We had our six week ortho checkup today, the xrays look great!  You can see the new bone starting to form in the fusion area, and his back is nice and straight.  They took out the staples from the incision, all thirty of them, yikes!  Billy did NOT love that!  It cost me a toy plush snake, a box of Tic Tacs, french fries and a California Roll sushi for dinner, hahaha....

The doctor is being ultraconservative, said bone looks like it's forming nicely, and we want to do everything we can not to disturb it.  Billy will get his cast removed on Tuesday, and they will fit him for a custom made brace (a TLSO brace for those familiar with them - see pic down below) from his underarms to his butt while we wait.  The doctor wants him laying down on a stretcher while they make it to keep him safe from harm, LOL... Good thing we have a portable DVD player I bought for the surgery, guess we can catch a movie while waiting.  They said it would take about two hours for the brace to be moulded, then close to an hour to have it fitted (straps added, adjustments made, etc.)

It will be SO nice to get him in the bathtub to soak that scurvy little body!  Sponge baths only do so much to get you clean!  Other than baths, though, he'll have to wear the brace 24/7 till at least six weeks when we have our next ortho appointment.  I'm guessing he'll want him to wear it till around 4-6 months postop.