
Our visit to Sinai Hospital last Thursday exceeded our expectations. We were so impressed by Dr. Standard and everyone there. We had a bit of a wait (about 4 hours), which is apparently to be expected, but worth every minute of it. The time also went fast because we were in good company. Indigo, a two year old girl with
FH, and Amy, her mom, were there for Indigo's check-up. I've had
internet correspondence with Amy and recognized them from their pictures. It was wonderful to get to meet them in person. Indigo had a
fixator on so we got a first hand look, and Amy was very informative. When we met with Dr. Standard, he was very thorough in explaining his plan for Lauren. He recommends that we have her ankle surgery and tibia straightening done when she's two years old. That would involve us going to Baltimore for the surgery and recovery, then returning home about a week later. He also recommends that we wait until she's three to do her first lengthening. This will give her ankle a chance to recover and maintain as much range of motion as possible. We were relieved to hear that her hip looks okay and she won't need hip surgery. Her leg is not aligned under her knee, which will need correction, but it's a fairly simple outpatient procedure that would be done when Lauren is a little older. As for the second lengthening when she's a teenager, she may or may not need it. There's a chance, depending on Lauren's growth, that we would be able to slow the growth (a much easier procedure) on the other leg instead. Last but not least, Dr. Standard said Lauren has a beautiful foot. He says he doesn't get into counting toes when he's evaluating a foot for function, and that he's
surprised at the number of smart people that do. Did I mention that we love this doctor? We've found the hospital and doctor that are
just right for Lauren. We go back for a progress check in 6 months and in the meantime? We'll just be working on that walking thing.

We toured this house, called
Hackerman Patz, where patients and families can stay during treatment. It's right across the street from the
Intl Center for Limb Lengthening.

We spent our evenings there at the hotel pool. Lauren cracked up laughing for ten minutes straight when we first got in. She still loves swimming and was even dipping her face in the water.
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