Finding Treats Along the Way - Week of Apr. 10th

Deer have appeared again
in the backyard

Easter represents hope and renewal.
As we prepared for Cam's first day back to school since surgery, we were hopeful, but quietly a little apprehensive as well.
Cam was quite restless the night before and didn't sleep well at all.  Monday morning he announced he didn't feel very good and would like to stay home from school.  Jane had a day of work meetings planned so she convinced Cam to work in his "office" right beside hers in the dining room.
Mom and son were good co-workers and busy all day.  Jane was so thankful Miss Amanda arrived a couple of hours early to hang out with her buddy.

Tuesday was a new day and Cam was ready to get on the bus and back to school!
Just an hour after arrival, Jane received this email from Cam's teacher...

We are off to a great start...the wheel chair fits under Cam's desk...which was a concern of his before the surgery. Kids are so happy to see him...tons of hugs for him. :-) Gianna is pushing his chair and being so careful that is beautiful to see.

Although erratic sleeping continued, Cam had a great week at school and settled back in.

The weekend brought Auntie Jo complete with a delicious lasagna dinner from Carraba's including all of the fixings.  So many thanks for a night off of cooking and great company!

On Sunday, Oma and Opa arrived for our family Easter celebration.  Cam's annual egg hunt was a bit modified this year as he had to direct his driver to each hidden egg.  Soon his basket was quite full as he managed to find all of the expertly hidden chocolate and hard boiled goodness.

In the past, Cam didn't have much interest in deviled eggs, but that changed after he tried the mixture by licking a tasty beater.

With the sun shining, we enjoyed a steak dinner outside on the back deck for Easter dinner.  A delicious dessert of Oma's homemade strawberry cheesecake and strawberry ice cream concluded our meal.
While Cam and Oma completed some crafting in the bright sunroom, the warmth of the day filled our hearts and the smiles shown brightly.


Camology Quotes:

With the temporary manual wheelchair, Jane has been driving Cam in the van down the driveway to meet the bus in the mornings.  This is due to the weight of the chair and steepness of the driveway.  It also gives Cam and his mom some time to chat about "important" things while waiting.

Mom, why is your hair not curled today? 
There are curls.  They're just in the back of my hair today.
Let me see... I like the curls in the front. 
Ok, when you get home from school today I'll have curls in the front. 
How do you move them? 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mom, when is your first meeting? 
In 30 minutes, Cam.
You should have time to go to Starbucks and get your coffee.

Road to Recovery - Week of Apr. 3rd

Cam's new right hip!

The greatest healing therapy is friendship and love. ~Hubert H. Humphrey

When Cam was in the hospital and Emma came to visit, it upset her to see her buddy not himself and in pain.  Jane explained to Cam later that the best friends of all in your life are the ones who care for you so very much, they feel your pain and may wish they could even take it away or feel it instead of you.
Auntie Karen (a.k.a. lifesaver) arrived to stay with us for the week and help ease our transition with Chris headed back to work and Jane working from home. Karen and Jane are so fortunate to be "anywhere workers" meaning they can truly work from any place as long as they have a high-speed internet connection.  

Ms. Barbara & Cam & caramel corn

Cam was still on spring break this week and Oma arrived on Tuesday to stay for a couple of days.  Two people are currently required for Cam care due to the wedge pillow between Cam's leg and the need for stability when lifting for bathroom transfers, bed, etc.
We all enjoyed a visit from Aunt Joyce and Aunt Gay and they brought with them Cam's favorite new game,  Uno Attack.
Grand Valley professor, Dr. Lisa and graduate students, Kelcey and Katrina popped in on Wednesday and chatted with the recovering boy.

