Cast off

 For the weeks that Damonito had his cast on, he stopped tearing paper. His room was completely devoid of paper confetti. It was strange to walk into his room. No tiny pieces of paper stuck to your feet. He loves to shred paper, how could a silly broken arm keep him from doing something that makes him so focused?

For the days following the removal of his cast, he babied his arm. He still moved it by picking it up with his right arm. He just let it hang there like it was useless.

 When I went over for a visit last weekend I was surprised but pleased to see shredded paper everywhere in his room. He's using his left arm like nothing happened. And he's back to making confetti.

Broken Arm not Broken Spirit

Damonito fell and broke his arm. The doctor who set it felt that it wasn't because he'd had a seizure but more likely that he had fallen and was trying to catch himself from falling. He came down hard on his arm and it broke at the elbow.
He had surgery to place 2 pins in his elbow went well. No problems. He spent the night in the hospital. It was his first trip to the Phoenix Children's Hospital, where he will be going from now on. The hospital was great. We will certainly miss Barrow and Dr. Ng (he's taken another job outside of Phoenix)
We were never sure if Damonito was left or right handed and now we're pretty sure he's left handed.
He broke his left arm.
To move his arm, he very gently picks it up with his right hand. He won't move it on it's own.
The good news is that he's getting his cast off for his birthday in 2 days.

If he'd had a seizure, he wouldn't have been trying to catch himself. He would just fall over like a tree. Timber.
When a person has a tonic clonic seizure (better know as a grand mal seizure), the tonic phase comes first: All the muscles stiffen. Air being forced past the vocal cords sometimes causing a cry or groan. The person loses consciousness and falls to the floor. The tongue or cheek may be bitten, so bloody saliva may come from the mouth. The person may turn a bit blue in the face. After the tonic phase comes the clonic phase: The arms and usually the legs begin to jerk rapidly and rhythmically, bending and relaxing at the elbows, hips, and knees. After a few minutes, the jerking slows and stops. 

Another good long time.

It's been awhile since I've posted anything about Damonito. He's doing well.

 He's still having regular grand mal seizures. But his medication seems to be keeping all the other seizures in check.

He's in second grade and takes the bus to school every morning.

He's incredibly sweet.  He loves to give hugs. He'll take your arms and slip them around his waist.

Damonito still has a feeding tube but it is solely used for his medication. He's eating all of his meals and drinking all fluids by mouth. We go out for walks. Elmo is still his favorite. He's been watching Dora the Explorer lately. Because of his OCD he still loves to tear paper (if you need some confetti, he's your man). He still stacks blocks. He's doing well.