A Bit of Encouragement

Yesterday Avery turned five months old. We went to Children's Mercy for another follow-up with Dr Sinclair. We explained to him that we had decided to seek a second opinion from Shiner's so that we could weigh our options. Shriner's was said to have more experience with conditions like Avery's. We then told him that the appointment had turned out very frustrating. He was very understanding and stated that Avery is a very special case and a lot of doctors, like the one at Shriner's, would try to compare too much to other situations. Avery's case is special not only because it affects both legs, but because he is so symetric in his bowing/ shortened tibias. He agreed with our decision to try to save the foot. He simply stated what was already running through both our minds. "You can always amputate later, but you can't put it back on." After a few more x-rays he pointed out that his bowing had not improved significantly on it's own. He recommended the next step we take to be a surgery to straighten the tibias. He explained it as a rather simple procedure. He would first remove a small "wedge" of the bone to take the portion of the tibia that is bowed. The bone should heal in about 4 weeks with only some small pins to help hold in place. After the bone is healed the pins would be removed. Because of his young age, he said the bones would heal without any scarring. After the surgery is complete, Avery should be able to stand without having balance issues. With the tibias striaghter, the feet may start to line up more on their own. At that point, we will see what kind of braces he would need or if casting is necessary. We then scheduled to see Dr Sinclair in Febuary when Avery is 9 months old. The surgery will be scheduled around 11-12 months of age.