A Trip to Tucson
Greetings to everyone.
After spending the morning hours with Aunt Kathy (who had to return to work Friday), we left for Tucson to visit Rebecca's mom, Xavier's Grandma Penny.
Dave and Penny retired to Tucson last year and have been working hard to reclaim some of their two acres from the cacti-filled desert surrounding their house.
Xavier was helpful in this endeavor and assisted Grandma Penny in putting up another planting box.
Xavier was quite helpful. Watching Grandma shovel dirt, he ran to find a spade of his own. Returning promptly, he went full-throttle into shoveling dirt into the holes of the cinder block. When the holes were full, he proceeded to shovel the dirt back out.
Once the work was complete, he sped off to find more holes to fill in. He ended up throwing dirt clods into the spillways; he liked watching the dirt explode on impact.
Grandpa Dave thought Xavier might like a treat, so he fired up his tractor and offered Xavier a place to ride with him around the yard. Xavier did not like the noise and chose to cling tightly to Daddy instead of riding around the property.
He was re-introduced to his cousin Trista, whom he met this past June in Arkansas. They played hard. Though he worked and played hard, it still came as a surprise that Xavier fell asleep against Mommy's arm while we ate lunch. He hasn't done that in a very long time.
Thanksgiving With Aunt Kathy
Greetings and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!
This year we flew into Phoenix to feast with my sister, Xavier's Aunt Kathy. It was Xavier's first plane flight, not to mention his first time in Arizona.
Xavier did exceptional on the plane. We had no idea what to expect. We packed a milk bottle for him to drink from as we took off. A mother with a newborn of her own handed us a lollipop; it's the trick she uses with her three-year old who sat in front of Xavier (her newborn she breast fed during takeoff).
The takeoff and climb did not bother Xavier, who had already drank his milk and sucked his lollipop to nothing before the plane left the gate. It was the descent which he found difficult. It was the stereotypical screaming you always hear on a plane. Since no flight attendant was around (they were all belted in their own seats), we lifted Xavier up so he could watch us land (he had the window seat). Looking out the window distracted him from the discomfort in his ears and he went quiet, except for oohs, aahs and "thats".
In preparation for the trip, Rebecca took Xavier shopping for his own luggage. Xavier loved it, wheeling it around both airports like a champion! And it you tried to assist him, he would slap away your hand and yell "No!"
Xavier loved Aunt Kathy's place. She has four cats, and Xavier chased them around the house; they got little rest. He also crawled through their kitty tunnel (a collapsible five-foot fabric tube) for sport.
Interestingly enough, Xavier had Pink Eye (which started manifesting Tuesday, the day before the flight; as a gift, he shared it with Rebecca) and it forced us to find a Little Clinic to get an exam and some eye drops. During the exam, it was discovered he also had an infection in both ears. Glory to God that was caught, or the flight home may not have been so nice.
No More Cast
Greetings to all.
Today, Xavier got his cast removed. It was not pleasant for anyone.
As we waited in the room, Xavier found a number of trucks to play with. However, we did not let him play with them; they were ornamental knickknacks and not boy friendly.
He was a little hungry, but too much newness kept him from eating. Eating could wait! The newness had to be explored!
Instead of getting to explore, the nurses took height and weight measurements and temperature. They tried to take an O2 reading, but Xavier loudly refused to have the oximeter clipped to any part of his body. He clung to Daddy, begging for deliverance. Rebecca finally waved the nurse off.
"You just took this reading last week, at his weight check," she informed the nurse. The nurse, bent on getting a current reading, looked as though she dismissed the notion. The glaring heat from Rebecca's displeasure likely counseled her to pack up her gear and go. Rebecca, after all, was correct, and the nurse was too caught up in procedure to apply common sense.
The nurse returned shortly with another nurse. We brought Xavier to the examining bench while one nurse hooked up the saw. In my day, casts were plaster and the saw blade did nothing but vibrate enough to slice through the plaster. You could actually take hold of the vibrating blade and it would stop. Not so with this saw: it needed to cut through a half inch of fiberglass. It was a fully functional hand-held rotatory saw, one whose blade you did not take hold of when it was spinning!
Before the saw was turned on, Xavier knew what was afoot: he had reasoned it out and he did not like it, not one bit. Again, he clung to Daddy for protection.
The nurse switched on the saw. It came to life with a whirring roar. It whined with a high pitch hum just to season the air with that much more terror for a little boy who did not fully comprehend what was happening. He clung tighter to Daddy, screaming and crying, once more begging to be delivered from the danger.
Tears streamed down his face and his cries grew louder. He looked to Mommy for help, but like his Daddy, she helped hold him tight while two nurses held tight his left arm.
The saw cut into the fiberglass. There was no guard around the blade, no depth gauge to prevent the saw from plunging too deeply into the cast and into the flesh it was a shell to. Even Daddy watching the procedure trembled.
My son was terrified beyond anything he has ever known. Both his mother and father took strong parts in subjecting him to it. No help came from anyone, and he screamed at that fact. You could see in his face, hear in his cries and yelps, his sense of betrayal.
The cast was cut through, no damage to his skin beneath, though I was sure the nurse had slipped a couple of times. It would take a long time for Xavier to calm down, his heaving breathing to subside.
The nurses left the room, leaving the parents to the damage control. We took down one of the big knickknacky firetrucks Xavier wanted to play with at the beginning. Once he saw it coming his way, all was forgiven.