Rocking It and Botoxing It

Christian's toes are looking awfully young these days.

Nothing like a shot of botulism toxin to liven those toes up, right?

I kid. I kid.

Christian was admitted to the hospital last Friday to get Botox. Admitted to the hospital? - You ask. Isn't that an outpatient procedure?

Normally. But this is Christian we're talking about and he likes to stand out. No conforming for him!

Seriously, though, Christian's toe flexors are out of control. We've always had issues with Christian's extension. He has times when it's under control, but anytime he's upset, sick, going through a growth spurt, the sky is cloudy, you looked at him sideways, he reverts to extension.

What does extension look like? For Christian it looks like he is straightening his legs and arching his back. Kind of what little kids do when they throw a fit. I know this because Lola is into throwing fits these days and her favorite move is throwing her head back while screaming in defiance. Come to think of it...maybe Christian's just throwing a fit. Hmmmm....

Anyway, we have never really been able to unlock the tone and extension in his legs. The quadriceps have a lot of tone but we were thinking the culprit might be those pesky toe flexors. He points and he points with fire and furry. So we thought we might get to the bottom of things by botoxing the heck out of his toe flexor muscles - the muscle that controls the toe point. And, yes, I just made "botoxing" a verb.

Side note: I'm well aware that it's not the toe that's the problem. It's his brain telling him to do that. But we're trying to treat his body to avoid structural problems since his brain has a mind of it's own (pun intended). I even told the neurologist that I knew the pointed toes came from his brain. So if he had something to inject into his brain, give me a call because I'll be the first to sign up! Kidding, again. (Kind of) But I digress...

We had to admit Christian because the neurologist suggested general sedation due to the amount of pain involved with the toe flexors. It involves a needle going into the calve and hooking up an electrical stimulator that sends a pulse to each toe. When the toe - the big one - starts to wiggle to stimulation, the neurologist injects the Botox into that muscle, temporarily paralyzing it.

Christian does NOT like pain. Who does, really? But he REALLY doesn't like it. He's actually hypersensitive to it. So pain is amplified. A while back I would have been leery of sedation medication like versed and fentynal. But I'm over it and I'm not playing around anymore. He needs to be comfortable. And he was comfortable during the procedure. Mission accomplished.

Speaking of during the procedure. The neurologist was really nervous about Christian's breathing. I suppose I can appreciate this. It is a side effect of sedation - slowed breathing, especially for shallow breathers. And I suppose that if he knew Christian and what a rock star he was, he would know that Christian would do just fine.

In fact, when the procedure was over, the neurologist (who's been working with us for two years, by the way) was surprised and elated that Christian did so well, especially with his breathing.

-Rant-
That's nice. But why are you so surprised, neurologist? Do you not expect anything from my son? Do you not know what an amazing little boy he is? If you knew him, you'd know he never has problems with breathing unless he's sick. But outside of a respiratory infection, he sats at 100%. You'd know this if you truly knew my boy. You would have known he would rock this. And he breezed in and out of that procedure just like I knew he would.
-End Rant-

Sorry, I just felt some fight in me bubble up when I saw how surprised the doctor was by how well Christian did. Momma's fight for their babies. A little lesson I was reminded of by Brody's mom, Jackie. She could use some prayers right about now and if ever I found a mother that has done everything possible, travelled to the ends of the earth for their child, it was Brody's mom. Please think about this family and send up some prayers and good thoughts, whatever the outcome. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/brodyjohnson

So Christian got Botox. And he rocked it. Because he's an amazing little boy and everyone who knows him knows it.