Puppet show theater

Miss Amanda was in throughout the week and took Cam to visit with some doggies she was taking care of over spring break.  It was good to get outside and feel the fresh air! Miss Anne also hung out a bit in between her college classes.
An 8+hour power outage made things interesting on Thursday.
Uncle Joe popped in to check on his great-nephew and Ms. Barbara from school surprised Cam on Saturday with some homemade caramel corn (which thankfully he shared with him mom!).
Amidst all of this activity, Jane was quite remiss she didn't take any pictures of the many visitors and lifesavers.  However, Cam wasn't quite himself until the weekend.  On Sunday, Emma arrived home from a fun vacation to Florida.  Even though they traveled 24 hours straight, driving back to Michigan, she still decided she needed to run over to see Cam and even provided a live puppet show!

Auntie Jo and Will showed up that same afternoon with an entire Mexican-style dinner and a huge basket full of activities for her godson to explore.
Cam chose the color mixing chart first and it directed which colors to mix like a scientific experiment, his favorite!

There are not enough thanks to go around for all of the extra attention, meals and gifts brought into our home.

So many cards, emails and phone calls came our way to check in on Cam's progress.  Once again, we were reminded of the amazing support system we have.

One of the cards that really took our breath away was from the Wyoming Police Department, where Cam toured for his birthday last summer.  It was signed by so...many...officers, detectives and department members.  To think that all of these individuals who met Cam only once took their time to write a personal message...no wonder our son is so set on working for the police!

Camology Quotes:

As we all adjust to Cam's temporary situation, he has to rely much more on his parents.  
Each and every time they prepare to lift him, they hear...
"Mom and Dad, please be careful and don't break my legs."

A changeable marquee from Jane's boss!

With the wedge foam to keep his hips in place and using a manual wheelchair, we all decided it would be easier for Cam to remain undressed from the waist down to ease the discomfort.  Of course, he always had a sheet or blanket over his legs.  At one point during the week, he announced...

"You know I have to wear pants to school next week.  My principal would not let me go to school with no pants on!"

Spring Break Surgery - Week of Mar. 27th

Pre-op waiting room

Our view from the 5th fl

"Always laugh when you can.  It is cheap medicine." ~ Lord Byron

Surgery: the treatment of injuries or disorders of the body by incision or manipulation, especially with instruments.

Cam was scheduled for the most major surgery of his young life.  A CT scan confirmed in late December that our nine-year-old had a right hip dislocation.  He wasn't in any immediate pain, so after a surgical consultation, we made the decision to wait until spring break to undergo the procedure.  Cam talked about surgery with his teachers at school and was under the misconception that his hip being outfitted with a plate and screws somehow resembled an object his dinner was served on.  When he saw a picture of a medical plate and screws, he commented "that looks like something from my dad's workshop!"
Monday evening, Cam enjoyed a pasta dinner and dessert.  He could not eat anything after midnight and could not drink any water after 6am.  As one might assume, he woke up at 6:30am very thirsty.
Chris and Jane skipped breakfast too and everyone settled into the van at 7:30a for the trip downtown.  Cam's procedure was on the docket for 9:30a.  We were in pre-op awaiting the event before 8:30a.  A surgical nurse informed us everything was a little delayed.  The anesthesiologist arrived and asked Cam "did you enjoy your breakfast this morning?"  Cam smiled and responded "I did not have any breakfast!"  Trick question from the crafty anesthesiologist.  Finally, at 10:30a, the team arrived to take Cam to the operating room.  Jane was the chosen parent to escort the brave boy.  She was able to stay until he fell fast asleep and was quickly led to the waiting room. Chris and Jane spent the next 4+ hours keeping themselves busy.

Buddy Emma

One of the surgical nurses provided an update halfway through to let Cam's parents know everything was going very well.  Auntie Jo stopped in at lunch time to check on the progress and provide support.

Papa Ken & Amanda

After a short stint in the recovery room, Cam was assigned to the 5th floor for our two-night stay.  He was a big groggy but anxious to eat "lunch" at 5p since he had missed the normal time frame. Little did we know that Tuesday evenings are Pet Therapy time for the kids at Helen DeVos Children's hospital!  Cam provided gentle pets to two of the canines right in his hospital bed.

