I need to write quickly because Jacie has been bugging me to help her with her schoolwork. Yes, I know that schoolwork takes precedence over blogging but I haven't had the chance to even sit down for a second since after Christmas and update all of you. So in my limited time...
A lot has happened since Christmas. First and probably most importantly- Jacie and I danced the New Year in. It was so fun. She is quite the little dancer. As soon as the clock struck 12, we turned up the volume on the radio and off we went. I wish you could have seen her go. She can move with the best of them.
Since then, we have been to see her orthopedist, gotten a 1 inch shoe lift added to her left shoe and scheduled her surgery. Yup, I'm tired. I have to admit though, my heart broke at the size of her lift. It is so very obvious. They had told me that no one would be able to tell. Uhmm... It looks like a sooped up version of the original. At our house we call it her monster shoe. I cried when I saw it (though I didn't let Jacie see.) I have tacked on a picture. I am now used to it and it doesn't break my heart so badly. I also went out and bought her new pants that are longer and cover it better. The good news is that she will only need the lift for a period of time and then gradually, as she grows, they will make it smaller and smaller. Also these are a waterproof 'boot' for winter, in the spring and summer I can have regular tennis shoes and sandals built. They won't look so 'loggerish.'
I have to laugh at her in it though- she trips all of the time. Now I know that it isn't nice to laugh at someone when they fall but she really flies off the front of the shoe and is so dramatic... well, you get the idea. It is difficult for her to walk in though because she habitually drops her left hip to compensate for the difference in leg size. Now when she does that, she finds that her right leg is too short. Perhaps we should have them build that shoe as well. The new shoes do hurt her feet though. We had custom made orthotics put in them and the shoe built. I imagine that after walking in a specific way for a long time- changing it would hurt. I told her that we needed to give it three weeks. If they still bother her badly in that time, we will go and talk to them about trimming the build down to 3/4 inch.
Her surgery is scheduled for March 13th. They will be removing the 5 bolts and 1 plate out of her hip and the 3 bolts and 1 plate out of her leg. I am excited for that because her hip feels so robotic. Plus she should gain some leg length by releasing that hip. It is supposed to drop into a natural position. Let's hope that happens. They will also be stopping the growth on her right leg in order to let the left one catch up. I was leery of doing that because it will stunt her growth so badly but seeing the awkwardness and size of the shoe lift convinced me that it should be attempted. They are considering pinching the muscles in the back of her left knee in order to tighten them. She hyper-extends that knee so badly that she is wearing out her hips. That will be the worst part of the surgery if they do it because she will be in a big cast for an extended period of time. They may choose to try a knee brace and see if wearing it for a couple of years can correct it. His concern is that anytime you mess with the knee you are messing with all of the nerves for the leg. The risk is high.
Other than that, things are very low-key here. Life is good. Jacie is happy. That's worth all of the time, money and work. I am blessed.
~Camo Pants
A lot has happened since Christmas. First and probably most importantly- Jacie and I danced the New Year in. It was so fun. She is quite the little dancer. As soon as the clock struck 12, we turned up the volume on the radio and off we went. I wish you could have seen her go. She can move with the best of them.
Since then, we have been to see her orthopedist, gotten a 1 inch shoe lift added to her left shoe and scheduled her surgery. Yup, I'm tired. I have to admit though, my heart broke at the size of her lift. It is so very obvious. They had told me that no one would be able to tell. Uhmm... It looks like a sooped up version of the original. At our house we call it her monster shoe. I cried when I saw it (though I didn't let Jacie see.) I have tacked on a picture. I am now used to it and it doesn't break my heart so badly. I also went out and bought her new pants that are longer and cover it better. The good news is that she will only need the lift for a period of time and then gradually, as she grows, they will make it smaller and smaller. Also these are a waterproof 'boot' for winter, in the spring and summer I can have regular tennis shoes and sandals built. They won't look so 'loggerish.'
I have to laugh at her in it though- she trips all of the time. Now I know that it isn't nice to laugh at someone when they fall but she really flies off the front of the shoe and is so dramatic... well, you get the idea. It is difficult for her to walk in though because she habitually drops her left hip to compensate for the difference in leg size. Now when she does that, she finds that her right leg is too short. Perhaps we should have them build that shoe as well. The new shoes do hurt her feet though. We had custom made orthotics put in them and the shoe built. I imagine that after walking in a specific way for a long time- changing it would hurt. I told her that we needed to give it three weeks. If they still bother her badly in that time, we will go and talk to them about trimming the build down to 3/4 inch.
Her surgery is scheduled for March 13th. They will be removing the 5 bolts and 1 plate out of her hip and the 3 bolts and 1 plate out of her leg. I am excited for that because her hip feels so robotic. Plus she should gain some leg length by releasing that hip. It is supposed to drop into a natural position. Let's hope that happens. They will also be stopping the growth on her right leg in order to let the left one catch up. I was leery of doing that because it will stunt her growth so badly but seeing the awkwardness and size of the shoe lift convinced me that it should be attempted. They are considering pinching the muscles in the back of her left knee in order to tighten them. She hyper-extends that knee so badly that she is wearing out her hips. That will be the worst part of the surgery if they do it because she will be in a big cast for an extended period of time. They may choose to try a knee brace and see if wearing it for a couple of years can correct it. His concern is that anytime you mess with the knee you are messing with all of the nerves for the leg. The risk is high.
Other than that, things are very low-key here. Life is good. Jacie is happy. That's worth all of the time, money and work. I am blessed.
~Camo Pants
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