Shriners Hospital - 4th Trip

Mama's girl!

We first took Laura up to Shriners Hospital in Philadelphia, PA in early December 2010 for her initial evaluation. We were told Laura was a good candidate for surgery. Unfortunately, the waiting list was very long and we were  told it would be a 5-6 month wait. You can imagine our surprise when they had a cancellation in early January. We were called on Jan 5th and asked if we could be ready for surgery the next morning at 6:30AM.  You bet we could! Laura had her first surgery on her right leg on January 6, 2010.

(Please read the page on Fibular Hemimela at top to learn more).

Our third trip to Philly was two weeks later on January 24th. On this visit, we learned Laura's leg was healing nicely and quickly and to come back in 4 weeks.

This picture was brought to you today by Care Bears!

On our fourth trip on February 21, 2011, I really thought Laura's doctor would be taking her cast off. I was also hoping the doctor and intern would be able to measure her for her prosthetic. After taking X-rays they remarked how well her tibia was calcifying. The doctors decided to remove the pin that was in her right tibia. They cut around the base of her cast (not a pleasant experience but Laura's lungs work really, really great!). After they cut the tip of her cast off, they were thankfully able to remove the pin right there in the examination room- I was very happy about this, especially since the intern explained they may have to schedule her in the ER for this short procedure. When they took the pin out, our poor little Princessa had some bleeding and the heel on her stump needs to heal over before the cast can come off. I was really bummed the cast had to stay on (the nurse put the cap back on and wrapped her up again, Thanks nurse Debbie!). You can imagine she is starting to smell pretty funky after only being able to take sponge baths for 6 weeks.




Laura's X-rays
The far right X-ray shows her X-ray from January. You can see in the other two X-rays how well her tibia is healing.

The intern was awesome and took the time to not only explain everything to me but was simply wonderful with Laura. It makes all the difference to take those extra few minutes! I made sure I asked him exactly what to expect on our 4th visit on Feb 28. I was told the cast should come off and if there is no swelling they may measure her then for her prosthetic. I will pray for complete healing and no swelling! I hope they can measure her and start making her prosthesis. Oh how I long for Laura to walk. I can't wait!

Puppet Show

On this trip Eric came with Laura and I. It's about 200 miles to Philly but it takes me 4 to 5 hours to drive it with our stops and occasional traffic jams. It took us 5 hours to get to our hotel Sunday evening. We arrived for our appointment at 9:30AM Monday morning. With X-rays etc we were finished with the appointment by about 11:30-just in time to visit with a friend we made while we were in the hospital, and then we saw a puppet show! We grabbed a bite to eat and then got on the road. On the way out of town Eric mentioned wanting to see the Liberty Bell. Wouldn't you know it- The Bell was just 2 miles away! Laura was asleep in the SUV so I just parked and Eric went on in and saw the Bell. We

realized there are a lot of historic places right there in Philly near Shriner's Hospital. I wonder what we'll see next time?
When we arrived home tonight, Laura couldn't wait to tell Papa and Alex all about the puppet show! She also petted Daisy on her head and said, "Hi Daisy, I missed you." Wow, was it just almost 4 months ago that she was scared to death of our dog? And now, Daisy is sleeping next to her bed on the floor. So very cute!




 As for me, I'm  glad to be home and able to sleep
 in my bed tonight! Heal well little Laura...heal well.





Shriners Hospital love their children!
Mark (far left) is one of Laura's physical therapists. He taught Laura how to use her walker.