New update
January 13, 2006 at 08:48 PM EST
We had a nice trip to Lexington, and were very impressed w/both the facilities and the staff. Sam was up at 6 a.m. for the journey, and stayed up until the trip home, so it was a long morning for her. She only cried during the x-rays, something she hates. We discussed the general game plan, and they gave us stuff to do at home w/her to desensitize her stumps, which mainly consists of touching/massaging them w/lotion, wash cloths, our hands, etc., to get her used to being touched there again. We will also continue hip stretches with her. We'll return in @6 weeks for molding/casting, to allow time for the final scabs (from this last bout) to completely heal; if they heal sooner, we may return sooner. Then after the molds are made for the prosthetist to use to make the first legs, I'll return w/Sam for about a 2-week inpatient stay, so she can be fitted and they can work w/her. Most of Sam's "therapy" will be done by us at home; they show you how & what to do. They don't fit children w/"full" (knee-jointed) legs until @age 4, so Sam will have the shorter version to practice on until then. We also discussed the possibility of bone overgrowth w/child amputees, and the potential need to go in periodically and "shave" back part of the bone in the stumps, so it doesn't cause pain/problems for her; this is a problem they anticipate w/most kids in these circumstances, and they watch for it and treat it accordingly. All in all, it was a hopeful and informative visit; it was inspiring to see other children getting around on their prosthetics, and we're so glad that experts in the field will be doing all they can for Sam.
Sam is feeling better each day, and continues to eat (what & when she wants!); we are not keeping her on the feeds all night long anymore--instead, we let her eat what she's going to at each "normal" meal time, then supplement after the meal accordingly, to make sure she's getting enough calories/nutrition. We're heading in the right direction, and the tube should be out soon. I still haven't heard anything about her labs, but I assume if the news was bad, they know how to track us down! We will see them next week, and see her plastic surgeon as well, and maybe have her fitted w/her pressure suit. Sam's starting to scoot around a little, and is definitely more active each day.
Thanks for the continued support.
Jessica