Visitors arrived shortly after we settled in.  Ms. Ann brought a large bunch of handmade Get Well cards from her Alma College students and stayed for quite awhile.  Patti and best buddy, Emma had Cam open a gift...his very own "Sing" dvd movie.  He has declared this his favorite movie!

Papa Ken & Officer puppet

Teacher, Ms. Kathy

On Wednesday, we welcomed more guests in the afternoon.  Papa Ken and Amanda brought a few gifts too- four puppets, one of them a police officer as well as a stuffed animal and chocolates.  Cam's teacher, Mrs. Doorn was able to set up face-time in the afternoon for Cam to say hi to his fellow classmates.  She also made the trek downtown and brought Cam a round of homemade Get Well cards from his friends as well as some school work they had completed in class.  To round out the day, Auntie Jo arrived with Cam's favorite snacks and a cute stuffed dog with a Helen DeVos bandanna.

Sleep was challenging for us all with attempts to keep up with pain medication and foreign surroundings.
During the day, however, there were different activities to keep us all busy.  A kid's room filled with painting, games and crafts was located on another floor as well as a music therapy area.  Cam enjoyed the music therapy most as he was serenaded with one of his favorite Katy Perry songs.  It was a welcome relief to see our happy boy smiling again.

On Thursday, a former GVSU student, Ms. Ashley dropped by to see her buddy, Cam.  We were released late Thursday afternoon and thanked our favorite nurse, Mary, for all of her extra attention and care.

Upon arrival back home, Oma was waiting for us, anxious to see her grandson and hear all about his hospital adventures.  She brought plenty of gifts to keep Cam busy and helped immensely with his first two days of at-home care.

The Nolan family dropped by during the week with a huge batman balloon and sweet flowers.  A bouquet of Get Well Soon cookies arrived from Chris' company, FTC&H.
The visitors continued on the weekend with the Faber family popping in and Papa Ken making a return visit as well.  Oma went back home Saturday with the promise of re-entry on Tuesday.

Although recovery will be challenging, the wave of calming love surrounds this incredible boy.

Camology Quotes:

We told Cam all about April Fool's Day on Saturday afternoon.  That evening, he started in with his entries. Belly laughter ensued after each one.  He obviously cracked himself up.
After dinner:
"I do not want dessert tonight....long pause...April Fool's!"
At bedtime, Cam called Chris back into his room after saying goodnight:
"I decided I want hot dogs and pickles for breakfast...longer pause...April Fool's!"

Be Our Guest - Week of Mar. 20th

"Be our guest!  Be our guest!  Get your worries off your chest..." ~Song Lyrics from Beauty & the Beast

There are days when a task seems daunting.  Monday began as one of those days and turned out to be quite the opposite.

Cam started off the day with an early morning dentist appointment yielding good results.
After a productive day of learning, Chris and Jane arrived at school early to pick Cam up before the buses.  They all headed to Alma College, 90 minutes away, where Cameron was scheduled to be the guest speaker for Ms. Ann's developmental psychology class.  Jane spoke to this class about Cam and his life back in January.  The students had been asking to meet the cool kid ever since.

A night class that meets on Monday evening isn't the most opportune time for an elementary student to make his speaking debut.  Though the drive was long, it gave our nine-year-old a chance to process some questions about his upcoming surgery.  When we arrived a little early, we were surprised to see college kids already waiting.

 Professor Ann asked each student to introduce themselves and give an interesting fact.  Without any prompting, Cam made his way over and stopped in front of each and every student as they announced their greeting.  Katie, one of the students, was ill and even face-timed in for the session- can you spot her in the picture?  Each class member came prepared with at least two questions for the guest speaker.  Upon responding to each and every one, Cam proclaimed "Next question!"  We were quite impressed with this college class and they seemed taken with Cam.  With our stomachs full of delicious pizza and hearts full of gratitude, we ventured back to Grand Rapids.


