regular work has taken off. He does almost all of this with his dad. I have been lucky enough to be in Tom’s life for 15 years, and I know that during busy times, he has to work. It is the nature of the business. In two weeks, we will go on vacation, so the push is on.

OK, off to break up a wrestling match. Eli is telling me, “I’m not even hurting her. I am practicing something like the WWF where everything is fake.” Where does he get this stuff?