Surgery x 2

Cade and Callie both had surgery today to correct "trigger thumbs".  ONE pediatric trigger thumb is pretty unusual, but TWO in one family is pretty rare. 

We'd noticed Cade's left thumb didn't stretch out completely probably around age 3-3 1/2. We just kind of kept our eye on it, but didn't think too much about it. It certainly didn't bother him. At the pediatrician's office during a visit, though, I decided it might be in his best interest to ask about it. (No one had ever noticed it there either.) The doctor suggested it was likely a trigger thumb and recommended we see an orthopedic specialist to get their opinion. We scheduled an appointment for Cade at Campbell Clinic in Memphis for early January. At the appointment, Dr. Sawyer said that Cade definitely had a trigger thumb, but that it could be corrected surgically. There is like an abnormal knot at the base of the thumb that slides between the bones and tendons of the thumb, not allowing the ligaments to open up fully. If the knot is removed, full function should return. If we left it alone, it would likely get worse, possibly painful at times, but the surgery would be a simple outpatient procedure. 

As we're discussing Cade's thumb at the dinner table after the appointment (& answering Hudson's many questions :), Howie & I both, almost simultaneously, notice Callie's thumb. Howie looks at her & asks her to open up her hand like him... Sure enough! There it was again. Her left thumb was not bent forward like Cade's (yet), but it was straight, not stretched fully like the right, and she had a knot at the base that you could see & feel. So we made an appointment for her to see the orthopedic to verify what we already believed... that Callie had a trigger thumb, too. 

At Callie's appointment with Dr. Sawyer, he confirmed that she, too, had a trigger thumb. Again, we got the same options. In our minds, if we were going to have to have surgery on one, might as well pack a double-whammy and get it over with! So... here we are... surgery day... 2/27/12.

This, unfortunately, is Cade's 4th procedure... and he's only 5! (age 1-tubes, age 2-tubes & adenoids, age 3-tonsils, age 5-thumb) He obviously had a better idea of what to expect. He was a big boy, and set a great example for Callie (who really didn't have a clue!).

We, as parents, were given the choice of splint or cast following the surgery. Given the age and activity levels of these two, casts it was! (It was only for a week :)

Here's Callie as she was beginning to wake up in recovery. I was a little concerned about how she would wake up, given her age, but she did great! She woke up happy & ready to go! She looked at her arm and simply said, "pink!" (They got to pick their cast colors.)

We had to wait a little bit longer to see Cade when he woke up, but he was fine, as well. He just wanted to go to school and show his cast to his friends. :) 

 Both are definitely true champs!