2nd Real Doctors Appt. after Surgery

Today we had our 2nd appointment with our doctor. We took another x-ray and the great news is we seem to be on track! It isn't a precise measurement but the difference between the bone appears to be 13 mm. So we can officially say 1+ cm down!!! 4-6 cm. to go...

2nd X-ray - 5/29/12

The pin sites still look good but all of the bending Mary was preferring in my post below turns out to be not so great. My hubby can explain it better than I can but it turns Dr. Scott would rather have her leg straight vs. bent. I guess as it gets longer, the tension becomes greater and the starting point of the range of motion shrinks but it is very important to be able to straighten the knee otherwise we have we have to STOP lengthening until she can do so again. This also explains why Mary had trouble sleeping early this morning. She was saying her knee was really uncomfortable because it was bent and we had trouble straitening it.
Surprisingly we didn't have any questions but Mary had 3:

• At one point Dr. Scott said she could walk on the fixator leg immediately but she may not want to but when we left the hospital we were told no weight bearing. Why? He explained that he will put a second piece under her current U-shaped piece on her foot to give her a platform to bear weight. So we are going back for a quick visit after physical therapy tomorrow to get the piece added. It will require getting used to the additional length and the required clearance it requires for example when "hopping" into the car and stepping into the shower.
• How soon after the ring on her thigh and the foot piece are removed can she walk? Again the response was technically immediately but she may not WANT to walk on it immediately.
• Will she ever be able to run with the fixator on? He said you could once the lengthening is over but in reality the wire tends to scrape the other leg so you won't want to.

We were waiting to see if he had the hardware for the additional foot piece when Dr. Scott popped back in and asked Mary if she minded talking to a girl in the next room that has the same thing Mary has. She said she didn't mind and a lovely girl just a little younger than Mary and her precocious little brother came over. It was the first time Mary has seen/met someone with the same thing she has. It was nice to get to talk to someone about it and answer questions vs. being the one with all of the questions. I gave the mom my contact information if she wanted more info. It was a very happy  experience for both me and Mary.

Dr. Scott doesn't want to see us for 3 weeks (after getting the additional hardware on tomorrow.)

Then we went to the Physical Therapy Dept. to confirm the parents can be at the first appt to learn and the following appointment the parents typically just wait in the lobby.

Today was also a big day for both Mary and me. I returned to work which was really hard but ended up going better than I expected because it was a mellow day at the office. Mary went to school to pick up her Little Sister for the first time. Everyone was excited to see her. Her teacher gave her a hug. The father that is an Occupational Therapist gave her words of encouragement and another mother who turns out to be a surgical nurse said the pin sites and skin look great. The kids were kids. Very excited with the older ones being able to handle the scary contraption better than the younger ones. Mary didn't seem to mind the awkward responses. I am so glad she doesn't seem self conscience about the fixator.