Doctor Visit

Wednesday we went to see Dr. Molnar so he could evaluate Dallas' last round of steroid injections.  He was very pleased to see that they have helped out his neck and arm, and said that it even appears some redness has subsided.  YAY!  (hard to tell his redness subsiding since we see him everyday).

He is concerned with some areas of thick scarring and is positive that Dallas will be needing contracture release surgery along with more grafting.  This would include his arm, near the armpit, his elbow area, and the thick band of scarring across his chest.  He advised us that the longest he could wait to have this done would be next summer.

Since Dallas is in school, I believe we will just wait until mid-summer to have him go through surgery.  The surgery will render him immobile for weeks, if not months, so during the school year is out of the question.  He is just now meeting friends and getting adjusted to kindergarten life.  It would be wrong to take him out of it already.

And we don't want to do this at the beginning of the summer and have Dallas completely miss out on his summer again!  So I was thinking maybe mid-July.  This is when it would be too hot to go out and play anyways, and would give him a partial summer.  I think it is something we will be discussing with Dr. Molnar on Dallas' next visit.

We have to go back to Winston-Salem on January 14&15 for Dallas' next round of steroid injections.  The 14th will just be for his physical, to make sure he is in good medical condition to go through with the surgery.  The 15th he will have the injections done.  This time, Dr. Molar wants to focus on his armpit area, inner elbow, and the band across his chest.

Hopefully this next round will help out as much as the first round did!  If so, maybe his surgery will be minimal.

Dallas will still have another 2-3 sets of injections prior to surgery (if we set it in July).

On the way home, Dallas was complaining that his throat was hurting him.  When we got home, he had a low grade fever and did the next morning as well.  So he didn't go to therapy Thursday morning, nor did he go to school.  Last night, his fever spiked to 102.5.  So I took him into the doctor today, and it was deemed that he has an upper respiratory infection.  He was given amoxicillin and if he isn't feeling better by Monday, they want to see him for a check up.

Hopefully the meds will clear it up, as we don't want this turning into bronchitis or worse.

For now, plenty of rest, Ginger Ale, Chicken Noodle Soup, and Applesauce.  :)

I will update his condition over the weekend.

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend, and keep Dallas in your thoughts!

Things are Getting Better

It's been a while since I have last posted.  I am sure that many of you still come around to see how Dallas is doing.  Well... things are going good.

He had his steroid injections about 6 weeks ago.  We will need to go this week for a check up.
It seems to have helped his neck and right arm (in the armpit area) enabling him to lift his arm up higher.  However, it has caused more problems in the elbow area.  He is now completely unable to put his arm straight.
Guess you have to take the good with the bad.
We fear that he will definitely have to have a contracture release in that area... but hopefully another round of steroid injections could loosen it?
I will have to find out what the Doctor says Wednesday.

Dallas has started public school.  I have officially shut down the Homeschool because he wanted to be around other kids.
At first, I was quite fearful of this.  I was afraid of how the other kids would react to him, how the teachers would handle it, IF they would be able to handle a child with this type of injury.  But, he's been going about a month now... and he enjoys every day.  Sure, there are days when he is tired and completely worn out, but overall, he really loves it.  He wakes up every day, ready to go!

And it's absolutely amazing how many people have been completely supportive.  He has SO many friends.
I remember when I was in school, people didn't want to be friends with the "different" kid.  And that is what I was afraid of.  But people just warmed right up to him.  They helped him, and on his very first day, he made his best friend... Ethan.
A week ago, he went to another friends birthday party, where he had a great time!
Things just get better and better for him.  I think socially, this is the best thing for him, and each and every day we take him and pick him up from school, I get to meet another one of his friends.
Kids from Pre-K all the way through Fifth Grade are friends with him, help him, guide him, and are there for him.  It's heartwarming to know how blessed he (and we) truly are.

Dallas had a great Thanksgiving.  He was able to see his grandma, grandpa, and Bubba (Tyler).  He was so thrilled.

He is also ready for Christmas.  We are making it a family tradition to go to Gatlinburg every year, from now on.  2 years ago, we went there for Christmas and the kids had such an amazing time.  This year, we're doing the same.  The kids will be able to go to the indoor water park, walk downtown and see the lights, there are so many crafts and activities, and so much more.  We are really looking forward to this Christmas.  :)

I will update again once we find out what the Doctors say.

