Zeke’s Miraculous Save!

December 7, 2023

Today marks 6-months, post-accident. The Doctor’s told us could possibly be walking by this time and he is not only walking but he is climbing and jumping and full of life! We are setup to get him fitted for his next prosthetic. We are eager to see the progress he will be able to make during this next phase. Merry Christmas, from our family to yours.

November 22, 2023

8 weeks of intensive rehab completed! Zeke has made remarkable progress in this short amount of time. Jonathan and the OT/PT team at NEMOURS have done an amazing job supporting his Rehab process. I had the opportunity to join them for the first time today and am so proud of everything they are doing to get Zeke back on his feet. He now has built up great endurance (which is the first step) and while he doesn’t always follow the PT/OT script for the day (still a 3yo boy!) you can always guarantee that you’ll be chasing him around the rehab floor doing something fun and breaking a sweat yourself! He is still on his learning leg while he continues to strengthen his quads but we will hopefully be transitioning to the next leg soon.

November 12, 2023

Coming up on 8 weeks of Rehab under his belt and making great strides with his “learning leg”…this larger leg has more coverage area to absorb impact and help with the initial tenderness and sensitivity that comes with putting pressure on his residual limb. We’re all in great spirits and looking forward to the Holiday Season. Thank you for all of the continued support and prayers!

September 25, 2023

And so it begins! First day of Rehab

August 30, 2023

A great day at NEMOURS. Zeke just got fitted for his prosthetic today. Cheyenne and Bryan from Fox Philly joined us to document the process and we’re so thankful for them joining us to share our story. Next steps are for the prosthetic to be made and for rehab to start in mid-September. At that point, Jonathan and Zeke will be making their way to Wilmington 3x a week for his intensive rehab. Thank you for your continued support. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as they start commuting. One step closer to our baby getting back on his feet.

August 2, 2023

Zeke had a meet-up with his Team at NEMOURS yesterday. We received some really great news and some tentative next step details. The great news first. The flexrods that were stabilizing his femur fracture are indeed going to be able to be removed. Praise God! There were so many variables going into it, including the possibility of them having to stay in forever and getting surgery after surgery to maintain them as his body and bones grow. But alas, they will be removed in about 2 years. We’re very pleased with this update! Secondly, we’ve started the process of preparing Zeke to get fitted for his prosthetic. The Team is over the moon pleased and surprised with how much progress and healing he has made and they have high hopes for his rehabilitation process. He will start the preparation process by wear a shrinker (essentially a compression sock) to help his swelling subside and prepare him to get fitted for his prosthetic. His residual limb is still very sensitive and it will be a gradual process to work him up to the smallest size shrinker that he will need to be on. Additionally, there is still some scabbing so he isn’t quite approved yet to go in the sand, dirt or ocean but we’re all very happy with his progress. We thank everyone for your continued support and love seeing everyone as we slowly have been making our way out and about more to community events and being able to enjoy little bits of summer with him. Until next time…Happy Summer!

July 23, 2023

When Zeke returned home from the hospital he recalled the events of the accident. I was nervous but my mom-heart wanted/needed to know the details. He said he was trying to jump onto the bench of our picnic table. This information didn't change anything for anyone else in our family but it really helped me to have closure.

Children are naturally curious. This curiosity just had major consequences but in that moment of recalling what happened he was able to really see the full picture and it has helped him to process and move forward.

Yesterday at the State Fair Zeke and Jonathan went to this section of the fairgrounds. I was nervous. Blake and I took a break in the shade and they bounced around from equipment to equipment beeping the horns of the little tractors, sitting on the lawnmowers, and Zeke was able to be JOYFUL about the things he has always loved so much. This was the picture I took after they were done at this section and we starting making our way back to the Ferris Wheel.

Recipe for trauma-proofing your kids

Joy

Resilience

Confidence=

willingness to do something before you're ready

July 12, 2023

Zeke and Jonathan had their first trip back to NEMOURS today for an outpatient surgery to remove his staples and to check on the progress of his femur heal. The progress report from the doctors were all positive! Everything is looking GOOD! When Zeke returned home I asked him how his day was and he said, “it was fun!” Thank you for all of your Prayers and well wishes for today! They are home safe and in good spirits!

June 26, 2023

Welcome Home Zeke! After 17 days at NEMOURS (A.I. DuPont) we were finally able to bring Zeke home.

June 21, 2023

After 12 days, they were finally able to completely close Zeke’s wound in surgery.

We are currently working on trying to switch him to oral pain medications so that he can get his PICC line removed (harder than you realize with a 3-year-old who doesn’t want to take his medication).

But….we are one step closer to bringing him home and we’ll take the progress! All of your thoughts, prayers, shares, donations mean the world to us. We have been healing and processing this all and the support of our community is what is getting us through this.

(Picture from Day One in the Pediatric ICU)