Graham’s Operation

SNAP! CRACK! The sounds of twigs being fashioned for kindling wood! It was a week before Christmas and three weeks before our grandson Graham was scheduled for the second in a series of bone lengthening operations 1,330 miles away in West Palm Beach, Florida.        

Graham was born with a condition called achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism. His first operation 6/5/2009 added four inches to his height. His expectation after the second is five feet, three inches when full grown.

Each time I snapped a twig or small branch, the sound of breaking the kindling made me wince. Actually the bones are cut during the operation, but the image of bones separated came to me in sharp focus with the sound of the snap.

Some of you have asked for information on his surgery. I am sharing some here, but it is not for the squeamish. In order to achieve the desired results, the surgeon cuts the upper and lower bones in each leg. Metal pins or screws are inserted through the skin and into the bone. Pins are placed above and below the cut, and the incision is stitched closed. A medical device (usually some sort of external frame, i.e. a fixator) is attached to the pins in the bone and adjusted daily by the use of a wrench to widen the gap of the break while the body slowly generates new bone. The whole process takes places over several very challenging months.

Quoting further from “Medical Plus,” U.S. National Library of Medicine, NIH National Institutes of Health, each centimeter of lengthening requires 36 days of healing. The hospital stay is normally a week or more. Afterwards, frequent visits to the doctor are required to adjust the lengthening device. Physical therapy is required to maintain normal range of motion. Special care of the pins or screws holding the device is needed to prevent infection. The medical follow-up and therapy will necessitate Graham and rotating family members to remain in West Palm Beach until some time in May. Although the procedure conjures up images of medieval torture on a rack, Graham’s doctor, Russian-born Dror Paley, has perfected the operation to a science with amazing results.

From the time that the last fixator was removed after the first operation in 2009, all of us knew that the day would come when he would again journey to Florida. The only sign or expression of anxiety that I saw occurred in our daily drive to school (as grandfather, I frequently play the chaffeur) the next to last day before Christmas break when he said, “Poppy, do you know that this will be the first winter since I was born that I won’t see any snow?”

Christmas was a joyous occasion. The other grandparents Rich and Camille Eiden came up from Long Island and Jenny and her boyfriend Pancho buzzed in and out from Westport, Connecticut. All the while Paulette was preparing for Christmas and packing and planning for five months in Florida. She will be there all of the time with Graham making frequent visits and the rest of us traveling down as time and circumstances permit.

December 27^th dawned and at the first light of day I looked out of my den window to see Graham Sr. busily putting the last baggage in the carrier atop their SUV. The tailgate was open and Paulette was stowing a cooler and Graham Jr.’s wheelchair neatly in the back. The boys each had a small bag with movies, snacks and books for the long drive. Each had a blanket.

10:00AM, all packed and time to go. I stayed out of the way. The last thing any of them needed was a doting, anxious grandfather under foot. Dorothy and I wandered over as the three boys were taking their places in the back seats. Graham got out and gave me a big hug, looked up at me and said, “Poppy, my goal is to be back in time for your 80^th Birthday party in May (16).” I hugged him and stood back with Dorothy as the doors closed and they were on their way. The day was clear. The tailgate was not.

The route was planned and mapped out. They would drive it in three days with overnight stops in Richmond and Jacksonville. Two days later, Dorothy and I drove Paulette and Tory to Bradley Airport, north of Hartford, for their flight to Orlando. Graham and the boys picked them up at the airport. They spent a long weekend visiting Animal Kingdom and Disney Land before motoring to West Palm. Graham underwent tests on Wednesday and was operated at 8:30AM Thursday morning.

We drove daughter Jenny to Bradley for her flight to Florida the day of the operation. On Saturday she flew back with Brad, Tory and Dunc in time for lacrosse practice. She stayed with them until Paulette’s parents relieved her the following week. Graham Sr. returned later in the month. The physical rehab has begun and the hectic pace will give way to a quieter routine. Each family member has a role to play over the next four months, carefully orchestrated by Graham Jr.’s parents. We rotate in and out to care for the other kids, their dogs, fish and frogs. I am constantly amazed at the resiliency of the little ones, as they adapt to new schedules and a cadre of doting relatives shuffling them off to school and tucking them in at night. When Graham Jr. started what will ultimately be a 7 or 8- year series of surgeries, his doctor told his parents, “If you’re going to do this, you will need your family to help you through it.” Over time, this has become more apparent. It truly is a family affair. The hero of course is Graham Jr. – his courage and stoicism knows no bounds. The rest of us are bit players, all eager and willing and grateful to play our parts.

George