Yet Another Syndrome

Hadrian had another gynecologist appointment last week. The good news is that all of her bloodwork turned out to be just fine! But, since the Provera did not cause her to start her period, Dr. Ursula wanted to get an ultrasound of Hadrian's ovaries. And, sure enough, the culprit was discovered. Hadrian's ovaries were covered in cysts. Hadrian definitely has Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. : (

So, she is now taking a round of Prometrium which is a stronger medicine to jumpstart her period. This diagnosis would also explain the severe acne that Hadrian randomly seemed to develop over the past 6 months. She has been to the dermatologist so that we can try to get her skin cleared up again.

With the antibiotics, acne medicine, and the Prometrium, Hadrian is struggling. She is exhausted. And, this morning, she got up for school, and was greeted with throwing up. She has felt crappy all day. The hormones are definitely giving her some side effects and are causing her to just plain out feel bad. And, still, no period. She will continue swallowing those pills to work on it, though!

Just add the Polycystic Ovary Syndrome to her Compartment Syndrome, and Hadrian is now just one big syndrome!! LOL. She has to be the strongest kid I know. She exemplifies the Chinese proverb "get knocked down 7 times, get up 8." She is digging deep to have what it takes to get up one more time!

Hadrian and I went with Haley and Austin to the Georgia National Fair in Perry on Monday. Just walking around the fair caused Hadrian severe leg pain! Her legs were killing her!! It is pretty sad when she is having a harder time than her mother getting around! I hope this is not just a fact of life for her now. : (

If so, it makes me sad to think about what a struggle everyday activities may be for her. I do alot of massaging on her calves at night . . . whatever it takes to get her through this.

My girls and I were recently at a wedding, and Hadrian was very aware of the big scars on her legs. This was the first time I have noticed her truly feeling self conscious about her legs. She said it didn't help that we all mentioned how obvious her scars looked while being in a dress. Sorry, Hadrian!! Those big scars still get to me. But, let me assure you that no scars will ever define you. You are beautiful . . . inside and out, with scars or without, no matter what!!

Hannah and Hadrian


Me and My Three Girls!

Released and Ready to Go!!

Hadrian had a doctor visit with Dr. Cullen this past week. She addressed all of her concerns about the aches and pains she has been experiencing now that she is back playing soccer. Hadrian is having a lot of soreness in her thighs, her calves have numbness which she describes as indescribable, and her ankles sometimes give out.

The good news is that everything she is dealing with is no cause for alarm and is pretty normal. The bad news is that she will just have to deal with her aches and pains . . . indefinitely . . . . and maybe forever. But she is now released by the doctor to "do her thing!" Unless she begins to have issues worse than she is having now, then she doesn't have to see Dr. Cullen again. So, on with life . . . as we know it now. Dr. Cullen is pleased with her progress and feels she is good to go! : )

I think she will now always be a candidate for icing and advil after any type of exercise. And, I hear these words quite frequently . . . "mom, my calves need massaging." ; ) But, whatever it takes to make the baby girl feel good. Lol.

Hadrian will probably die that I am sharing this . . . but she has been experiencing LOTS of fatigue. And, she has not been having periods to the tune of about 8 months now. We have had SO much going on in our lives that I just haven't paid too much attention to this. Dr. Cullen said we needed to get her in to see the gynecologist immediately. I wasn't aware of the seriousness of the situation. Hadrian and I just kind of thought "no periods . . . . no problem!" LOL

Hadrian's oldest sister, Haley, who always has a funny thought about everything, told me that Hadrian will probably be the next case on the Discovery Health tv show "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant. NOT!!! I don't even want to go there!! LOL. But, Haley is the same child who pranked me when Hadrian was on spring break and convincingly told me she saw Hadrian on the tv show "Girls Gone Wild." Enough Haley. No mom needs this kind of humor. HA.

Dr. Cullen told us that without regular ovulation, estrogen and progesterone levels remain low. Female athletes with irregular menstrual cycles face a much higher risk of stress fractures and premature osteoporosis. After doing some research, I realize now that irregular periods in young women are the key warning sign for osteoporosis later in life. So, we wasted no time in getting Hadrian to the gynecologist!! She was thrilled beyond belief . . . ; )

So, Hadrian survived the rite of passage into womanhood. I told her it is just her unfortunate lot in life. . . no woman can escape the joys. She had a WONDERFUL doctor named Ursula . . . a larger black lady . . . who was absolutely beautiful, and had the perfect personality for Hadrian. Hadrian liked her office rule . . . "You don't hurt me, and I won't hurt you." Lol.

