So, we finally got Sadie an appointment with Shriner's Hospital! We went on November 5th to St. Louis! Had tons of fun sightseeing and spending the night with Brandon's cousin Jami and her husband David! We only got to stay one night though so it was kind of a fast and exhausting trip! Ha
Brandon and the girls had never been to the St. Louis Arch
so we decided to take them up in it!
Sadie kept saying "Me look, Me look!!" She had a lot of fun
collecting leaves and rocks outside for Pepaw too :)
Laney LOVED the arch! She said it was like riding in a dryer to the top and
she just smiled the whole time!!
We decided to try Shriner's because Sadie's pediatrician was not at all pleased with the treatment we were receiving from the Tulsa specialist. They were basically just having us come up there for nothing and each time we went it was the same old "let's wait and see" story.. They didn't even do x-rays last time and we were basically in and out within 5 minutes. Seriously. Grr.
So anyways, the doctors and staff at Shriner's were awesome! They took special care of both our sweet girls and the nurses played with them and they even got stuffed elephants! The had a lot of fun! Best of all, Shriner's is free! Which is a GREAT thing for us right now since Brandon got laid off back in August. Helped us out tremendously!!
They took x-rays of her legs and even regular pictures. And they also watched her walk several times up and down the hallway. They told us that her bones were now at a 21 degree angle. If you'll remember last year (in October) they were only at a 10 degree angle. They didn't "officially" say Blount's disease but they talked a lot about it. Back last year at our first orthopedic appointment in Springdale, we were told that after the legs get to a 15-20 degree angle, they consider it Blount's disease...so we're not really sure. The doctors recommended leg braces for Sadie OR we could come back in 6 months and re-do the x-rays again. It was totally up to us but she recommended that we went ahead and got her fit for them. Of course, we know that her legs have gotten worse and the longer we wait the harder it will be on Sadie so we went ahead and had her measured and fit for the blount's braces.
This is just an example picture I found on the internet of the way Sadie's legs look.
The doctors also noticed her knee popping out of place as well..
She will have to wear these braces anywhere from one to two years. They will go from her hips down to the UGLY boots she will have to wear. I know it's totally dumb and "earthly" of me but I just like my girls to be stylish and these boots are FAR from stylish..it has really bothered me. A lot. They pretty much lock her knees up to allow growth in her growth plates. Her tibia bone is shorter so basically this will allow room for the bone to grow like it should and straighten things out. She will have to wear these day and night...at all times (except for showers, etc.) The reasoning behind that is because a child grows at different times and there is no way of knowing when Sadie's legs will grow so for the braces to be effective she HAS to be wearing them when she grows..
We were also told that there is still the possibility that she will have to have surgery when she is 4 or so. She has a few things in her favor such as she is not African-American (evidently Blount's is more dominant in African-American children) and she is not overweight so that is good but there are a few things working against her too: She is a girl (boys have better success with the braces) and a few other things that I can't recall at the moment. BUT we know that God is able to do anything. So if it is His will that her legs straighten without surgery then He can and WILL do it! We are praying that her legs show significant improvement before her next 6 month check in May (we were told by the doctors we wouldn't see anything by then-would LOVE to prove them wrong! ha)
We've (me more than Brandon) have had a hard time with it because obviously we don't like the thought of Sadie having to go through all this. I have cried so much over it. Sometimes I can't stand to think about it! I know parents go through MUCH worse things than leg braces but it's still hard on us :( God will help us through though. He always has and always will. She wants to be like Laney so much and do everything that Laney does so it's hard because she wants to play soccer and do ballet, etc. but we will probably more than likely have to push that back a few years. So that's hard and it breaks my heart for her. But hopefully all will straighten quickly and correctly!
Please be praying with us for our sweet girl! That she can run and play and be normal in these braces and that they don't bother her at all. She hates wearing shoes as it is, so I can't imagine making her wear these ALL of the time! But we've gotta! So pray for us to be strong for her as well and most importantly please pray that her legs will straighten fast!
Love you all!
