Muscles and the XeroSox

I really try to make some posts informative because I know that there are some readers out there who also have children who are amputees and that's one of the reasons for this post.

Last summer when we went to the beach with my family we had quite the problem. Before we left we had looked at water legs that Bryson could use at the beach but they were just too exensive to buy for just a week at the beach. We knew that Bryson could get his prosthetic leg wet, but what we didn't think about was what the salt water and sand would do to it. He was only in the water once with his prosthetic and the knee froze and so for the rest of the week he could not bend his knee. This year we knew we would be headed to the beach again for shorter time and really wanted Bryson to be able to play in the water with the other kids, running in and out of the waves. We started doing our research for cheaper options and this is what we found. It is called the "XeroSox." This can be used by people with prosthetics as well as people with casts. I don't remember exactly how much it was but I know it was under $100. The size we had to get for Bryson was a little big and hard to get on, but we made it work. And I'm happy to say it worked. He was able to play at the beach - as you can see from these pictures - and when we left his leg still worked. Because the XeroSox that we bought was so much bigger than Bryson's leg we should be able to use it for a couple years.

I did also want to let you know that when we went to a water park this summer we let Bryson go onto the slides with his prosthetic leg on and it didn't do any damage to it. He couldn't leave it on all the time because water would get into the top and drive him crazy but it did help that we didn't have to carry him through most of the lines. It is so nice to be getting some of this stuff figured out now. It would've been nice for us to find some of this stuff out from other people which is why I decided to post about it. Hopefully, this will help somebody else out.

Now about the "muscles"...

Beau texted this picture to his Dad while we were on vacation. We didn't think twice about it. We never really thought about his muslces, although he loves to flex them until we saw this picture again when we got home. We were shocked to see Bryson's defined muscles. I guess we should've thought about it since he does over compensate for the missing leg with his upper body, but we didn't. Anyway, here is what defined muslces look like on a 6 year old.

What Bryson did the rest of the summer

I realize that it may look like I decided to quit updating this blog, but that is not the case. We had a crazy busy summer and now I am finally into the new school routine. Hopefully I can do a little better updating now. Here is kind of a breakdown of our summer and why it got so busy.

If you remember it all started with Tball...

Then a new baby brother, Riley...

Then trip to KY to see our new nephew, Brogan... (no picture because this is a public site and I didn't ask his parents.)

Then Cousin camp for the three older kids and Youth Conference for Riley, Beau, and I... (no picture of cousin camp because I wasn't there and the grandparents haven't graduated to digital pictures yet.:))

Then trip to Marion to see our new niece, Collette...(again no pic, didn't ask the parents)

Next was the Osborne family vacation to DISNEY...

Then the Hummel Family Vacation to Cincinatti for Kings Island and the Zoo...

Then our vacation with our family friends the Starners to PA...

(Throughout the summer Bryson was going to physical therapy again about everyother week. It was great and I really think strength is improving - we will continue to do this through the year about every other month.)

And the summer ended with Bryson going back to school, but this time in the 1st grade!!!

Did you notice anything different about Bryson in this picture? He has a new leg. It is now blue and he is okay with the color this time. We will have to make sure that on Michigan game day it is well covered, so as not to promote the other team, but we can make it work. The other leg he had was quite a bit too short (seems that kids grow alot :)), so we changed it out right before school starter. Let's see how long he will hang on to this leg.

Nicole

Ampucamp

Can you stand it - two posts in one week!

I received a forward today and I just had to post about it. The email was about an organization called Ampucamp that is trying to get so many votes so that it can win a $25,000 grant. After visiting their site and reading the story I know you will all want to vote for them, so I just had to post. The story is of a little boy who had to have his leg amputated after a fluke kind of accident. The feelings the boys dad writes about are very similar to the ones Beau and I have shared with you over the past two years which are on this blog and our old website www.brysonhummel.com. I also find it very interesting that the same song their video is being played to is the same song I used on for the video I made in my first couple posts of this blog. It brought me to tears as I relived the past two years of our lives while reading their story and watching their video. It is truly amazing to see God's hand move through it all.

Anyway, when you get a few moments check out the website for yourself and vote for them. I think it is a great cause.

http://www.evolve-now.com/ampucamp

Nicole

The Moment Bryson Has Been Waiting For

Finally, the moment Bryson had been waiting for for a couple months now just happened. Last week we got to meet Charlie, the boy who had a similar accident to Bryson that I mentioned in a previous blog. Bryson was so excited to see him. For most of the two hour trip Bryson was asking me if we were there yet. I really think this was a good trip for Charlie to see how Bryson is doing, for Charlie's mom to ask some questions, for this mom to related to another mom is similar circumstances, and for Bryson to see another kid that looks just like him. Charlie looks great and seems to be full of spunk! I remember everyone saying that about Bryson and said it was going to be what helped him get through everything. I think it will be the same for Charlie. He was moving around great and even though he was getting tired toward the end of our visit (to be expected for sure) I could tell he has a lot of energy still. Looks like Charlie will be getting his new leg soon and I'm sure will be up running before we know it. Before we left we decided that we would need to see them again after Charlie gets his new leg so the boys can run around together. The two hour trip home was so nice. It gave me a chance to relive the last couple of years, all of the emotions I felt, pray for this family who was right in the middle of probably the toughest time in their life, and a chance for me to thank God for how far he has brought us in the last couple years. Again, this trip meant so much to Bryson and I. Bryson reminds me even at the dinner table that we need to pray for Charlie - so sweet! We hope that we can continue this relationship. It is true that nobody really understands what you are going through unless they've walked in your shoes. Please continue to pray for Charlie and his family as they start the process of getting his first prosthetic leg. I remember it was scary for Bryson at first and even a little painful.

Enjoy the pictures below!

Nicole

What Bryson has been up to lately

I have been wanting to post pictures of this for a long time but have never got around to it. Now that the season is over I am finally getting around to posting some tball pictures of Bryson.

We never wanted to be the family that is running there kids around to games all summer, but really with Bryson's accident we had a change of heart. We literally saw that any physical activities that we can get Bryson involved in now is like extra physical therapy and a confidence booster. And that is what tball has turned out to be for Bryson this year. He loved every minute of it and really did quite well. As far as skill level goes he was pretty average, which I think is great considering he has an added obstacle. It just proves to me once again that we should never try to put limits on Bryson, because I am not sure there is anything that he can't or won't be able to do. (Already swimming, skiing, and tball - what will be next.)

I think you will be amazed when you look at these pictures how you don't notice his prosthetic leg very much. At the games you can tell that he is running different, but hopefully when we get him back in PT some of that will be corrected. (speaking of PT - right now we are on a waiting list to get in!)

Anway, hope you enjoy the pics!

Nicole