An Eventful Leadup to the Fall!

Pre-surgery

Recovery

Monitoring vitals.

The next morning...a playful, cheerful patient!

Of course I need ice cream to help post surgery.

Check out my new picnic table!  I already invited my friends over for happy hour!

A little digging with cousin Ingrid

With casts on my feet, the hiking backpack was a perfect option.

LOVE!

Raspberry picking with friends Taylor and Ryan Gabrielli.

My first raspberry picking...I couldn't stop eating off the bush.

"All Aboard!"

38 weeks pregnant with "Baby Girl Dean!" Can't wait to meet her.

The last 6 weeks have been busy and stressful for the Dean family.  Lucas had surgery on August 30 on both feet and his left hip.  The decision was made very quickly(although the surgery was not a surprise) to accommodate the expected delivery date of Baby Girl Dean. For us, it made more sense to tackle this procedure before we tried managing 2 children in our household.  Even though mom and dad(mostly mom) were stressed leading up to surgery day, Lucas was as collected and calm and personable as ever.  He charmed the surgery staff with his big personality and was very interested in everything they were doing to prep him.  He waved to us as the doctors rolled him down the hallways for anesthesia and continued saying, "Hi, Doctor, Hi Doctor!" with enthusiasm.

Lucas recovered quickly.  He was out of the hospital in 24 hours and off all pain meds within 48 hours.  He was back to school and resumed all activity almost immediately.  We continue to be amazed by his resiliency!  Lucas has been in a series of casts post surgery and we're looking forward to being done with those appointments and having him able to move about as normal.

We are getting very very excited to meet our daughter and little sister in the coming days, but in the meantime, we've tried to relish our time together with Lucas doing all the activities he loves best!