The Mock Dock

So, some of you longtime mockdockers may have noticed a few instances where I’ve casually mentioned Junior Mock.  Junior Mock is my 12 year old son.  I don’t mention him often, because he’s not your average 12 year old boy who does average 12 year old things that average moms talk about.  Mini-Mock?  Totally a regular 3 year old.  But Junior Mock is special.

I’m telling you about him now, because on Wednesday, he’s going to be going through a significant and major surgery, and so you should probably be prepared for the fact that I’m likely to not be my normally clever and mocky self for at least a few days after that.  On the other hand, I might NEED The Mock Dock as a diversion from what’s probably going to be a pretty excruciating couple of weeks.  So who knows – I might be telling you all this for no reason at all!

Anyway, I think I’ve mentioned that both my boys were born prematurely.  This is because, as I’ve told you, I’m a horrible oven.  I developed pre-eclampsia with both, and HELLP sydrome with Junior Mock.  Junior Mock, although he was born at 30 weeks compared to Mini-Mock’s 28 weeks, suffered a great deal as a result of complications associated with his birth, which were mostly the result of gross incompetence by the hospital.  To make a really long story short, he was without oxygen for several minutes, and experienced serious brain damage as a result.

I was prepared by doctors and specialists early on to expect that he’d be profoundly disabled, and indeed he is.  Junior Mock will never walk or talk, he is confined to a wheelchair, and is fed via g-tube.  He’s on medications to help control seizures and loosen up his always-stiff muscles.  He is totally incontinent and will always be in diapers.  He has had dislocated hips since he was less than 3 years old.  He gets botox injections (not the cosmetic kind!) into his hamstrings to allow him to maintain some range of motion. And,  over the past year or so, he’s developed a curve in his spine which has progressed so quickly that his left lowest rib is now rubbing against his pelvic bone. 

So, on Wednesday morning, he will be getting a spinal fusion.  It’s the only way to relieve the discomfort he’s currently experiencing and prevent his organs from becoming squashed by his ribcage.  They’re going to slice him open from the base of his neck down to his tailbone, and insert two long rods along his spinal column.  They’ll graft some bone from his pelvis to help those rods begin to fuse along his spine, and straighten him out.  He’s expected to stay in the hospital for probably around 10 days, and then will face a long recovery at home.

SO, I’m gearing up for Wednesday, by trying to have as much fun as possible until then.   Chicago was huge.  Tomorrow will be an early celebration of mother’s day at my house and the whole family will be here.  Daisy and I have a fun lunch planned for Tuesday.  But Wednesday will come, and I’ll be at Junior Mock’s bedside, hoping for as smooth of a recovery as he can possibly have.

So I guess what I’m asking, my mockdock friends, is that you have patience with me if posting is limited beginning on Wednesday, OR if I post incessantly about his recovery.  I am not sure yet if I’ll need “mock therapy” to take my mind off of it all, or if I’ll need to use this site as a way to just put cyber pen to paper about everything that’s going on with him.  Or perhaps both.  The good news is that Junior Mock is an incredibly joyful and happy boy, despite all of his obstacles and the dependence he has on others to do something as simple as shift his position.  I can practically guarantee that he’ll give me a smile within 24 hours post-op.

And hopefully, after a month or so,  everything will be back to normal and he’ll be straight and comfortable  and we’ll just pretend none of this ever happened.  Meantime, thanks in advance for being my sounding board!