First Steps

When Misha was first admitted to the hospital on December 1, 2008, he was very unhappy. He became very withdrawn and moody. I tried to encourage him to make friends and participate in the wonderful daily activities that Shriners has for all the patients, but he would tell me that he didn't need friends, he just wanted his family.

He constantly withdrew himself into video games or movies and shunned the other patients and staff. I spent hours trying to help him see why we all need friends, but he would roughly reply that he only needed his family.

Because of his long hospital stay and the drain it was taking on the family, Philip and many other highly respected people, began encouraging me to go home at night so that he would be forced to rely on others. At the time he was completely dependent on me and refused to let anyone else bathe or help care for him.

Breaking away was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Abandoned all his life, I worried that leaving him would take away trust that I've worked so hard to build. Yet, Stephanie and I were exhausted! After three long weeks of staying at the hospital around the clock, we began going home at night.

Even though the month of December was very long, some amazing things began to take place at the hospital. The staff at Shriners work very hard to keep the children from becoming bored during their stay and also utilize the time in equipping them for handling the outside world.

Every day Misha would spend thirty minutes in occupational therapy and then another thirty minutes in physical therapy. His physical therapist name is Stephanie and she is also responsible for caring for his wounds by changing his bandages three times a week and making sure his wound vac is working properly.

Misha has such hairy legs that months earlier when they had to pull off his first bandages after surgery, the tape pulling at the hair and wounds completely traumatized him. He became very fearful of anyone who would get near his wounds and began screaming if he thought they were going to change his bandages. This was completely unnerving for everyone involved! Quite honestly, I worked in a hospital for years and was very use to working with children who had fear of pain, but Misha's fear and behavior over these procedures even traumatized me.

Hopefully, this paints a clearer picture of what Stephanie, Shannon, Francis and all the other staff who became involved with wound care for Misha had to go through. The first wound vac change he was given strong pain medication, but even this didn't seem to calm him enough. Once the procedure was started it had to be finished, so you couldn't wait around for more medication to be given. The next procedure they decided to slightly sedate him and things went much better. This group of ladies have worked very hard to make wound vac changes as easy as possible.

Misha and his Wound Vac

Shannon was elected to shave his legs since she cares for her grandfather and has become an expert shaver. Once Misha trusts someone, he latches onto them and really makes a fuss if someone else tries to step in and take their place. Once Stephanie grabbed the razor and was going to quickly shave his legs. Misha cried out, "No! Shannon shaves legs!" You would have thought that it required a degree in leg shaving.

Stephanie prepares Misha for his first steps

It was the same with Stephanie and his wound care. She was tremendously careful with Misha. She patiently took a lot of extra time to gently remove the tape without pain. He grew to trust her completely and when she had to be gone a couple of times he really took the girls, who replaced her, through the ringer. I've been told that some of these girls actually had trained Stephanie, but he would tell them they didn't know what they were doing because they didn't do it like Stephanie. They had done a wonderful job, yet, they took his bluntness beautifully and we all had a good laugh. Everyone came to know that in his eyes, Stephanie "rules".

He has really grown to love these precious ladies. Likewise, they appear to look forward to his jokes and playful sense of humor. I've been so blessed as I've watched how lovingly they dote over him during physical therapy and wound care.

During Misha's first days at the hospital, I would constantly tell him that I didn't know why we were here, but that I knew that God had us here for a purpose. That purpose has been revealed in so many ways, but the friendships he has formed with these wonderful people has truly been a highlight. He has discovered that mom was right. Friends are a WONDERFUL thing!



As Misha took those first steps for Stephanie and Shannon, I began realizing the tremendous way God has used these ladies in bringing about many first steps in Misha's young life. Thank you ladies! We all truly love you!!!

Stephanie, Shannon and Misha