TyTy's Hand Update

We met with the surgeon at the U of U Burn Center last Wednesday and she decided to wait on the skin grafting because Tyler's hand looked like it was finally starting to heal on it's own. We are glad that she decided to wait because his hand has made great progress in the last week. We are at day #23 today and he still has a few open wounds, but most of his hand and fingers are now covered with new, pink skin and lots of thick scar tissue. We are still doing daily bandage changes, but they have gotten much less painful for Tyler. We are also doing PT three times a day and play therapy three times a day. He doesn't like either of those, but he tolerates them for the most part. He was fitted for a glove on Monday that he will be wearing for the next 12-18 months. That should be ready on Tuesday and then the kids and I will start driving back to Carlsbad on Wednesday. He will actually have 3-4 gloves at a time and they will have to be replaced every 3-4 months, but they only rush ordered one for now and then they will ship us the rest. We also found a PT in Carlsbad that can take over Tyler's care when we get back in town, so we are happy about that. He's not a burn expert, but he has treated some burns and feels confident that he can help Tyler regain full function of his hand. We will not know for several months or even close to a year if Tyler will need surgery to remove scar tissue and release contractures. They told us that he will most likely need surgery several times in his life to make sure that his hand has full function. As he goes through growth spurts, his bones will grow faster than the scar tissue can stretch and so often times they have to have surgery a few months after it happens, and then again at age 5 or 6, and then again when they go through puberty. But only time will tell what his little hand is going to do. Thank you all for your prayers and fasting. I know that it played a role in Tyler's healing process thus far. We are so grateful for all of the love and support that we have received. We feel certain that we made the right decision in transferring his care to the burn center at the U. It was not an easy decision to make, but it was made prayerfully and we know that it has been the best thing Tyler. We will be seeing the surgeon again at the end of May when school gets out and we head back to Utah. We will also be doing some medical things for Cierra at the same time, but that is another post for another time.
Day #11

Day #20