Well, we got the brace. We have had it for 4 days and each day is getting a little bit easier, but this adjustment has been hard. Like really hard.
100% of the time when you see your child,
you do something about it. You stop the pain, you take it away, you intervene. We can’t, we have to comfort and that’s it.
Well, Tylenol, we can give that, but what we want to do is rip of the brace.
We can’t. We can’t show him that if he cries it comes off. We have to help him adjust, and with that there is some physical pain.
We have been assured it gets easier, but it takes time. We started by wearing it for 2 hours on day one and have doubled the wear time each day. We are working to a minimum of 16 hours a day (including sleeping).
Tonight will be the first night he will wear it overnight. As most of you know Nolan is a rockstar, marathon sleeper that averages 12-13 hours a night. Every. Single. Night.
The thought of messing with his sleep schedule makes me anxious, but he is a champion and we are praying he can adjust quickly. Plus, if we can get all but 4 hours of his minimum wear met while sleeping overnight, that is a huge win!
All in all, Nolan is adjusting well, and working through the pain. We are hopeful in another week he will be fully used to it.
It is amazing to feel the difference in his back when we take off the brace. He isn’t as tight and rigid. There is movement and flexibility, it gives us hope that this will be positive for him.
We still haven’t wrapped our heads around the longevity of this process. He will wear this until he stops growing or has back surgery. Both options are a minimum of 10 years but maximum of 15 years away. Again, hard to wrap your head around.
Thank you all for reaching out this week and supporting us through this new normal. We will welcome prayers as we navigate night one! #nolanrandallmoore