6 Months Old

Notice anything new about me?

Grandma Sue's 60th and Lauren's 6 Month

The look on her face says it all.

Mommy and Grandma Sue got to see Auntie Robin in action at a mock trial. She did an awesome job! Lauren, meanwhile, had an excellent afternoon with Grandma Sandy.

Uncle Brad and Aunt Sharon helped us celebrate Grandma Sue's birthday with a biplane ride. Lauren passed on the plane ride, but enjoyed the sights at the Air Zoo.

It's About Lauren

It's been a few days since our latest appointment to Mary Free Bed and I'm still trying to work my way out of the loop it threw me for. A refresher from our last visit, we thought Mary Free Bed was going to be there for our local orthopedic needs. That no longer seems to be the case. Even though they encouraged us to see Dr. Paley, now that we're showing interest in going the lengthening route, it's almost as if we're offending them.

They were first very irritated that they didn't have a report yet from Dr. Paley, but later turned around and said their own reports take at least 2 weeks to go out. The appointment continued with the doctor and physical therapist taking turns telling me how amputation is the best option for Lauren, and then telling me how bad lengthening is. I might have appreciated the discussion more if I didn't have good reason to believe that they were exaggerating. They said Lauren would always have ankle instability, but at a prior appointment they said they didn't know about the Super Ankle procedures (for which Dr. Paley has a 99% success rate). They said prosthetics would give her better function. If you recall, there was a study done and Dr. Paley's patients were found to have "normal" function just like the prosthetics group. They said that prosthetics were better cosmetically. I guess that's subjective, whether you prefer the look of a prosthetic leg or a human leg that's smaller with some scarring. Cosmetically, since I can't opt for Lauren to not have FH, then I think I would prefer her own little leg.

As far as the local PT for Lauren, they are not on board. They were very hesitant about it, and said that it would have to be for a doctor who "treats them as part of the team". Well, it's not about them and we need someone who realizes it's about Lauren. I understand that they would need to know what therapy to give Lauren and have good communication with Dr. Paley's office, but I've also talked to other parents about this and they've had no problems with the doctors being accessible long distance.

We are scheduled to go back to Mary Free Bed when Lauren is 9 months old for her hip check-up and to see where we're at with treatment. In the meantime, we'll be scoping out a new (more neutral) doctor and physical therapist. Never have I seen such conflicting opinions between doctors, and it doesn't make being the parents involved any easier. But it's not about us either.