Let the Appointments Begin...

Oh, friends.  What a great day we had yesterday!  Your thoughts and prayers were with us as we spent the day visiting doctors and therapists at BC Children's Hospital.  It warms my heart, just thinking about it.

We started the day off with an appointment with the x-ray machine and orthopedic doctor.  After Ellie's hips "said cheese" to the x-ray camera, the doctor read the films and relayed his findings onto us.  He was impressed that Ellie's hips, although still unaligned, had not regressed in the past year.  He then went on to say that there was a possibility that with the rhizotomy (spine) surgery on Tuesday, Ellie's hips may return back to "normal" on their own, eliminating the need for further operations.  Oh, pray this will be so!  The thought of hip surgery in another couple of years is enough to make cry. 

Then, we went on to see the neurosurgeon, Dr. Steinbok.  He'll be performing Ellie's surgery on Tuesday.  Once again, he was just wonderful.  I have complete faith in his knowledge and hands.  He continues to believe that Ellie's life will be changed by this surgery and that she's a perfect candidate for the rhizotomy.  We asked a bunch of questions, of course, and he patiently answered every one of them.  I was encouraged by his prediction that Ellie would be at pre-surgery walking levels within 4-6 week post-op.  THEN, after that, the fun REALLY starts, as we see how much farther she'll go!

At the end of our appointment with Dr. Steinbok, he asked ELLIE if she had any questions for him.  She was shy and kept saying, "Um, Um, Um..."  But, with a little prompting, she ended up asking him, "Is it okay if you fix my legs?"  PRECIOUS GIRL. 

We will find out more about "surgery day" timetable on Monday, when we return to the hospital for more pre-op appointments. 

We then spent the afternoon at the Gait Lab.  This is where they test to see which muscles are being used when Ellie walks.  It wasn't as exciting as we thought it would be, as they said that Ellie's gait pattern is obvious from appearance, so they didn't have to do any "electrode testing".  So, they just did some measuring, stretching, and made a video of her walking across the room. 

After all of that, sweet Ellie was TIRED!  But, she was such a trooper.  Gotta love that girl.

So, now we sit here in balmy Vancouver, twiddling our thumbs for the next 3 days.  We don't have any appointments till Monday.  We're more than open to suggestions for stuff to do!  We can't take Ellie to smaller, indoor spaces, for fear of the germs, so we'll try to be outside a lot.  If I'm brave enough, maybe we'll venture out into the mountains.  This prairie-girl driver is a little nervous about that!

THANK YOU again for loving us so much.  We heard so many encouraging words during our appointments yesterday, that I've really become EXCITED for this surgery.  I truly believe it will be a life-changer for our baby. 

Snacking makes waiting for the doctor so much easier!

Stretching and measuring Ellie's legs.  And, no, she's not in just her underwear!  They asked us to bring her bathing suit bottoms for the appointment so they could see her legs better. 

Stretching Ellie's legs and measuring the angles.

The Gait Lab video taped Ellie walking across the room a few times.  They will analyze the footage and determine which muscles are being used when she walks.