Hope everyone is doing well.  And thank you for your support, prayers, and thoughts.

Dallas' Birthday Party

We celebrated Dallas' 6th birthday yesterday.  Dallas had a great time and had so much fun!

He wanted a Chuck E. Cheese birthday, so that's what we did.  My parents came in with Tyler, Travis' parents came in, and there were a few people that worked with Travis that showed.  

Dallas decided he wanted it to be a costume party, so he dressed as a Ninja and Mac as a Cowboy.  There were a few others who were dressed up and he loved it.

It was great seeing him smile, laugh, play, and have such a great time!

We want to thank everyone for coming!  You all really made Dallas' day that much more special.  

Here are a few pictures from the event: 

Homemade Spongebob Cake

Ninja

Dinner and a Show

Ready for the cake

Make a wish!

Dallas with Chuck E. Cheese

Gift Time :)

Happy

Awesome!

So Excited!

Expression when he saw his new Golf Club Set from Dick Gordon

"Cool Spongebob Card!"

Tyler gave Dallas all the tickets he won!  

In the ticket blaster

Having so much fun!

Thanks again to everyone who came!  And for all the birthday wishes to Dallas.  He had a great time!  

A fun day

Dallas is doing well.  Good days, bad days... as usual.
But more good than bad, it seems.

At the benefit held at the American Legion, my mother bought the two HUGE pumpkins.  She gave one of them to Dallas, as he had been wanting one ever since seeing them at Walmart a few weeks back.  So we lugged the thing home, put it in the front yard, and there it sat.
Well... a couple of days ago, we decided to gut it.
Dallas had such a great time doing that.  He laughed about the way it felt, the squishy feeling, and the way it smelled.  It was a good time.

We haven't carved it yet, leaving that for a future date, as I don't want it to rot too soon.
And we will be putting up the decorations this weekend.  He's definitely looking forward to that!


Also, this weekend, we will be celebrating Dallas' 6th birthday.  His actual birthday is the 27th, but due to some difficulties with schedules, we felt that this weekend would be much more convenient.
He's really looking forward to having a good time.  :)

Therapy has been going well.  His therapist, Jessica, is doing some different things that are causing him pain, but he knows it's going to help him out in the long run.

Also, he has his first round of steroids on November 8th.  Hopefully all will go well at that appointment.

Well, until next time, have a great day!
And keep thinking about Dallas!


PS:  I have sent out thank you cards to EVERYONE who has sent anything to Dallas.  I have received some back from the postmaster due to wrong addresses.  I have also found out many people have not received anything.  If you have not received a Thank You card and would like one, please do not hesitate to let me know. We truly appreciate everything that has been done for Dallas, and what continues to be done.  I do not want anyone to feel that we are ignoring them.
Please email me:  dyridings@aol.com

Have a wonderful day!!!

Benefit by The American Legion

This past Saturday, the American Legion in Waynesville, NC hosted a benefit for Dallas.  It was absolutely wonderful!  From the moment we arrived, everyone was so welcoming.
Dallas was super excited and had a really great time!

I wanted to post some pictures from the event so that you all could enjoy that day with us, once again... as well as for those of you who were unable to make it, and those who continue to follow Dallas' progress.

This is when we first arrived.  Dallas was overwhelmed.  With excitement, with happiness, perhaps with some fear and reservations.

Most of the time, he's really not a shy child, but since this has happened, he's been more guarded.

Thank you to everyone who talked to him, who played with him, and helped him to come out of his shell.  :)

Dallas was so excited to be able to get his face painted.  This is something he hasn't been able to do in a very long time.

What did he choose to get?  A Dallas Cowboys star, of course!

He really enjoyed doing this.

Dallas got to ride Madelyn's horse!  This is the first time he was able to go horseback riding, and he really, REALLY had a blast!

Just look at that smile!

This was something that surely brightened his day!!

Thank you!  :)

Another one of him riding.
I cannot tell you how much he truly loved doing this!

He wanted to keep riding.

Now we know something else he enjoys, and hopefully he'll get to do it again soon!

Dallas on Stage with the Hoss Howard Band!

As you can tell, he had some reservations holding him back.  But after he got off stage, all he talked about was how he was up there, playing the guitar.  "Did you see me?"  "Did you see me playing the guitar?"  "I did good, huh?"  It was adorable!

