Friday, November 27, 2015

Healed. And just in time to start first grade!


Well, day one of first grade is upon us.  She got a sweet teacher, Miss Bunn.  I had to explain to her that thankfully Gabbi is right-handed, so we shouldn't have much interruption in her daily routine due to the brace.  (She still has all three fractures!  BOO!) She cannot manage buttons and zippers, so you'll notice we've been in almost exclusively dresses when she is in public.  
You'll also notice we did NOT let this injury stop us from going and doing.  We just kept on keeping on.  Here we are at one of our favorite haunts, Waffle House!
And onto the studio.
Where Gabbi was at work with me for the day.  She made her own Barbie (that's the logo below) birthday invitations and took them around to all of my employees.

Aren't these just awesome?
And here she is... This is the scar in late August.  Today, it looks even better.  Can you believe how far that little injury came?  we loved that little hand to total healing.
But because she still has some pain and we aren't totally clear on the fractures, she has to wear the splint a protection.  Here we have a first and third grader.
And we took pics of our first day as we always do.
Lunch boxes chosen.  New backpacks.
And crashing early from the new routine!
We are still very occasionally dealing with some discoloration of the left hand. See that redness?  But her vessels (Nerves, arteries, and veins) also took a licking through all of this, so we have to give them a chance to reboot, per se.
I tried to find activities for her to play which would encourage her using both hands.
This is the range of motion of her right hand.  Note how widely she can spread her fingers.
And this is her left hand.  Not nearly as "strong"... can you tell?  And the palmar arches.. think of them like mini trampolines in the palm of her hands.... there's a big difference there.  Much better tone in her right hand than her left.  This is where much of her function will come from.  We have WORK to do!
Thanks for putting up with this long saga!  We are still struggling a touch with this situation, but overall, we are very pleased with the results.  It certainly could've gone a totally different way!  We are blessed!

MO

6 comments:

Mama J said...

Truly remarkable how well Gabbi handled this injury and all that went with it. Strong character! Both girls will fare very well in life. Melanie, you are popping amazing. You can send me a PM and confess if you EVER have a down or discouraging moment.). However, I know the answer. Positive in positive out...no negativity in the Groves household!! You truly have made me reflect on being thankful in all things. I AM a positive person but it is always good to hear and see God work in children. Thanks for sharing!

Zhohn said...

Her hand looks AMAZING!!! Yall did awesome caring for it!

Holly said...

Wow! What a trooper! No one likes for bad things to happen, but if you are a silver lining person, Gabbi really grew through this. She learned to care for her own hand, and to focus on the good. I LOVED that she sang and whispered to her hand! Sometimes my family consider me a little "light" because I just refuse to acknowledge the worst possible scenario! Why? Why not claim the best outcome possible? There's always time to deal with difficulties, but why give power to darkness? Even the occasional time when it doesn't go the way you hope, you just deal with it once not constant torture imagining the worse. I am so happy you are her mother! She might not have gotten through this nearly as well otherwise!

Thanks for sharing!

kimybeee said...

So glad GG has the right people in her life to take care of her and get her back to great shape!! Hopefully in a bit this will all be just a memory with no lasting marks or deficits!!

Catherine said...

Are the bones still broken? When and how will that be addressed? I am so sorry this happened to your sweet Gabbi. I've not seen a fracture blister so bad or on a child. Please do share how this could have happened. So frightening. I admire how you and Todd handled this. I don't think I could have been so calm. My thoughts and prayers are on Gabbi.

Beth E. said...

I'm so proud of Gabbi, and how she did not let her hand injury keep her from enjoying life to the fullest! She's mirroring what she sees in her mama. :-)