We will get all of her test results next week, but in the meantime, we have to jumpstart her period. I just got her prescription filled today, but she has to take a round of Provera to cause her to start her period . . . . we have laughed about the fact that there is just something wrong with this . . . aren't pills supposed to make you "feel" better?! When Hadrian has a period, she has such severe cramps that she cries. So, we are bracing for the pills to kick in. : (

Hadrian now has enough stamina to play a whole soccer game . . . and she is slowly but surely getting her "game" back. She is happy to be playing again, and her teammates and especially her coach have been so supportive with her journey back!! How blessed we are!! : )

On the Field Again!!

After 6 long months for Hadrian . . . she played soccer again. And, I mean really played . . . in her uniform . . . her cleats . . . and shin guards. She was a part of a team again . . . and she contributed to her team. : )

Hadrian has rejoined her old Atlanta Fire United team, and they played in the Atlanta Cup Soccer Tournament over Labor Day weekend. She played half of each half, and she did really well. The first game she was really sucking wind, but the second game was much better. These two games were on Saturday, and the games were played in Gainesville. So, we took the opportunity to cross the mountain to Blairsville and spend the night with her grandparents a.k.a. Babelle and Pa.

Hadrian was starving after a full day of soccer. And, I emphasize starving! Her Babelle treated her to a steak dinner, and I have never seen a girl enjoy her food quite so much! She ate every bite of her salad, rolls, potatoes, and steak!! Yummy!! She was one hungry girl!! And, after a day of hard work and a full tummy, she wasn't good for anything but the recliner. And, neither was mom. LOL

Her team played at 8 a.m. Sunday, and she did great! After the game, she announced that she wasn't even tired. She felt normal again! Normal is awesome!!

And, I must say that seeing her play again was amazing for me. When we see one of our kids overcome an obstacle and achieve a goal, there is nothing better! What a blessing it was for me to be there!

Hadrian didn't just want to play soccer again. She NEEDED to play soccer again. And, she did just that. : )

4 Months After Surgery

It has been a long time since I have been on here to update - obviously! Moving this summer has just about done me in. Hadrian and I moved to Tree Corners Apartments in Grayson, and it is taking me a while to get my act together. Downsizing from 5 bedrooms to 2 bedrooms has been a challenge, but it is getting done slowly. I still do not have internet service at the apartment, so blogging has been on the back burner. I wanted to blog tonight because this is a big day for us!

Hadrian is on the soccer field tonight for the first time since her surgery!! Yay!!! This has caused mixed emotions for me because I know how badly she wants to play soccer again. But, at the same time, I know how hard it is going to be for her to get back into playing shape. And, of course, facing the possibility that playing soccer again may not be in her future. But, we are thinking positively and hoping for good results!

Hadrian told me tonight that she hasn't touched a soccer ball in over 5 months. And, I must say, just finding her soccer ball proved that she must be right! LOL. But, she was genuinely excited to get in her car and drive to the soccer field for practice. And, I was just as excited to see her go! This was such big news that I had to send out a mass text message to inform her dad and her sisters that she was on the way!

Hadrian's legs have healed up just fine. Besides the fact that I still cringe when I look at those big scars, everything seems to be good! But, anything new causes discomfort. Starting school caused her legs to hurt just because of the walking she does going from class to class. My friends who do not have kids in Gwinnett County Schools may not get this. (ha) But, the schools here are so big that just going from class to class requires a level of physical fitness! ; )

Dr. Cullen told us that her legs will hurt, swell, and be numb for a good while. So, this apparently is no real reason for concern - except for Hadrian - who is the one dealing with it all. She has not been released from the doctor yet. We have another appointment in September for him to assess her progress.

So, almost 4 months to the day after her surgery, Hadrian is on the soccer field! Yes!! : )

She can only condition and do light stuff with the ball. No shin guards or impact yet. One step at a time. But, we are SO thankful and grateful to be making this step!

So stay tuned . . . . to see how it goes. : )

Thank you to all of our friends who continue to tell me that they have been following her progress! You are the best!!

