The Little Lion - Rory's Story

When Covid restrictions started to ease and we were able to take Rory out and about, we realised that his appearance (at the time it was his mass of bandages) invoked curiosity from strangers. We quickly learned that we needed to prepare our 'elevator pitch'; a quick fire explanation that answered any questions without taking up too much of our time, nor encroaching on Rory's privacy. We thought we had that one fairly sussed: "He was very poorly when he was a baby. The doctors saved him, but they couldn't save his leg."   And that's fine for most adults. It's the truth in the most simplest of terms so it does the job and allows us to move on. We were sorted... right? The Prompting Incident August bank holiday and our traditional twice-annual camping weekend came around, where we had our first encounter with a strange child (strange in the unacquainted sense of the word, not peculiar). We were in the playground with our friends, Pete was helping Rory up...

 Firstly, thank you for checking in to see how Rory is getting on! Pete and I very much appreciate the ongoing support.  His recovery from the amputation is going excellently. The stump itself is healing really well, and from the day we got home he was putting weight on it and crawling around the house as normal - there's no stopping him; he's so fast!  He's now completely off the pain relief and down to one simple plaster-type dressing which we change at home once a week (or more often if he pulls it off himself - which tends to happen every few days). Sheffield did provide a stump sock for him to wear over the dressing, but it wasn't so much a compression stocking, more of a tubi-grip bandage to protect the actual dressing. After a few days we noticed that it was aggravating the centre of his skin graft and causing some inflammation, so we stopped wearing that and just made sure he had a normal sock on all the time, to stop him pulling the dressing off and to protect ...

Well, it's done! Rory is now officially an Amputee, joining a select club of some very special and inspirational people.  I'm pleased to report that the operation went smoothly, and thankful that this event is now in the past.  A-Day I spent the days preceding the Thursday keeping myself distracted from the inevitable overthinking by packing, unpacking and repacking the many bags we were taking with us; a weeks' worth of clothes for Rory and I, toys and books for him, books for me, food and milk for the both of us, as well as the day to day essentials like all the nappies, bibs, etc. There was a lot to pack; a real eye opener for any future holidays! Gone are the days of me slinging an overnight bag over my shoulder... The day itself started early; a 5am wake up to make sure we were in Sheffield by 7:30. Rory was first on the surgery list, so Pete took him down to theatre at 9:15 with the anaesthetist. Then came an incredibly long and agonising morning... it was gone luncht...

 Yesterday's pre-op went really well, so we now have a confirmed date.  Rory is having his right foot amputated on Thursday 29th April; two weeks' today.  (It also happens to be my Mum's birthday... sorry Mum!) I'm delighted that we finally have a date, and that it's so soon. This means that not only do I have ample time left of my maternity leave, but we should also have his prosthetic before I go back to work too, which was always best case scenario for me.  Nonetheless, when the official countdown clock was started a few days ago I was overcome by a sense of... dread? Reality? Doubt?  I know it's the right thing; it's the next step in his journey and it will allow him to regain his freedom. But it has been difficult to focus on what he will gain when at the moment all I'm seeing is what he's going to lose. His perfect, incredible, beautiful little foot, that I've adored for over 9 months. It would have been easier if his foot wasn't workin...

Over the last month we've had a handful of check-ups with Rory's consultants; we've seen his main Paediatric Consultant who oversees his general health and we've caught up with the Plastics team for a review of his skin graft. We've also had sessions with Physio from both Grimsby and Sheffield.  Medical Update Generally, Rory is doing really well! Developmentally he is doing excellently for his age, which was a relief to hear - there is always a worry in the back of our minds as to whether the meningitis will have any long term affects on his mental abilities. Fortunately there are no indications whatsoever that this is the case, although we'll obviously watch this as he grows. Rory is able to hold himself up and balance on his one leg, which his physios say is a great achievement for any 9 month old, let alone one with pretty much one leg! Although we are still trying to encourage him to crawl, it's looking more and more likely that he will skip crawling al...

We are getting excited for Rory's first Christmas, as are the few family members who we will be able to share the day with (cue another Covid grumble). Even though Rory won't know what's going on, it's lovely to be able to start to pass on traditions from our own childhoods. Additionally we've watched Christmas films (well, Pete and I have whilst Rory mostly napped through them), we've eaten homemade treats (baked by my Nanny, not me, because I can't seem to find the time to bake with a clingy 5 month old) and wrapped plenty of gifts for our closest friends and family (I love wrapping!). Everything always seems to feel a little better in December.  Nonetheless, medically it has been a trying few weeks. Writing this blog has always felt like a form of therapy for me; it's more than just logging events, it's being able to comprehend my own thoughts and feelings and help organise my mind. As such, I think it's important to be honest about the fact t...

It's safe to say that 2020 has been a pretty terrible year for a lot of people, us included.  Rory's arrival has been, for us, one shining light in the middle of chaos and gloom.  Since early November we've seen photos of Christmas decorations popping up across social media (again, us included), partly because during lockdown there's little else to do on a weekend, but more so because I think there's a shared feeling that the sooner we get Christmas over and done with, the sooner we can wave goodbye to 2020 and happily welcome in 2021. I'm certain that none of us actually believe that we'll wake up on the morning of the 1st January and Covid will have disappeared for good and the economy will have boomed overnight. But there's something about the ticking over of the date that inspires a level of optimism. "We made it through 2020. This year has got to be better." For our family, the turn of the year doesn't just signify a change in date but...