One Year Later

This week was the one year anniversary of Caroline's big surgery. I thought I'd mark that major milestone with a blog post. A year ago, we were dealing with pain meds, learning how to change a diaper with a spica cast, contemplating sponge baths and trying to figure out how to transport her & make her comfortable. We were facing a long, hot summer full of casts & surgeries, and void of swimming, sandboxes and the beach. We are so grateful those days are behind us, and to all of you who got us through them. I could go on & on, but you know what they say, a picture's worth a thousand words. One year ago: Today:

First Steps, Take 2

Well, she did it!!! Last night at church Caroline was walking all over the gym holding on to our fingers. I decided to bait her by holding her paci out in front of her--and it worked. She took 2 tiny, wobbly little steps all by herself! They were the best little steps I've ever seen. "The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy." -Ps. 126:3

More Good News

Caroline is brace free!!! About 10 days ago Dr. Martus called us & said she could stop wearing it during the day. We were surprised but happy, and have really enjoyed not having to mess with that thing while she's awake. Today she had another x-ray. The hip looks great, and he said we can stop using the brace altogether! Hooray! It is so hard to believe she is contraption-free, for the time being anyway. Maybe now she'll start sleeping through the night again... He also watched her "walk" (holding on to my hands) and said it looked good. Her left hip is still very tight & stiff--he called it "contracture"--but said it's to be expected & will loosen up over time. We're hoping now her mobility will continue to increase so she can start preschool on Aug. 13 (yay Miss Julie!) Please lift up a prayer of praise on our behalf for this wonderful milestone.

Movin' On Up

Thought I'd give a progress report...Caroline is doing great, improving every day. The orthotist modified her brace, although that proved to be no easy task. The spreader bar between her legs went from about 12 inches to about 4! When our doctor saw it, he had it narrowed even more, down to about 3 inches. So she is in a much more normal position now and can even fit in her carseat without padding, as well as a restaurant highchair and (fingers crossed) a grocery cart! At the brace check last week, Dr. Martus also said we can start to gradually increase her time out of the brace during the day (whoopee!). And, when we go back on Aug. 5, if all looks well she will be down to wearing it only for nighttime & naps!!!! She can now crawl normally, instead of the army crawl, and when not wearing the brace she has started to pull herself up to stand. Today she even climbed about halfway up the stairs! It was a wonderful sight, I was crying and we were all cheering for her. It's amazing what a big deal the little things can be. While this is all great news, Dr. Martus has been clear that she is nowhere near out of the woods as far as further surgery down the road. Your prayers are still coveted for this. Till next time...

Checkup

Long time no post, eh? Well, Caroline had a checkup today, I can't believe it's been almost a month since the cast came off! Thankfully, her x-ray looked great & the dr. is very pleased (praise God!). He was surprised at the width of her brace, though, and arranged for her to get a narrower one. Apparently it's fine to be wide (it's not going to hurt the hip), but it is probably the reason she hasn't started pulling up/cruising. He expects her to be able to start doing that fairly quickly in the new one. We will get it Thursday & let everyone know how it goes. Keep those prayers coming!

Independence Day

First of all, I have to say that as a former English teacher this formatting problem is completely maddening! Apparently it is a Blogger-wide issue, so please excuse my inability to properly space my paragraphs. Grrrrrrr... That said, the real purpose of this post is just to put up some pictures of July 4th, so here they are:

Splash splash swim swim

The new Ilfeld brace Swimming!!! She had an absolute ball.

She's doing very well, getting to where she can move around quite well in the brace. Still loving bathtime. Her skin is clearing up nicely, just one small area left that is still healing. The stiffness has subsided drastically--her right leg is completely normal & the left is much better. So, we are just plugging away till our next appt on July 15, where we're hoping she'll be allowed more time out of the brace during the day.

We are still praying fervently that a) she will not need further surgery and b) that she will be able to start preschool in August as planned.

Love to all,

Melissa