And a big thanks to these guys!  They were amazing.

We all really enjoyed the show and are very appreciative for you guys helping support Dallas through this time.

Dallas sitting in one of the race cars that was brought to the event!

He was so excited to sit in it and pretend like he was driving.

Every week Dallas watches the race with his Daddy, so this was a big thing, him getting the chance to sit in a race car.  :)

Dallas participated in a "cake walk", one of his favorite parts of the event, and won!  He was so excited.

And rather than keeping the cake, he gave it to the lady that "almost" won.

Looks like Nanna was a little more excited than Dallas to give the lady the cake.  LOL.  :)

Dallas playing with his "Bubba" (Tyler) before joining another cake walk.
He doesn't get to see him too often, so when he does, he tries to play with him as much as possible.

And here's Dallas participating in one of the cake walks.

He ended up winning this one too.  :)







"May I have your attention please?"  "May I have your attention please?"
These were the words that Dallas first spoke on stage.
Here he is with Daddy, thanking everyone for everything they did.  Telling everyone that he is getting better every day.

No more stage fright!  :)

The lady pictured here on stage with Dallas is Ginger.  There was a raffle for all of the Halloween decorations they had displayed.  Two inflatables and a skeleton for the yard.  Well, she won the raffle.  And rather than keeping the decorations, she decided to give them to Dallas.  She told me, that as soon as she saw him standing there, smiling and looking at the inflatables, she just had to give them to him.  How sweet is that?

Dallas can't wait to put them up!  He is so excited.  I'm thinking this next weekend, we will have them up!  :)


This little guy was given to Dallas at the Benefit.  Something that he didn't expect whatsoever.  When he was given to Dallas, his face lit up like a Christmas tree.  He absolutely adores animals, especially dogs.  Before this happened, we had a dog, Sarge.  He was going to get big, and was very active and playful with Dallas.  Once the accident happened, we had to give him away, in fear that he would hurt Dallas.  So this was a wonderful gift for him.

Dallas decided to name him Legion.
Fitting, don't you think?

Dallas had a really great time at the event, and so did the rest of us!  It was wonderful to see him run, to play, to jump, and to have so much fun!  We have met some wonderful people, who I hope will be lifelong friends.  Dallas was shown so much support, and he enjoyed every minute of it!

This is Dallas with Chuck and Wendy.  We wanted to say thank you for helping to put this event together.  They also provided lunch for everyone, Blue Ridge BBQ (amazing food, by the way!).
They were also kind enough to allow us to stay with them.  Dallas loved it there!  Right on the river.  Beautiful.

Thank you guys again for everything you did for us.  You made us feel welcome and showed Dallas, as well as the rest of us, a really great time!

Hopefully in the near future, we can make it back out to Waynesville.  It was a great little town, with a down home feel.  Everything that we could ever ask for, and more!

Thank you all for your continued support, thoughts, and prayers!  It means a lot to know that so many people care, that so many people are still supporting Dallas.  So many times, once the "worst" is over, people tend to go back to their lives, to "forget" about what happened.  Well, Dallas has a LONG road ahead of him, many more surgeries, both for function and cosmetic reasons.  He has years worth of strange looks and having to explain what happened.  So this will be a hard journey, mentally, physically, and emotionally, and he needs all the support he can get.

Words cannot explain how appreciative we are for everything!  Thank you again.  :)

Quick Update

Saturday was unbelievable!  Dallas had such a great time, as did the rest of us.

This was the first time we have seen Dallas run, jump, and smile, like he did, in a very long time.  He didn't want it to end.

We want to sincerely thank everyone for everything that was done for him!

Thank you all for putting this together for Dallas and our family.

I will have a more in-depth update as soon as I get more than 5 minutes to spare, lol.

But until then, thank you again, for everything!

It is much appreciated.  :)

Homeschool: Unit 1- The Letter S

Today is the first day of Unit 1:  The Letter "S".

Dallas had a good day.  We learned about the letter "S".  The sounds "S" makes.  Different words that start with the letter "S".

He got to draw the letter "S" in the salt.

He also drew a smily face, since it starts with the letter "S".

We also did different math activities, as well as some others.


He is really enjoying homeschool so far!  I am so happy with this program!