Chewkie needs surgery

When I took Chewkie in for her most recent annual doctor's appointment her doctor and I talked about sending her to a specialist to check out her toe walking issues. We ended up going to Portland's Doernbecher Children's hospital to see an Orthopedic Surgeon. Matthew had to go into the office so I took Chewkie up by myself. Doodah went to my parent's house. I'm pretty sure he LOVED being there without his sister.

Well, we met with the specialist who pretty quickly told us Chewkie needs a simple surgery followed by a very LONG recovery period. One month in double leg casts, 3 months of 24/7 braces, 3 months of braces worn at night, and another 6 months until she's back to her regular bouncy self. That's intense and it left me feeling like surely there must be something else we should try and surely he just said that because he's a surgeon and surgery is what they do best. it was all I could do to hold myself together until I could get us back to the car.

I called her PCP as soon as I could to get his take on the whole scenario. While I was waiting for him to return my call, I talked to my mom, my sister, and I called Matthew (though I never actually got to talk to him). Somehow between the phone calls, I missed the call from her PCP. I was so angry at myself even though he must have gone straight to voicemail.

I got home, did some research on her diagnosis, talked to Matthew some more and felt resigned to surgery for Chewkie. This evening her PCP finally got a chance to call me back and I realized the tender mercy of missing his earlier phone call. Over his lunch (after his initial voicemail) he talked to the specialist and got more insight on the diagnosis. Chewkie's condition is congenital and would not have been fixed by earlier intervention. He also told me that, although the recovery is severe, we probably would get the same answer from another pediatric orthopedist. It was the final answer to affirm what I had already been feeling, but now no one has to feel guilty for not noticing it sooner.

1. Today I am grateful I missed the initial phone call from Chewkie's PCP even if it caused me to be angry at myself for some time.
2. I am grateful for some alone time with my unbearably adorable daughter.
3. I am grateful for the peace in what comes next for my sweet daughter.

Finally, a picture of Chewkie in her paper pants that made her so very happy. She asked and they agreed to let her take them home. The simple joys in a young girl's life.

P.S. This is how Adelae stands on her feet almost all the time.