The Gagne Family

Jake's Finger

2009-02-17T17:40:00.004-05:00

Today we had alot of drama in the house. This morning while Melanie, Jake and I were upstairs getting ready for the day the kids were playing in their room as I was getting ready in the bathroom when I heard the closet door close and Jake start screaming and crying. I ran into the room to find Jake's hand bleeding terribly. I got very nervous and was expecting to see his finger hanging off (I know over reacting but when I saw the blood I freaked). I ran him into the bathroom to run it under cool water and to take a look. He was crying so hard I knew that something had to be wrong besides just the bleeding. His middle finger the skin was ripped up to his nail and the nail was very red, the ring finger nail was instantly black and blue. Thank god Dave was home so I had him come in and help me. We decided that he needed to be checked out, I brought him to Med Now because the Dr wasn't in the office. While there Jake still was crying alot and very distressed, they x-rayed his hand and his middle finger was fractured at the very tip. The fracture is so far up that they really don't do anything for it (they would usually splint it but being a baby they knew he would not leave the splint on. His skin in ripped from the top knuckle up to the nail bed, so we have to leave it bandaged so the bandage will act as a splint. He will loose the nail on both the middle and ring finger. My poor baby. By the time we left Med Now he finally was calmed down and exhausted!! He came home and crashed for 2 hrs! After some Motrin and love he was feeling better. Mommy on the other hand was completely exhausted and emotionally drained from the trauma of the day. Here are a few pictures of him sleeping after we got home.

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T19:27:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day. We didnt do much today. Dave and I went to dinner last night at Testo's. It was wonderful, I got Lobster Ravoli in a Vodka sauce with Shrimp. It was so good! Dave had to work at his rental house today so it was just me and the kids. We were home pretty much all day. This evening I brought Jake to the walk in clinic because his cough that he has had since the last croup episode hasnt gone away and it sounded "deeper" then before and he was very stuffy and sneezing. So I was worried it was becomming bronchitis or pneumonia, as it turns out he was never really over the croup so they put him on 5 days of steroids twice a day, this should do the trick and he should be better in a few days!

Jake's visit to Shriners

2009-02-02T19:00:00.005-05:00

We had our visit at Shriner's. I had some concerns that Jake's foot may be relapsing alittle but was thrilled to find out that it isnt and things still are looking great. He now does not have to return until June! I was even more thrilled when our orthotist Brock told me he was able to get the Dobb's Bar (http://www.dobbsbrace.com/) that we wanted for Jake in hopes to help him sleep better. I was able to have a sneak peak at it and I am very hopeful this will help Jake sleep through the night. Brock just has to order the adapter so it will fit his Mitchell shoes and we should be recieving it in the next week or so.

While we were up at Shriner's we were able to meet with another family whose little boy also has clubfoot, Jocelyn and Brock Milewski. She lives closeby and came to have lunch with us. It was great to finally meet another family (in person) with a clubfoot baby. We had a really great visit and plan to meet up again very soon.

On our trip home we went to the "cow store" as Melanie calls it-AKA Stew Leonards. We had alot of fun walking around and buying some goodies and ice cream.

We also had to bring Jake to the Pedi cause he was sounding very croupy so we got him checked out and he indeed has croup.

Here are a few pictures of Jake's new Dobb's bar, with these he is able to move his feet independently while he is sleeping whereas the others he wasnt able to. This will help him to sleep better.

2009-01-29T21:58:00.002-05:00

So this is my 1st posting. I have been wanting to start a blog for a long time now but I really never knew how to get it started. The other night I decided was a good time to try. I think it will be a good way for family to keep up with us when things are crazy and we don't get a chance to talk (Lori, Marie!!).
I have been married to a great guy for 7 yrs now and we have 2 wonderful children. Melanie just turned 5 yrs old and she is such a joy in our lives. She is in preschool and absolutely loves it. She is so eager to learn and does so well. She has a infectious personality and is so funny. She has a mind of her own and will let you know what she wants and when she wants it :)
Jakob is the baby of the family. He just turned 18 months old and is such a sweet boy. He is so cute with his blond hair (that he is finally getting) big blue eyes and great smile. He adores his big sister and is really starting to try to talk. He is so sweet and loves to cuddle. He is such a Mama's Boy (which I love) and is always ready to give a kiss. Jake was born with a right clubfoot which has been treated by using the Ponseti Method by a wonderful Doctor at the Shriner's Hospital for Children in Springfield Mass. We found out that Jake had his clubfoot at our 19 wk sonogram. It was a complete surprise and we knew nothing about clubfeet. Though I was very nervous about this I am so glad that we knew before because we were able to prepare and research the best treatment options for him, that is how we came across the Ponseti Method. He has done his serial casting starting at the age of 4 days old! After 5 weeks of casting he went into the FAB (foot abduction brace) that he initially wore for 23 hrs a day for 3 months. He is currently still using them for naps and nighttime and will continue until about the age of 4. Though he still does not sleep through the night because he sleeps with them he is such a happy boy.