We had decided to surprise Cam with a pre-spring break weekend to St. Joseph, Michigan and fortunately for us, Auntie Karen met us there to partake in the fun.  Our meeting spot was the Holiday Inn Express nestled directly across from Lake Michigan.  Adjacent to the hotel was the Lakehouse Inn where we dined Friday evening with the warmth of the spring sun beaming through the restaurant windows.

Roxy's Restaurant

Saturday welcomed spring rain and new adventures.  A visit to a 50's style restaurant for lunch called Roxy's and an afternoon trek to the Curious Kids Museum in downtown St. Joe.
The museum was founded by educators and parents to provide an environment that invites curiosity, allows explo
ration, celebrates childhood and inspires learning!
 Opened in 1989, the Museum on the Bluff has fulfilled the founders' mission to provide a place where "Learning is Fun" through interactive, hands-on exhibits.

There was so much to see and do and there were families everywhere.  We encountered some crazy mirrors where our reflections were distorted.  Cam pressed a button to watch a large weather balloon take flight.  The virtual topography sand table drew us all in as we moved the sand to see different geographical land masses take shape.  A scaled down ambulance, fire truck and pirate ship were made for exploring. A fruitful lesson on apples, different animals and insects as well as a face-painting station kept us all busy.  Chris and Jane found a parent "time-out" bench which they happily sat at while Cam showed his waning patience for pictures.

Our hotel stay included an accommodating staff, a delicious breakfast assortment to choose from and an indoor pool with a lift for Cam, which we made full use of.
More importantly, the inclusion of Auntie Karen's presence and adventurous spirit was a most welcome gift.

Camology Quotes:

Prior to our Alma trip, Ms. Ann indicated she would be ordering pizza...Cam was a bit concerned.

"I have never been to Alma.  What kind of pizza do they have there?  Are you sure they have breadsticks?"

Safety Supervisor - Week of Mar. 13th

There is always safety in valor. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

On Lake Michigan, we definitely see some pretty amazing sunsets in the summer.  It takes us by surprise, though, when we see the colorful sunrise from our home in Grand Rapids.

Cam continued his work effort at Grand Valley this week, testing out a walking apparatus with Miss Katrina and Miss Kelcey.  They almost started a dance party in the hallway with some fellow GV students waiting for a classroom to empty out.

Typical of most weekends, Cam anticipates what he can help with.  Chris regularly thinks up the coolest projects to work on with his son.  Before any assistance can begin, Mom or Dad always ask if there are any helpers around who would like to volunteer.  Inevitably, Cam excitedly raises his hand each and every time.

After borrowing a concrete drill, lots of sawing and pounding, and keeping Jane out of the garage, the boys were ready for their reveal...a walkway that transforms into a ramp!  With new hinges, a removable platform and a lot of ingenuity, Chris figured out a way for his son to drive directly into the workshop.  Cam has taken on the role of being a safety supervisor, making certain that all precautions are taken before performing any construction task.  Jane contributed a couple of laminated signs for the area to warn others of the guys working.

With March Madness in full swing, the Raisch family joined us for lunch on Sunday to take in a few basketball games and grill some burgers, complemented by homemade french fries.

While Patti, Cam and Jane played a few games of Uno in the kitchen, the rest of crew "watched" basketball in the living room.

Camology Quotes:

On Sunday, we talked to Cam about an upcoming hospital procedure he will have on March 28th for right hip dislocation.  We explained that since his right leg has been hurting at times and x-rays showed that his hip socket is not where it should be, he will need surgery.  After an extensive discussion with questions from Cam, he announced:

"Ok, I will not cancel the surgery."
Other questions included, but were not limited to...
"When do I eat? Why do I not get breakfast? 
 How many visitors? What are the hours? Can I have too many? 
"Oma knows about this- she had knee surgery."