Becky

9 1/2 Weeks

Hadrian is coming right along with her recovery after the compartment syndrome surgery. She had been going to physical therapy, and they had her running suicides outside and running on the treadmill inside. And, they told her to work on running every day on her own, and she could run up to 2 miles a day. I was thinking "wow." She is doing really good if she is already running this much. Dr. Cullen had told us she wouldn't be running until August! So, I was impressed that she was way ahead of schedule!

Well, we went back for a checkup with her doctor this past week. Dr. Cullen walked in and said "whoa!" She should never have been running in the first place. He was not a happy doctor. So, we are not going back to physical therapy, and now she is supposed to be only walking up to 1 mile a day. No running at all!! Never should have. Somebody got a little bit ahead with her training schedule!! Yikes!!

I seriously had been wondering about her running, but I didn't say anything. Hadrian had not been doing so well with that whole "run on her own" thing anyway. She had been lacking a little bit of motivation - imagine that! Hadrian made the comment that "for once, her laziness had paid off." And, she is actually correct about her laziness paying off - just this once. The running she has already done could cause some damaging scar tissue. But, we are just hoping no damage has been done!! Seriously hoping.

Dr. Cullen told us Hadrian will be walking in July, hopefully running in August, and actually playing with a soccer ball by the end of August. So, now that the game plan has been confirmed, we will try to stick to it.

Hadrian is back at work at KFC. Her legs get tired and ache after she stands a while, but we are hoping this gets better with time.

Just about everywhere Hadrian goes, we find someone giving her legs the stare down, and we automatically know they are wondering why in the world this girl has four big scars on her legs! Some people just look and never say anything, and some people get the nerve to ask what happened. So, here she goes, telling the story . . . one more time. If she had a dime for every time she told the story, well, you know, she would be rich by now! (HA) Honestly, not hardly, but she would definitely have a little bit more money!

Speaking of money, I have had a few people ask how much did it cost to have this type of surgery. And, the answer is approximately $20,000 - give or take a few dollars. Thank goodness for good medical insurance! : )

5 Week Update

Hadrian's surgery was exactly 5 weeks ago today. She is doing very well! In fact, she just got home from the beach today. Her surgery definitely is not interfering with any of her summer plans. ; ) She did have to cover up her incisions when she was in the sun, and she wasn't allowed to get in a hot tub. Other than these two things, the fun continued!

Since my last blog post, Hadrian has seen the doctor again, and Dr. Cullen said she is progressing right on schedule. One of her incisions was not healing as well as the others, so Dr. Cullen had to get his scissors and scrape it out. Ick!! That was slightly gross! And, Hadrian has had a total of five physical therapy sessions. Each session definitely brings on more progress with her flexibility. She will start back to physical therapy tomorrow.

One thing that feels a bit weird to Hadrian are the numb spots on her legs. Hopefully these will go away with time. She walks perfectly normal, and you would never know she has had surgery! We were told that her physical therapy plan is crucial. She cannot do things too quickly or it could cause the same problem to develop again. Yikes! We don't want this to happen! So, she has to be careful and not do things that haven't been authorized.

Her incisions look great!! Posting pictures to show the progress.

Outside Right Leg

Inside Right Leg

Inside Left Leg

Outside Left Leg

Thank you so much to all of our friends and family for your continued concern! Hadrian is doing fantastic! : )

Second and Third Weeks After Surgery

Hadrian went back to see Dr. Cullen on the 11th day after surgery. They clipped her stitches and cleaned up her incisions. And, they put tape on her incisions to hold them together. Dr. Cullen said she is looking good!!

Her right leg will flex and has mobility, but her left leg is being really stubborn. So, Hadrian needs to get into physical therapy right away to stretch the muscles in her left calf.

We took Hadrian's crutches, and they adjusted them to fit her and gave her a lesson on how to walk with them! So, no more wheel chair!! We have advanced to crutches!

Hadrian went back to school for a half day with her crutches on Day 12. She said it got old telling the story over . . . and over . . . and over again. She said every person at school asked her "what happened?!" And, I think she "grossed" a few of them out by pulling down her support stockings! HA

Hadrian started physical therapy on Day 18. After the first day, she was in pain again. After the second day of therapy, she was able to walk on her own without crutches! Yay! She looks normal again! She has had three sessions total, and she will continue therapy for a while.

Things are pretty much back to normal at our house. Hadrian is driving again and definitely making up for lost time with her friends!!

We go back to see Dr. Cullen again on Monday, and I think he will be pleased with her progress.

Thanks to all for your prayers! Hadrian has done amazingly well! : )